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The Blueprint Editor: A Live Runtime Control Plane

The Reaktor Blueprint editor is not a static graph visualizer. It is a fundamental architectural layer that imports and runs the actual Reaktor graph in-process, acting as a "live control plane" for application development.

Live Runtime Inspection​

The Blueprint editor provides real-time visibility into every observable primitive in Reaktor:

  • Node State: Every ControllerNode's MutableStateFlow is observed in real-time.
  • Port Data Flow: Every ProviderPort emission and ConsumerPort consumption is intercepted and displayed.
  • Lifecycle States: Each node's lifecycle phase (Created, Restoring, Attaching, Destroying) is visible and color-coded.
  • Edge Invocations: Every port call through an edge is logged with timestamps, arguments, and return values.
  • Coroutine Scope: The ConcurrencyCapability's coroutine tree is inspectable, including active jobs and cancellation states.

Interactive Debugging Controls​

Beyond observation, the Blueprint editor provides active debugging controls:

  • State Injection: Directly modify a ControllerNode's StateFlow value to watch how downstream nodes and UI react.
  • Port Data Injection: Push synthetic data into any ProviderPort to test downstream consumer edge cases.
  • Node Pause/Resume: Suspend a node's coroutine scope to simulate latency or unresponsive services.
  • Node Kill: Force-destroy a node to test error recovery and lifecycle management under failure.
  • Navigation Triggers: Emit NavCommands (Push, Pop, Replace) to walk through the app's navigation flow.
  • Edge Breakpoints: Set a breakpoint on any edge. When data flows through it, the graph pauses, displaying the payload.

Bidirectional Code Generation​

Following the Unreal Engine Blueprints model, the Reaktor Blueprint editor is bidirectional:

  • Deterministic Operations (~80% of edits): Wiring a ConsumerPort to a ProviderPort, adding child nodes, and creating route bindings. These patterns are translated back into Kotlin source code for persistence.
  • AI-Assisted Operations (~20% of edits): Implementing new node business logic, designing schemas, or writing custom port types. These require AI assistance via the Blueprint Copilot to generate skeleton implementations.
  • The Live Edit Loop: Rewiring a port in the editor results in immediate graph mutation via connect() and autoWire(), while source code changes are generated in the background for persistence.