What's new in GrandPA

GrandPA now keeps its plugin in MA3 up to date itself, and cleans out old copies.

Fixed

• The GrandPA plugin in MA3 updates itself. After an update, or when you open a show saved with another version, GrandPA removes every old copy from the Plugins pool, "Grandpa#2" included, and installs one fresh copy. Save the show afterwards to keep it.
• Updating from 0.7 no longer leaves MA3 running the plugin you imported by hand, next to a second copy that never answers.
• If the update can't finish, the Setup tab offers Reinstall in MA3, and Advanced has Reinstall Plugin in MA3 for any time.
• GrandPA never removes or overwrites a plugin that isn't its own. If another plugin uses slot 9999, pick a different slot with Choose Plugin Slot under Advanced on the Setup tab.
• Going back from the beta also takes the beta's agent window plugin out of MA3.

Setup is easier to get right, your AI knows grandMA3 much better, and GrandPA now works with ChatGPT and Codex too.

New

• Works with ChatGPT and Codex. GrandPA now works with ChatGPT's desktop app and with Codex, as well as Claude. Press Add next to the ones you use on the Setup tab; you can have several, and any settings you've already made for GrandPA in Codex are kept.
• Knows grandMA3, not MA2. A built-in grandMA3 reference library, checked against a grandMA3 2.5 console, so your AI no longer mixes up MA3 with what it remembers of MA2.
• Writes and tests Lua plugins. Your AI can write a plugin, install it on grandMA3 onPC, run it, and read back any errors with line numbers, so there's no more digging through the System Monitor. On the free trial, each plugin install uses 10 of your free commands, and Lua can't be put into commands or macros.
• Says when the console is lost. GrandPA tells you when your AI loses contact with the console, and why. The usual reason is that a different show was loaded, and new shows don't have the OSC line or the GrandPA plugin yet.
• Manage the plugin from GrandPA. Reload, check and reinstall the GrandPA plugin without re-importing it in MA3 and ending up with a second copy.
• Try features early. Join the beta from the About tab, and switch back to the regular releases whenever you like.
• A "What's new" link in the About tab takes you to these notes for your version, and for the next one when an update is available.

Improved

• Setup finds OSC problems for you. It checks that MA3 actually runs the commands it receives, says whether the OSC settings or the plugin needs fixing, points to the exact setting that's missing, and names any other app that's using MA3's OSC port. Its instructions match the OSC window in onPC 2.5.1.
• A colour-coded setup checklist. See at a glance what's done, what needs you, and what's blocked. The MA3 part is done as soon as the console answers, and a finished section shows the onPC, plugin and GrandPA versions in use.
• More reliable reading from the console. It holds up when the GrandPA window and your AI ask for something at the same moment, or when a message to the console gets lost.
• Quieter on the console. The plugin no longer fills MA3's command line feedback with its own messages, and setup sends far fewer test commands while it waits for you to install the plugin.
• A new app logo.

Fixed

• Pressing Test while a connection test was already running could turn a green step red a few seconds later.
• With a show saved under an older GrandPA, setup no longer asks you to type ReloadAllPlugins, which would only have loaded the old plugin again.
• Closing Claude Desktop no longer shows up as an error.

Windows

• Setup now notices when MA3 isn't listening for OSC. Before, a closed port looked open and setup never said what was wrong.
• Restart Claude works even when Claude Desktop hides in the notification area instead of quitting: GrandPA closes it and starts it again. ChatGPT is restarted the same way.
• The tray icon stays sharp at every display scaling, including 125% and 150%, and follows the taskbar when it switches between light and dark. The GrandPA window shows its own icon in the title bar and taskbar.

Clearer OSC setup instructions.

Improved

• The setup checklist now names every OSC setting MA3 needs: Receive, Receive Command and Enable Input. Missing any one of them used to look like the plugin simply never answering.

A proper Windows installer.

Windows

• GrandPA now comes with a Windows installer. It adds a Start menu shortcut, an entry under Installed apps, and an option to start GrandPA when you sign in. It needs no administrator rights, and GrandPA still updates itself.

Signed Windows builds and crash reporting.

Improved

• When GrandPA crashes or hits an unexpected error, it now sends us a report so we can fix it. Reports never include your show, your commands or how you use the app. See the Privacy Policy.

Windows

• GrandPA for Windows is now signed by Duolike AS, so Windows recognises who made it.
• GrandPA only installs updates signed by Duolike AS.
• A second update in the same Claude Desktop session no longer fails with "Access is denied".

GrandPA for Windows, and support for grandMA3 onPC 2.5.

New

• Works with grandMA3 onPC 2.5. Before this update, GrandPA said onPC wasn't running even when it was.

Windows

• GrandPA is now available for Windows, with its own icon and automatic updates.
• Works with the Microsoft Store version of Claude Desktop.
• Restarting Claude Desktop from setup no longer closes any Claude Code windows you have open.
• Opening GrandPA when it's already running brings up the open window instead of starting a second copy.
• If GrandPA installs an update but can't restart on its own, it asks you to restart it instead of saying the update failed.
• The command log no longer grows without limit.

Runs on older Macs again.

macOS

• GrandPA runs on macOS 12 and newer again. Version 0.7.0 would only open on the very latest macOS.

The first version listed here. It covers everything GrandPA could do at launch.

New

• Control grandMA3 onPC from Claude: send commands, build macros and cues, run playback, and read back sequences, presets and the patch.
• Patch sheets, cue lists and show overviews are saved as spreadsheet (CSV) and summary files you can open yourself, so long lists don't swamp the conversation.
• When Claude writes a cue or macro, it checks the result on the console in the same step.
• A step-by-step setup checklist for both MA3 and Claude Desktop, with a way to remove GrandPA from either one again.
• Setup notices when the plugin in MA3 is out of date, or when GrandPA has been moved since Claude Desktop was set up.
• The free trial now includes 100 commands.

Improved

• Destructive commands like Delete, Cut, Move and Overwrite always ask for confirmation, even when they're buried in a longer command.
• GrandPA lives in the menu bar and stays out of the Dock.
• Installing from the download is now a simple drag into Applications.