Optimist
A modular firmware for the M-VAVE FM-1: pick what goes into your FM-1, build it in the browser, try it in the browser, install it from the browser.
- Custom firmware
- Alpha
- Medium brick risk
- Reversible
This project hasn't been claimed by its maintainer yet, so its details come from the community. Is it yours? Claim it
Before you start
- How hard is it?
- EasyCopy a file or use a web page. No extra software.
- What you need
- A USB or MIDI cable
- Comfort with the command line
- A computer
- Can it break my device?
- Small chance of trouble, with a way to recover.
- Can I undo it?
- Yes. You can go back to the official software.
Did it work for you?
Did Optimist v0.2 work on your M-VAVE FM-1?
No reports yet for v0.2.
One-tap reports from owners. Bricked reports are checked before they count.
Compatibility
Devices: M-VAVE FM-1.
No compatibility information yet.
Getting started
From the project's README ("Your first install"):
- Back up. Open the Editor, Connect, then Backup: one .optimist-backup file with your projects, presets, kits and settings (tick with the samples for those too). Coming from another firmware, use its own backup as well.
- Open Install: Connect says what your FM-1 runs, Choose a release and a flavour (or your cloud build, or a file), Install and wait for Done.
- The FM-1 restarts into Optimist. If an install is cut off, the FM-1 stays in update mode: press Install again.
Your projects, presets, kits and samples live above the firmware: an install writes only the firmware area. Data that Optimist cannot read may not be kept, except SLOOP's: SLOOP 2.7 data is kept (below).
Coming from SLOOP 2.7: Optimist erases nothing of SLOOP's. Its sections stay in flash and show as SLOOP on the PROJECT page; LOAD twice imports one (SLOOP IMPORT takes its autosave), SAVE keeps the import. The editor can export the working project as a SLOOP 2.7 song file to go the other way.
Risk and recovery
- Brick risk
- Medium
- Reversible
- Yes
- Requires opening the device
- No
From the project's README ("Getting back"):
- To the official firmware: in Install, step 4, take the copy of M-VAVE's FM-1 V15 the site keeps (or your own FM-1.fwsc from m-vave.com, unchanged) and install it. Or use M-VAVE's own updater, M-UPGRADE. The official firmware does not read Optimist's data: back it up first.
- The FM-1 does not start Optimist: hold OCT− alone while switching on (OPTIMIST USB RESCUE), then install again. After two start-ups that crash, the FM-1 goes there by itself.
- Nothing starts at all: hold OCT− + OCT+ while switching on and keep them held for 3 s: the chip's own update mode (UBOOT; the screen stays dark). Then M-UPGRADE, or tools/fm1rescue.py from this repository (macOS; from X0X: it backs up the whole flash first and writes only the firmware area), or FM-1-transporter.
Releases
| Version | Name | Released |
|---|---|---|
| toolchain-pi32v2-llvm-4f631b31b-e575321 | pi32v2-llvm drop-in 4f631b31b-e575321 (compiler toolchain)Pre-release | 29 October 2026 |
| v0.2 | Optimist 0.2Latest | 25 October 2026 |
| cloud-builds | Cloud buildsPre-release | 19 October 2026 |
| v0.1 | Optimist 0.1 | 18 October 2026 |
Credits, license and support
- License
- GPL-3.0