Installation

System Requirements

Before installing plugdata, ensure your system meets these minimum requirements:

Windows

Windows 10 or later
x64 processor
VST3, LV2, or CLAP compatible DAW (for plugin use)

macOS

macOS 10.15 Catalina or later (standard builds)
macOS 10.11 El Capitan or later (legacy builds)
Intel or Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) processor
AU, VST3, LV2, or CLAP compatible DAW (for plugin use)

Linux

Modern Linux distribution (Ubuntu 20.04+, Fedora 35+, Arch, etc.)
x64 processor
VST3, LV2, or CLAP compatible DAW (for plugin use)
JACK, ALSA, or PulseAudio for audio

Linux users need JUCE framework dependencies installed. See the Linux Dependencies section below.

iOS

iOS 12.0 or later
AUv3 compatible host application
iPad or iPhone

Installation Methods

Windows
macOS
Linux
iOS

Windows Installation

Download the installer

Visit the official releases page and download the Windows installer (.exe file) for the latest stable version.

For experimental/beta features, you can download recent builds from the plugdata website.

Run the installer

Double-click the downloaded installer and follow the installation wizard. The installer will:

Install the plugdata standalone application to C:\Program Files\plugdata\
Install VST3 plugins to C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\
Install LV2 plugins to C:\Program Files\Common Files\LV2\
Install CLAP plugins to C:\Program Files\Common Files\CLAP\
Create Start Menu shortcuts

Launch plugdata

You can now launch plugdata from:

Start Menu → plugdata
Desktop shortcut (if created during installation)
Or load it as a plugin in your DAW

Plugin Locations

After installation, plugins will be available at:

VST3: C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\plugdata.vst3
VST3: C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\plugdata-fx.vst3
LV2:  C:\Program Files\Common Files\LV2\plugdata.lv2
LV2:  C:\Program Files\Common Files\LV2\plugdata-fx.lv2
CLAP: C:\Program Files\Common Files\CLAP\plugdata.clap
CLAP: C:\Program Files\Common Files\CLAP\plugdata-fx.clap

macOS Installation

Choose your installation method

Option 1: Official Installer (Recommended)

Download the macOS installer (.dmg file) from the official releases page.

Option 2: Homebrew Cask

Install using Homebrew (may not always be the latest version):

brew install --cask plugdata

The Homebrew cask is maintained by the community and may lag behind official releases.

Install from DMG

Open the downloaded .dmg file
Drag the plugdata application to your Applications folder
The installer will also copy plugins to their standard locations
Eject the DMG when complete

First launch - Security

On first launch, macOS may block the application because it’s not from the App Store:

Go to System Preferences → Security & Privacy
Click “Open Anyway” for plugdata
Confirm you want to open the application

Alternatively, right-click the application and select “Open” to bypass Gatekeeper.

Grant permissions

plugidata may request permissions for:

Microphone: For audio input functionality
Camera: For video processing with Gem objects (optional)
Local Network: For network communication features

Grant these permissions based on your intended use.

Plugin Locations

Plugins are installed to standard macOS locations:

AU:   /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/Components/plugdata.component
AU:   /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/Components/plugdata-fx.component
AU:   /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/Components/plugdata-midi.component
VST3: /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST3/plugdata.vst3
VST3: /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST3/plugdata-fx.vst3
LV2:  /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/LV2/plugdata.lv2
LV2:  /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/LV2/plugdata-fx.lv2
CLAP: /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/CLAP/plugdata.clap
CLAP: /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/CLAP/plugdata-fx.clap

Apple Silicon vs Intel

Standard builds are Universal binaries containing both Apple Silicon and Intel code. The correct version runs automatically based on your processor.

Linux Installation

Install system dependencies

First, install required JUCE framework dependencies for your distribution:

Ubuntu/Debian

sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install libasound2-dev libcurl4-openssl-dev libfreetype6-dev \
  libx11-dev libxcomposite-dev libxcursor-dev libxinerama-dev libxrandr-dev \
  libxrender-dev libwebkit2gtk-4.0-dev libglu1-mesa-dev mesa-common-dev

Fedora

sudo dnf install alsa-lib-devel freetype-devel libX11-devel \
  libXcomposite-devel libXcursor-devel libXinerama-devel libXrandr-devel \
  libXrender-devel webkit2gtk3-devel mesa-libGLU-devel

Arch Linux

sudo pacman -S alsa-lib freetype2 libx11 libxcomposite libxcursor \
  libxinerama libxrandr libxrender webkit2gtk glu

Choose your installation method

Option 1: OBS Repository (Recommended)

The OBS (Open Build Service) provides packages for multiple distributions:

Visit the OBS plugdata page
Select your distribution
Follow the distribution-specific instructions to add the repository
Install packages:

Standalone:

sudo apt install plugdata          # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dnf install plugdata          # Fedora
sudo zypper install plugdata       # openSUSE

VST3 Plugin:

sudo apt install plugdata-vst3     # Debian/Ubuntu
sudo dnf install vst3-plugdata     # Fedora/RPM distros

LV2 Plugin:

sudo apt install plugdata-lv2      # Debian/Ubuntu  
sudo dnf install lv2-plugdata      # Fedora/RPM distros

Package names vary between Debian-based and RPM-based distributions. Check the OBS page for your specific distribution.

Option 2: Arch User Repository (AUR)

Arch users can install from AUR:Stable release:

yay -S plugdata-bin
# or
paru -S plugdata-bin

Latest experimental build:

yay -S plugdata-git
# or  
paru -S plugdata-git

Option 3: Official Release Binaries

Download the Linux binaries from the official releases page:

Download the .tar.gz or .zip archive
Extract the archive
Run the standalone: ./plugdata
Or copy plugins to appropriate directories (see below)

Manual plugin installation (if using binaries)

If you downloaded binaries manually, copy plugins to:

# VST3 plugins
mkdir -p ~/.vst3
cp -r plugdata.vst3 ~/.vst3/
cp -r plugdata-fx.vst3 ~/.vst3/

# LV2 plugins
mkdir -p ~/.lv2
cp -r plugdata.lv2 ~/.lv2/
cp -r plugdata-fx.lv2 ~/.lv2/

# CLAP plugins
mkdir -p ~/.clap
cp plugdata.clap ~/.clap/
cp plugdata-fx.clap ~/.clap/

Linux Dependencies

For audio I/O, plugdata supports:

JACK (recommended for pro audio)
ALSA (direct hardware access)
PulseAudio (general desktop audio)

Make sure at least one of these is installed and configured.

iOS Installation

Download from the App Store

While plugdata can be sideloaded, the easiest method is downloading from the iOS App Store (if available) or through TestFlight for beta versions.Alternatively, download the .ipa file from the releases page for sideloading.

Install AUv3 plugins

The iOS version includes:

plugdata standalone app with document browser
plugdata-instrument AUv3 plugin
plugdata-fx AUv3 plugin

After installation, the AUv3 plugins will be available in compatible hosts like:

GarageBand
Cubasis
AUM
Beatmaker
And other AUv3-compatible DAWs

Grant permissions

iOS will request permission for:

Microphone access (for audio input)
Files and folders (for patch storage)

Grant these to enable full functionality.

Verifying Installation

To verify plugdata is correctly installed:

Standalone

Launch the plugdata standalone application
You should see the main interface with a blank canvas
Go to File → New to create a patch
If the interface loads correctly, installation is successful

Plugin

Open your DAW
Rescan plugins (if necessary)
Look for “plugdata” or “plugdata-fx” in your plugin list
Load the plugin on a track
The plugdata interface should appear in a plugin window

If plugins don’t appear in your DAW, verify they’re installed in the correct location for your DAW’s plugin search paths.

Experimental Builds

For the latest features and bug fixes between releases, you can download experimental builds from the plugdata website.

Experimental builds may contain bugs or unstable features. Use stable releases for production work.

Building from Source

Advanced users can build plugdata from source:

Clone the repository

git clone --recursive https://github.com/plugdata-team/plugdata.git
cd plugdata

The --recursive flag is crucial - it initializes all required git submodules. If you forget it, run: git submodule update --init --recursive

Install build dependencies

CMake 3.21 or later (3.21+ required for CLAP plugin support)
C++20 compatible compiler (GCC 10+, Clang 12+, MSVC 2019+)
Python 3 (for build scripts)
Platform-specific dependencies:
- Linux: JUCE dependencies (see Linux installation section)
- macOS: Xcode command line tools
- Windows: Visual Studio 2019 or later

Configure and build

mkdir build && cd build
cmake ..
cmake --build . --config Release

Specify generator (optional):

# Unix Makefiles
cmake -G "Unix Makefiles" ..

# Xcode
cmake -G "Xcode" ..

# Visual Studio
cmake -G "Visual Studio 17 2022" -A x64 ..

Build options (optional)

Customize your build with CMake options:

# Fast build (skips Gem, sfz~, ffmpeg)
cmake -DQUICK_BUILD=1 ..

# Disable specific components
cmake -DENABLE_GEM=0 -DENABLE_SFIZZ=0 -DENABLE_FFMPEG=0 ..

# Enable performance tracing
cmake -DENABLE_PERFETTO=1 ..

# Enable testing suite
cmake -DENABLE_TESTING=1 ..

Install (optional)

cmake --install . --config Release

This copies plugins to system plugin directories.

Next Steps

Now that plugdata is installed, proceed to the Quickstart Guide to create your first patch and learn the interface.

Getting Started

Core Concepts

User Guide

Objects Reference

Advanced

Resources

System Requirements

Windows

macOS

Linux

iOS

Installation Methods

Windows Installation

Plugin Locations

macOS Installation

Option 1: Official Installer (Recommended)

Option 2: Homebrew Cask

Plugin Locations

Apple Silicon vs Intel

Linux Installation

Ubuntu/Debian

Fedora

Arch Linux

Option 1: OBS Repository (Recommended)

Option 2: Arch User Repository (AUR)

Option 3: Official Release Binaries

Linux Dependencies

iOS Installation

Verifying Installation

Standalone

Plugin

Experimental Builds

Building from Source

Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

Getting Started

Core Concepts

User Guide

Objects Reference

Advanced

Resources

​System Requirements

​Windows

​macOS

​Linux

​iOS

​Installation Methods

​Windows Installation

​Plugin Locations

​macOS Installation

​Option 1: Official Installer (Recommended)

​Option 2: Homebrew Cask

​Plugin Locations

​Apple Silicon vs Intel

​Linux Installation

​Ubuntu/Debian

​Fedora

​Arch Linux

​Option 1: OBS Repository (Recommended)

​Option 2: Arch User Repository (AUR)

​Option 3: Official Release Binaries

​Linux Dependencies

​iOS Installation

​Verifying Installation

​Standalone

​Plugin

​Experimental Builds

​Building from Source

​Next Steps

Build docs developers (and LLMs) love

System Requirements

Windows

macOS

Linux

iOS

Installation Methods

Windows Installation

Plugin Locations

macOS Installation

Option 1: Official Installer (Recommended)

Option 2: Homebrew Cask

Plugin Locations

Apple Silicon vs Intel

Linux Installation

Ubuntu/Debian

Fedora

Arch Linux

Option 1: OBS Repository (Recommended)

Option 2: Arch User Repository (AUR)

Option 3: Official Release Binaries

Linux Dependencies

iOS Installation

Verifying Installation

Standalone

Plugin

Experimental Builds

Building from Source

Next Steps