BLOCKSMITHHome · OpenNBS
Blocksmith and OpenNBS.
OpenNBS is where a note block song is written. Blocksmith is where a MIDI file becomes a machine in a world.
OpenNBS, also called Note Block Studio, is the long-standing editor for .nbs files. You see a piano roll, you place notes, you pick instruments the game can play, and you export a song other people can open in the same editor. It is the right tool for composing. It is also the centre of a community of note block musicians. Blocksmith is not trying to be that community, and it does not host their songs.
Blocksmith reads MIDI. Standard MIDI is what you export from a DAW, a notation program, or a keyboard. The app builds a physical note block machine: repeaters, note blocks on the right blocks underneath, a start button, and a function that plays it. A redstone simulator checks the notes. You hear it in a Java world, not in a preview window that approximates the game.
| Blocksmith | OpenNBS | |
|---|---|---|
| You start with | A .mid file you have the right to use | An empty chart, or an .nbs file |
| You edit on | Almost not at all. Speed and which parts to keep, then it builds | A piano roll, note by note |
| You end with | A datapack in a Java world | An .nbs song, and players that play .nbs |
| Bedrock | Not for songs | Depends on their players; check OpenNBS |
| Copyrighted songs | Not hosted here. A file you supply is your responsibility | Their community rules |
A reasonable path is to sketch in OpenNBS, export MIDI if you need to, and let Blocksmith build the machine when you want it in a world. Or skip the editor when you already have a MIDI of something you wrote. The eight-note chime on this site was written for the gallery so the example would not be somebody else’s song.
The converter itself is described on the songs page.