KLSTR.ctrl Overview
KLSTR.ctrl is the desktop app for setting up and looking after a lighting network built on KLSTR hardware. It finds the KLSTR devices on your network, plus the RDM fixtures behind your Art-Net nodes, and draws them as a live topology: which fixture is connected to which port, how the cables run, and what state every device is in. From that one window you configure and address devices, update firmware, watch sensors, exchange fixture positions with MVR files and diagnose problems.
KLSTR.ctrl runs on macOS and Windows. Day-to-day work needs no account.
The devices KLSTR.ctrl works with
| Device family | What it is | How KLSTR.ctrl talks to it |
|---|---|---|
| KLSTR.one | A module built into a fixture that contains a small managed network switch. The fixture gets two or three Ethernet ports, so fixtures can be cabled to each other in lines, rings or stars, and each one is addressed by its Fixture ID instead of a DMX address. | The KLSTR protocol over IPv6 link-local. KLSTR.one devices announce themselves, so they show up as soon as you pick the right network interface. |
| KLSTR.nano | A small RDM module built into a fixture. It sits in the DMX line, passes DMX on to the next fixture, and answers RDM for itself and for the fixture behind it. | RDM over Art-Net (ArtRDM), through the Art-Net nodes the DMX lines are connected to. |
| Other RDM fixtures | Any RDM fixture behind an Art-Net node, with or without a KLSTR.nano. | Standard RDM over Art-Net. |
| Art-Net nodes | The nodes that turn Art-Net into DMX lines. | Art-Net over IPv4. |
A KLSTR.one fixture or an Art-Net node is a root device: a device KLSTR.ctrl finds directly on the network. The RDM fixtures on a node's DMX ports are the connected fixtures behind it. The glossary explains these and the other KLSTR terms used in this guide.
How this guide is organised
Getting started
A guided first session, in this order:
- Install and launch KLSTR.ctrl
- Tour KLSTR.ctrl in demo mode, without any hardware
- Connect KLSTR.ctrl to your network
How-to guides
One page per task, grouped by area:
- Setup and session: switch between Build and Live mode, discover devices, and save and restore discovered devices.
- Topology and selection: navigate the topology views, select, identify and arrange devices, disable and hide Art-Net nodes, and find devices with the sidebar.
- Configuration and addressing: configure a KLSTR.one or a KLSTR.nano, assign Fixture IDs, patch fixtures, auto-assign DMX addresses, IPv6 zeroconf networking (why a KLSTR.one needs no IP plan), and more: bulk configuration and resets.
- Firmware and updates: KLSTR.one and KLSTR.nano firmware, KLSTR.nano firmware through a KLSTR.one, LAN Upgrade mode for a manufacturer's own tool, the firmware cache, and updates of KLSTR.ctrl itself.
- Monitoring: sensors, sensor tolerances and roles, and eDMX statistics.
- MVR and Stage View: import and export MVR files, and position fixtures in Stage View.
- Diagnostics: read the log, run a health check, and report a problem.
Reference
The user interface, menus, keyboard shortcuts, every setting (View, Network, RDM, Updates and Display), and the glossary.
Troubleshooting
What to check when devices are not discovered, when macOS blocks local network access, when the topology view looks wrong, when RDM data or sensors are missing, or when KLSTR.nano firmware gives trouble.
Annex
Procedures that work only on some devices: lock a device with a PIN, on fixtures that support the RDM lock, and change RDM IP settings, on the few fixtures that implement the E1.37-2 IP configuration PIDs.
For manufacturers
Manufacturers who build KLSTR modules into their fixtures have their own section on docs.klstr.cloud, which needs a KLSTR.cloud customer login. It covers how to log in to KLSTR.cloud, factory-activate KLSTR.nano and KLSTR.one modules on the production line, use the KLSTR.one Boot Sender, and the features that only development builds show.
Conventions in this guide
- Menu paths are written as KLSTR › Save discovered devices.... On macOS the menus are in the menu bar at the top of the screen; on Windows they are in the window's own menu bar.
- The items in the KLSTR.ctrl app menu on macOS (Check for updates, About KLSTR.ctrl, Report a problem, Quit) sit under the KLSTR menu on Windows.
- Keyboard shortcuts are given for both platforms, for example CmdS on macOS and Ctrl S on Windows.
- Screenshots are taken on macOS. Inside the window, the Windows version looks the same.
- Labels in bold are written exactly as KLSTR.ctrl shows them.
Written for KLSTR.ctrl 1.2.0 (a0df909) · Checked 1 Oct 2026