Building from Source

This guide covers building plugdata from source on all supported platforms. Building from source allows you to customize the build, add your own externals, or contribute to development.

Prerequisites

Required Tools

CMake 3.21 or later (required for CLAP plugin support)
Git with submodule support
Python 3 interpreter
Platform-specific build tools:
- macOS: Xcode or Xcode Command Line Tools
- Windows: Visual Studio 2019 or 2022
- Linux: GCC or Clang, Make

Linux Dependencies

On Linux, JUCE framework requires specific system dependencies. You must install these before building.

Refer to the JUCE Linux Dependencies documentation and use the full command to install all required packages. Typical dependencies include:

libasound2-dev
libx11-dev
libxrandr-dev
libxinerama-dev
libxcursor-dev
libfreetype6-dev
libwebkit2gtk-4.0-dev
libglu1-mesa-dev

Clone the Repository

Build Configuration

Basic Build

CMake Build Options

Customize your build with CMake options using -D<OPTION>=<VALUE>:

Performance Options

Option	Default	Description
`QUICK_BUILD`	`OFF`	Skip slow-to-compile features (Gem, sfizz, ffmpeg) for faster iteration
`CMAKE_BUILD_TYPE`	`Release`	Build type: `Release`, `Debug`, `RelWithDebInfo`

Feature Toggles

Option	Default	Description
`ENABLE_GEM`	`ON`	Enable Gem graphics and video library
`ENABLE_SFIZZ`	`ON`	Enable sfizz library for `[sfz~]` object
`ENABLE_FFMPEG`	`ON`	Enable FFmpeg for audio/video file playback
`ENABLE_PERFETTO`	`OFF`	Enable Perfetto performance profiling (advanced)
`ENABLE_TESTING`	`OFF`	Enable end-to-end test suite

Advanced Options

Option	Default	Description
`ENABLE_ASAN`	`OFF`	Enable AddressSanitizer for debugging memory issues
`ENABLE_WAYLAND`	`OFF`	Enable native Wayland support (Linux, experimental)
`MACOS_LEGACY`	`OFF`	Support older macOS versions (10.11+, x86_64 only)

Example Configurations

cmake .. -DQUICK_BUILD=1 -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug

cmake .. -DENABLE_GEM=0 -DENABLE_SFIZZ=0 -DENABLE_FFMPEG=0

cmake .. -DENABLE_GEM=1 -DENABLE_SFIZZ=1 -DENABLE_FFMPEG=1

cmake .. -DENABLE_PERFETTO=1 -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release

Performance Profiling with Perfetto

Perfetto provides detailed performance analysis of DSP and UI operations.

Platform-Specific Notes

macOS

Deployment Targets:

Standard: macOS 10.15+ (Universal Binary: arm64 + x86_64)
Legacy: macOS 10.11+ (x86_64 only) with MACOS_LEGACY=ON
iOS: iOS 12.0+

Metal Rendering: Metal is enabled by default on macOS for better performance. Use NANOVG_METAL_IMPLEMENTATION=OFF to disable.

Windows

Visual Studio:

Tested with VS 2019 and VS 2022
Use x64 architecture: -A x64
ASIO support is automatically included

Runtime Library: Uses static runtime linking: MultiThreaded[Debug]

Linux

Audio Backends:

ALSA (enabled by default)
JACK (enabled by default)

Wayland Support (Experimental):

cmake .. -DENABLE_WAYLAND=1

Requires: wayland-client, wayland-cursor, xkbcommon, libdecor-0, egl

BSD

On BSD systems, Gem and sfizz are automatically disabled due to compatibility issues.

Build Outputs

After building, plugins and standalone app are located in:

Plugins/
├── Standalone/
│   └── plugdata          # Standalone application
├── VST3/
│   ├── plugdata.vst3     # Instrument plugin
│   └── plugdata-fx.vst3  # Effect plugin
├── AU/                   # macOS only
│   ├── plugdata.component
│   ├── plugdata-fx.component
│   └── plugdata-midi.component
├── LV2/
│   ├── plugdata.lv2
│   └── plugdata-fx.lv2
└── CLAP/
    ├── plugdata.clap
    └── plugdata-fx.clap

Installing

To install system-wide:

sudo cmake --install .

Platform-specific install locations are configured in CMakeLists.txt (lines 887-932).

Troubleshooting

CMake Version Too Old

Warning: Building CLAP plugins requires at least cmake 3.21

Solution: Update CMake or disable CLAP builds (VST3/AU/LV2 still work).

Submodules Not Initialized

Error: Missing required dependencies

Solution: Run git submodule update --init --recursive

Python Not Found

FATAL_ERROR: Python3 not found - required for build scripts

Solution: Install Python 3 and ensure it’s in your PATH.

Linux Missing Dependencies

Solution: Install all JUCE dependencies as listed in the Linux Dependencies documentation.

Getting Started

Core Concepts

User Guide

Objects Reference

Advanced

Resources

Building from Source

Prerequisites

Required Tools

Linux Dependencies

Clone the Repository

Build Configuration

Basic Build

CMake Build Options

Performance Options

Feature Toggles

Advanced Options

Example Configurations

Performance Profiling with Perfetto

Platform-Specific Notes

macOS

Windows

Linux

BSD

Build Outputs

Installing

Troubleshooting

CMake Version Too Old

Submodules Not Initialized

Python Not Found

Linux Missing Dependencies

Next Steps

Adding Externals

Performance Optimization

​Prerequisites

​Required Tools

​Linux Dependencies

​Clone the Repository

​Build Configuration

​Basic Build

​CMake Build Options

​Performance Options

​Feature Toggles

​Advanced Options

​Example Configurations

​Performance Profiling with Perfetto

​Platform-Specific Notes

​macOS

​Windows

​Linux

​BSD

​Build Outputs

​Installing

​Troubleshooting

​CMake Version Too Old

​Submodules Not Initialized

​Python Not Found

​Linux Missing Dependencies

​Next Steps

Adding Externals

Performance Optimization

Prerequisites

Required Tools

Linux Dependencies

Clone the Repository

Build Configuration

Basic Build

CMake Build Options

Performance Options

Feature Toggles

Advanced Options

Example Configurations

Performance Profiling with Perfetto

Platform-Specific Notes

macOS

Windows

Linux

BSD

Build Outputs

Installing

Troubleshooting

CMake Version Too Old

Submodules Not Initialized

Python Not Found

Linux Missing Dependencies

Next Steps