# Run\_file command in a loop
**URL:** https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827
**Category:** Support, Help & Resources
**Created:** [December 20, 2020, 4:55am UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827 "2020-12-20T04:55:45Z")
**Posts on this page:** 19
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@vinodv](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/vinodv)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2020, 4:55am UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/1 "2020-12-20T04:55:45Z")
Can I make the melody stored in a file to play in loop
Can I have
run\_file(‘C:\Music\song.rb’)
in a loop like a VLC media player loop.
After finishing run\_file(‘C:\Music\song.rb’), again run\_file(‘C:\Music\song.rb’) has to start
---
### Author:  [@ethancrawford](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/ethancrawford)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2020, 6:40am UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/2 "2020-12-20T06:40:12Z")
Hey @vinodv 🙂
I’m assuming when you mention VLC, it’s just as an example to compare to.
Anyway, what you describe sounds fairly easy to try as a short experiment - do you have any ideas yet about how you might do such a thing? the kinds of commands you might need? It sounds like you’ve already seen what `run_file` is for, so you’re already halfway there! The great thing about Sonic Pi is that you can just try something out and get immediate feedback 🙂
(Also, I should mention that I’m absolutely happy to help you! I’m just curious about any thoughts you might have had about it already).
---
### Author:  [@nlb](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/nlb)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2020, 7:56am UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/3 "2020-12-20T07:56:32Z")
Grosso modo @ethancrawford invites you to try 😃. This is the sonic pi slogan : just try it !
---
### Author:  [@vinodv](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/vinodv)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2020, 8:11am UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/4 "2020-12-20T08:11:03Z")
I have tried in\_thread and 5.times. In between a sleep 1 added.
No success.
---
### Author:  [@ethancrawford](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/ethancrawford)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2020, 9:17am UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/5 "2020-12-20T09:17:25Z")
Sure, no problem 🙂 and the answer is yes, btw.
There are a couple of places in the documentation that are useful for what you’re after. I assume you’ve already seen the documentation for `run_file` in the ‘Lang’ section. Since you’re also after a way to loop, then it’s worth reading the Tutorial chapter that introduces that concept:
- Iteration and Loops: [https://sonic-pi.net/tutorial#section-5-2](https://sonic-pi.net/tutorial#section-5-2)
That alone would probably give you enough information to produce what you want.
However, the basic type of loop introduced in that chapter is only useful in limited circumstances - so it’s also (eventually) worth knowing about the more advanced type of loop, `live_loop`.
To fully grasp _that_, it helps to understand functions and threads too (since they are really what make up a live\_loop) - so might be worth reading up on these in turn:
- Threads: [https://sonic-pi.net/tutorial#section-5-4](https://sonic-pi.net/tutorial#section-5-4)
- Functions: [https://sonic-pi.net/tutorial#section-5-5](https://sonic-pi.net/tutorial#section-5-5)
… and finally,
- Live Coding: [https://sonic-pi.net/tutorial#section-9](https://sonic-pi.net/tutorial#section-9)
- Live Coding Fundamentals: [https://sonic-pi.net/tutorial#section-9-1](https://sonic-pi.net/tutorial#section-9-1), and
- Live Loops: [https://sonic-pi.net/tutorial#section-9-2](https://sonic-pi.net/tutorial#section-9-2).
Having said all that,
If we were to think about your goal here in your original question, in terms of a kind of ‘pseudo-code’, (ie, imaginary ‘almost code’) it’s probably _close_ to something as simple as this:
```ruby
begin loop
run_file(X)
sleep for the total **time** length of file X
end loop
```
(Oh yes, since `run_file` executes code in a separate thread, it will act as if the loop cycles around in zero time, so instead, you need to sleep for the same time duration that all of the commands in file X take).
I’d definitely encourage you to read through the above tutorial chapters though (the whole thing is useful honestly!), as that will give you a good foundation and there are Sonic Pi examples you can test as you go along 😄
Feel free to do that, continue to experiment, share code that you try, and share your thoughts during the process too (it’s definitely helpful to know that) - I hope we can continue to help you to have a successful and enjoyable Sonic Pi journey 🙂
---
### Author:  [@nlb](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/nlb)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2020, 12:28pm UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/6 "2020-12-20T12:28:24Z")
Ok the best thing to do is to show us your code. Without code, we can not tested or see the issues you meet.
See you
---
### Author:  [@vinodv](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/vinodv)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2020, 2:06pm UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/7 "2020-12-20T14:06:14Z")
define :foo do
run\_file(‘C:\Music\song.rb’)
end
live\_loop:a do
foo
sleep 1200 #total duration of file
end
The above code I tried. Did not work out.
---
### Author:  [@ethancrawford](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/ethancrawford)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2020, 2:08pm UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/8 "2020-12-20T14:08:19Z")
Hmm. Ok! In what way did it not work?
~~Ah. Is it giving you a giant gobbledygook error similar to this?~~ No, that would just be me using the wrong quotes 😂
If you show us screenshots or errors, or describe the problem, it’s a lot easier to understand what’s going on beyond ‘it didn’t work’ - particularly since we can’t see what’s in the external file 🙂
---
### Author:  [@robin.newman](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/robin.newman)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2020, 2:35pm UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/9 "2020-12-20T14:35:23Z")
It is possible to repeat a run\_file command, or indeed to have a series of different run\_file commands, rather like in a vlc playlist. What you need to realise is that using run\_file effectively sends one command to Sonic Pi instructing it to start running the code contained in the file. this effectively takes zero time tp execute, with the process being started in its own thread structure. So if you follow this with a second run\_file command it will effectively start at the same time, and the outputs of the two processes will be overlaid. What you want is for the second run+file command to be issued once the first file has completed. Note this will only be possible if the first file contains commands that will finish in a certain time. If it contains for example lust a live\_loop then it will continue playing indefinitely until stop is pressed.
If it is a sequence of commands that will complete, what you can do is to add a cue command right at the end. This can be be picked up by a sync statement in the programs that started the run\_file and used to allow the next runfile command to start.
I used this in the largest project I have ever done in Sonic Pi which was to code the entire [Mozart Requiem](https://youtu.be/6Q0vgcNcsdg), with a separate program for each of the14 movements. Each movement’s code sent a cue when it completed which allowed the next one to start. In most cases I added a 4 beat pause between each one. The main program is shown below to see how this worked. (note this won’t work on its own)
```ruby
#Mozart Requiem in D minor complete, coded by Robin Newman, December 2016
puts "Start"
run_file "~/Documents/Requiem/Requiem01Aeternam-samples-RF.rb"
sync :R2
use_bpm 60
sleep 4
run_file "~/Documents/Requiem/Requiem02Kyrie-samples-RF.rb"
sync :R3
sleep 4
run_file "~/Documents/Requiem/Requiem03DiesIrae-samples-RF.rb"
sync :R4
sleep 4
run_file "~/Documents/Requiem/Requiem04TubaMirum-samples-RF.rb"
sync :R5
sleep 4
run_file "~/Documents/Requiem/Requiem05RexTremendae-samples-RF.rb"
sync :R6
sleep 4
run_file "~/Documents/Requiem/Requiem06Recordare-samples-RF.rb"
sync :R7
sleep 4
run_file "~/Documents/Requiem/Requiem07Confutatis-samples-RF.rb"
sync :R8
#no gap. Straight on
run_file "~/Documents/Requiem/Requiem08Lacrimosa-samples-RF.rb"
sync :R9
sleep 4
run_file "~/Documents/Requiem/Requiem09DomineJesu-samples-RF.rb"
sync :R10
sleep 4
run_file "~/Documents/Requiem/Requiem10Hostias-samples-RF.rb"
sync :R11
sleep 4
run_file "~/Documents/Requiem/Requiem11Sanctus-samples-RF.rb"
sync :R12
sleep 4
run_file "~/Documents/Requiem/Requiem12Benedictus-samples-RF.rb"
sync :R13
sleep 4
run_file "~/Documents/Requiem/Requiem13AgnusDei-samples-RF.rb"
sync :R14
sleep 4
run_file "~/Documents/Requiem/Requiem14LuxAeterna-samples-RF.rb"
sync :R15
puts "Ended"
```
In this example the end of the first file contains the command `cue :R2` then end of the second one `cue :R3` etc
It is important in this case that the cues are accessed as symbols so that they can pass from one application (the running run\_file back to the main program eg :R2 instead of R2
---
### Author:  [@ethancrawford](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/ethancrawford)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2020, 2:38pm UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/10 "2020-12-20T14:38:13Z")
Fantastic reminder Robin, `sync` and `cue` are definitely a good choice if you don’t want to calculate the sleep times etc.
---
### Author:  [@vinodv](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/vinodv)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2020, 2:50pm UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/11 "2020-12-20T14:50:01Z")
The file got played only once and then stopped.
---
### Author:  [@ethancrawford](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/ethancrawford)
#### Post date: [December 20, 2020, 2:53pm UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/12 "2020-12-20T14:53:07Z")
Fair enough! Without the external file though, it is still pretty hard to know what exactly might be causing that 🙂
---
### Author:  [@vinodv](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/vinodv)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 1:17am UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/13 "2020-12-21T01:17:32Z")
loop code:
> define :foo do
> run\_file(‘C:\Music\song.rb’)
>
> end
> live\_loop:a do
> foo
> sleep 16
> end
song.rb contents
> use\_bpm 120
> use\_synth :piano
>
> n1 = [:r, :r, :G5, :F5]
> d1 = [2, 6, 2, 6]
> n2 = [:E2, :E3, :D2, :D3]
> d2 = [2, 6, 2, 6]
>
> in\_thread do
> play\_pattern\_timed n1,d1
> end
> play\_pattern\_timed n2,d2
There is a silence of 16 beats between repeated plays.
---
### Author:  [@ethancrawford](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/ethancrawford)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 2:11am UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/14 "2020-12-21T02:11:00Z")
Ah, yep. I can see how this might be a little confusing at first.
It’s _almost_ correct for what you’re after.
What’s happening here if I remember rightly (someone correct me otherwise!) is that roughly speaking, things like `use_bpm` only act upon the thread or live\_loop that they are written in. (They are ‘thread-local’).
Where you actually call `run_file`, (you could say, at the ‘top level’), all _that_ code runs in its own (top level) thread, and since there are no instructions there to change the BPM, it uses the default 60 BPM.
Since you have code in the external file to use a different BPM, when the external file runs in a separate thread, we end up with two threads using two different BPM.
A solution in this case is fairly simple: you can just add another `use_bpm 120` to the top of your ‘top level’ code - at the start of the buffer for example.
---
### Author:  [@Martin](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/Martin)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 6:41am UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/15 "2020-12-21T06:41:41Z")
Let me play the devil’s advocate this time: Unless this is a test scenario to check out how to use functions as well as the `run_file` command, I can not see any use of using a function or the `run_file` command in this case; it just makes thinks more complicated. My advice would be to start with simple constructions and then gradually use more complicated ones in case the simple ones do not provide what you need musically.
But again: this is just the devil’s advocate speaking. Everything is possible 😉 .
---
### Author:  [@vinodv](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/vinodv)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 3:08pm UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/16 "2020-12-21T15:08:47Z")
```
use_bpm 120
define :foo do
run_file('C:\Users\vinodv\Desktop\music\Keyboard\sonic\SonicPINotation\Willow_TaylorSwift_Test.rb')
end
live_loop:a do
foo
sleep 16
end
```
the above code works
---
### Author:  [@ethancrawford](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/ethancrawford)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 3:56pm UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/17 "2020-12-21T15:56:50Z")
Great!
Depending on your final goal for this project, there may be other ways to achieve the same result, like Martin says… (There is no right or wrong way of course, but who knows, maybe you don’t even need to call out to external files!).
If you’re happy with this one, good - but it never hurts to keep exploring! 😃
---
### Author:  [@samaaron](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/samaaron)
#### Post date: [December 21, 2020, 4:25pm UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/18 "2020-12-21T16:25:38Z")
One thing to try is:
```ruby
live_loop :repeating_file_call do
eval_file "C:/Music/song.rb"
end
```
Note that `run_file` will run the contents of the file as if you had pressed the Run button - this essentially creates a new thread to run the code so the thing that called `run_file` does not wait for it to finish (which is why you were having to explicitly call `sleep` to wait). However `eval_file` runs the contents of the file within the current thread as if it was a function call - so the existing thread will wait for it to finish before moving onto the next line.
---
### Author:  [@vinodv](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/u/vinodv)
#### Post date: [December 22, 2020, 6:55am UTC](https://in-thread.sonic-pi.net/t/run-file-command-in-a-loop/4827/19 "2020-12-22T06:55:47Z")
The code is working.