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VexFlow

VexFlow is an open-source library for rendering sheet music. It is written in TypeScript, and outputs scores to HTML Canvas and SVG. It works in browsers and in Node.js projects (e.g., a command line script to save a score as a PDF).

Quick Start

The simplest way to add VexFlow to a web page is via a <script> tag.

See this example: https://jsfiddle.net/ck6erLhm/

<div id="output"></div>
<script src="https://cdn.jsdelivr.net/npm/vexflow@5.0.0/build/cjs/vexflow.js"></script>
<script>
  // YOUR CODE GOES HERE
</script>

The URL above includes a version number vexflow@x.y.z. Specifying a version prevents a future update from breaking your deployment.

If your project uses a bundler, you can install VexFlow from npm:

npm install vexflow

See our tutorial.

Factory and EasyScore

Factory and EasyScore are VexFlow's high-level API for creating staves, voices, and notes. On a web page containing a <div id="output"></div>, the following code displays a score:

const factory = new VexFlow.Factory({
  renderer: { elementId: 'output', width: 500, height: 200 },
});

const score = factory.EasyScore();
const system = factory.System();

system
  .addStave({
    voices: [
      score.voice(score.notes('C#5/q, B4, A4, G#4', { stem: 'up' })),
      score.voice(score.notes('C#4/h, C#4', { stem: 'down' })),
    ],
  })
  .addClef('treble')
  .addTimeSignature('4/4');

factory.draw();

See it running here.

Learn more about EasyScore here.

Native API

You can use the low-level VexFlow API if you need more control. Below, we render a stave using SVG. See a running example of the low-level API here.

const { Renderer, Stave } = VexFlow;

// Create an SVG renderer and attach it to the DIV element with id="output".
const div = document.getElementById('output');
const renderer = new Renderer(div, Renderer.Backends.SVG);

// Configure the rendering context.
renderer.resize(500, 500);
const context = renderer.getContext();

// Create a stave of width 400 at position 10, 40.
const stave = new Stave(10, 40, 400);

// Add a clef and time signature.
stave.addClef('treble').addTimeSignature('4/4');

// Connect it to the rendering context and draw!
stave.setContext(context).draw();

Examples

A good way to learn the API is to look at our examples & unit tests:

More Resources

If you need help, start a GitHub discussion.
Learn more on the VexFlow wiki.
Build VexFlow from scratch by following the build instructions.
VexFlow was created by Mohit Muthanna Cheppudira in 2010. It is currently maintained by Ron Yeh and Rodrigo Vilar. Many others have contributed with code, documentation, bug reports, and feature requests. See the list of contributors.
Projects Using VexFlow

MIT License

Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:

The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.

THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.

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