Quick Start

Five minutes from plug-in to LED rainbow. This guide walks you through connecting your first device, watching the protocol handshake in real time, and playing with the built-in tools.

Connect a Device

Plug in a ROLI Block via USB. If you've run blocksd install, the udev rules are already in place and the device will be accessible without root.

Run the Daemon

Start blocksd in the foreground with verbose logging to see what's happening:

blocksd run -v

You'll see the device discovery sequence play out:

INFO  blocksd ready, scanning for ROLI devices
INFO  Master serial: LKBC9PZSOH978HOE
INFO  Topology: 2 devices, 1 connections
INFO  ✨ Device connected: lumi_keys_block (LKBC9PZSOH978HOE), battery 31%
INFO  ✨ Device connected: lightpad_block_m (LPMJW6SWHSPD8H92), battery 31%

The daemon is now maintaining API mode keepalive. Your Blocks will stay alive as long as blocksd is running.

TIP

If you installed the systemd service, you can also start the daemon in the background:

systemctl --user start blocksd
journalctl --user -u blocksd -f    # follow the logs

Check Device Status

In a separate terminal, scan for connected devices:

blocksd status

For full details including serial number, firmware version, and battery level:

blocksd status --probe

Try LED Patterns

If you have a Lightpad Block or Lightpad Block M, try the built-in LED patterns:

blocksd led solid '#ff00ff'                      # solid magenta
blocksd led rainbow                               # animated rainbow
blocksd led gradient ff0000 0000ff                # red → blue gradient
blocksd led gradient ff0000 0000ff --vertical     # vertical gradient
blocksd led checkerboard ff0000 00ff00            # 2x2 checkerboard
blocksd led checkerboard ff0000 00ff00 --size 3   # 3x3 checkerboard
blocksd led off                                   # lights off

Read Device Config

Query and modify device settings:

blocksd config list              # show all known config IDs
blocksd config get 10            # read velocity sensitivity
blocksd config set 10 50         # set velocity sensitivity to 50

Launch the Web Dashboard

For a visual overview of your connected devices:

blocksd ui

This opens a real-time dashboard at http://localhost:9010 showing device topology, battery status, and LED state. The dashboard communicates with the daemon over WebSocket.

blocksd ui --port 8080           # custom port

Running as a Service

For daily use, run blocksd as a systemd service so it starts automatically on login:

systemctl --user enable --now blocksd

Check the service status:

systemctl --user status blocksd

What's Next

• Configuration: customize daemon behavior via TOML config
• Web Dashboard: learn more about the real-time UI
• CLI Reference: all available commands
• External API: integrate with your own applications