Getting Started

Lightfall is a modern control system for scientific data acquisition and hardware controls. This guide introduces the main concepts and helps you get started with your first experiment.

Overview

Lightfall provides a unified interface for:

  • Data Acquisition: Run scans and measurements using Bluesky plans

  • Device Control: Monitor and control beamline hardware

  • Experiment Documentation: Automatic logbook entries for your experiments

  • AI Assistance: Natural language control and help via Claude assistant

Application Layout

When you launch Lightfall, you’ll see a window with several key areas:

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│  Menu Bar                                                       │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Toolbar (RunEngine controls, quick actions)                    │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                                                                 │
│   ┌─────────────────────┐    ┌────────────────────────────┐     │
│   │                     │    │                            │     │
│   │  Left Panels        │    │  Right Panels              │     │
│   │  (Claude, Bluesky,  │    │  (Logbook)                 │     │
│   │   Devices - tabbed) │    │                            │     │
│   │                     │    │                            │     │
│   └─────────────────────┘    └────────────────────────────┘     │
│                                                                 │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│  Status Bar (user info, session time, connection status)        │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Main Panels

Lightfall uses a dockable panel system. The default layout includes:

Panel

Purpose

Bluesky

Select and run data acquisition plans

Devices

Browse and control hardware devices

Logbook

View experiment documentation

Claude

AI assistant for help and automation

Panels can be rearranged by dragging their title bars, and additional panels are available from the View menu.

Quick Start Workflow

A typical experiment workflow in Lightfall:

  1. Log In: Authenticate with your credentials (see Logging In)

  2. Check Devices: Verify your hardware is connected in the Devices panel

  3. Select a Plan: Choose a data acquisition plan in the Bluesky panel

  4. Configure Parameters: Set detectors, motors, and scan ranges

  5. Run the Plan: Click Run to start data acquisition

  6. Review Results: Check the Logbook for automatic documentation

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut

Action

Ctrl+,

Open Preferences

Ctrl+Q

Quit application

F1

Context help

Next Steps