Support

Frequently asked questions

• What file formats does Refract support?

  Refract currently opens CSV, Parquet, Arrow IPC (file), and audio (WAV, CAF). More formats may be added in future releases.

• How do I connect to a live stream?

  Use File → Open Connection… (⌘⇧O) to open the connection sheet.

  Refract currently supports TCP, serial port, BLE, USB HID, and RefractIO.

  Choose a transport, configure framing and decoding, and connect. You can decode incoming data as delimited text (CSV/TSV), fixed-frame binary with typed fields (float, int, etc.), or Arrow IPC. Save your settings as a preset so you can reconnect in one click.

• What keyboard shortcuts are available?

  Common shortcuts: ⌘O Open File, ⌘⇧O Open Connection, ⌘L Follow Live, ⌘0 Reset X Zoom, ⌘R Reset All Zoom, ⌘+ / ⌘− Zoom In/Out, ⌘[ / ⌘] Scrub Left/Right, ⌘⇧N Add New Track.

• Can I use Refract with my own data pipeline?

  Yes. For live streams, any system that sends data over TCP, serial, BLE, or HID can connect to Refract. Use Arrow IPC over TCP for structured columnar data (see the sample script stream_arrow_sample.py for a Python/PyArrow example), or configure text/binary decoding for simpler protocols. For files, open CSV, Parquet, or Arrow IPC directly.

• What framing and decoding options are available for streams?

  Framing determines how Refract splits raw bytes into messages: delimiter-based (e.g. CR-LF), length-prefixed (1/2/4-byte header), fixed-size frames, sync-pattern alignment, or self-framed Arrow IPC. Decoding interprets each frame: delimited text (CSV/TSV with configurable separator), fixed-frame binary (define fields by type, size, and byte order), or Arrow IPC. For binary, supported field types include float32, float64, int8–int64, uint8–uint64, and padding bytes.

• Where is my data stored?

  Opened files are read from the locations you choose. If you enable persistence for a stream connection, data is stored in your Application Support folder under Refract. No data is sent to our servers.

Getting more help

If you don’t find what you need here, please use the contact form to send us a message. Include your Mac model and macOS version, and describe the issue or question so we can respond as quickly as possible.