Installation

New in v1.6

Update 01Platform

Mac

Native macOS

First-class macOS support on Apple Silicon. Code-signed VST3 and AU exports, AU validation passing, ships as a single signed .dmg.

Update 02Sound

WT

Wavetable Osc Refresh

Built-in test waveforms (Saw, Sine, Square, Noise, and more), anti-alias mip at the top end, preserved phase for asymmetric shapes, sidebands dropped ~57 dB.

Update 03Plugins

⇲

Resizable Plugin Windows

VST3 and AU plugins now resize cleanly on macOS, with DPI-aware refresh when the host changes scale. WASAPI driver support on Windows.

Update 04Workflow

∿

Live Hoverscopes

Hover any pin or wire to see the signal as a mini live scope. Now works on GUI modules and IO modules, with improved hit-testing on pins and lines.

Update 05Skins

◧

Project-Specific Skins

Drop a sister folder next to your project (e.g. mysynth.skin/) and SynthEdit searches it first for skins and fonts. A _fallback skin holds your custom assets, plus a new “Browse to Project Skin” menu.

See the full changelog for every release in the v1.6 line.

Download

A free 60-day demo is available that lets you explore the full feature set, including exporting your work as VST or AU plugins. After 60 days you’ll need a license to keep using SynthEdit.

A license costs €170 — a single payment covering all current versions, with no subscription and no royalties on what you export. The experimental Linux build is free while it’s in preview.

macOS

Download for Mac (.dmg)

Requires an Apple Silicon Mac (M1, M2, or later) running macOS Tahoe or later.

1. Open the .dmg file
2. Drag SynthEdit to your Applications folder
3. Launch SynthEdit from Applications

Windows

Download for Windows (.exe)

Requires Windows 10 version 1809 (build 17763) or newer, 64-bit.

1. Download and run SynthEdit-Setup.exe.
2. The signed installer unpacks the MSIX payload, installs the required Windows framework dependencies, then installs SynthEdit. No administrator prompts; no certificate to trust.
3. SynthEdit launches automatically when the install finishes. Next time, launch it from the Start menu (search “Synth Edit”).

Linux (experimental)

Experimental preview

The Linux build is an early, experimental port and is not feature-complete. The editor runs only on Wayland — there is no X11 build of it. Plugins you export carry no such restriction and load in X11 and Wayland hosts alike. It’s free to try while in preview, but expect rough edges — see the limitations below.

Download for Linux (.tar.gz)

Requirements

• 64-bit x86 Linux with glibc 2.39 or newer — e.g. Ubuntu 24.04+, Fedora 40+, or equivalent
• A Wayland desktop session — required to run the editor. SynthEdit is a native Wayland client with no toolkit and no X11 path, so it will not start under a legacy X11-only session (and there is no XWayland fallback). Any current GNOME, KDE Plasma or Sway session is fine. This applies to the editor only — see Exported plugins below for what your plugins need.
• Standard desktop libraries (libdecor, xkbcommon, harfbuzz, freetype, fontconfig, PipeWire for audio, ALSA for MIDI) — preinstalled on any normal desktop distro

Install and run

tar -xzf SynthEdit-linux-x64.tar.gz
cd SynthEdit
./SynthEdit

The PlugIns/ folder next to the executable holds the factory modules; third-party modules are scanned from ~/.local/share/SynthEdit/modules.

Audio and MIDI

Audio output goes through PipeWire, to the system default device — there is no JACK or plain-ALSA audio backend. The engine starts automatically; toggle it with Audio > Run. MIDI input uses the ALSA sequencer, and every connected MIDI device is opened by default, so a plugged-in keyboard just works.

Edit > Preferences (Ctrl+,) sets the sample rate, buffer size and MIDI input/output. Changes take effect immediately — a running engine is restarted for you. The audio device list currently offers only PipeWire’s default sink; to send SynthEdit somewhere else, route it in your desktop’s own sound settings.

If you hear dropouts

PipeWire decides the audio period itself, so Buffer size is a request rather than a guarantee.

• Match SynthEdit’s Sample Rate to the one PipeWire is using (pw-metadata -n settings | grep rate) so nothing has to be resampled.
• Give audio threads realtime priority — adding yourself to the pipewire group is usually enough (sudo usermod -aG pipewire $USER, then log out and back in).
• Audio inside a virtual machine is emulated and glitches regardless of these settings; a larger buffer in your VM’s audio settings helps.

Editing

Insert modules by double-clicking them in the browser (or single-click one, then click the canvas where it should go). Tabs above the canvas track each open container view (middle-click closes a tab), the canvas pans via scrollbars / mouse wheel and zooms with Ctrl+wheel, and the usual keyboard shortcuts work (Ctrl+Z/Y, Ctrl+X/C/V, Delete, Ctrl+N/O/S, F5 toggles audio).

Exported plugins

Linux export ships, but like the rest of the Linux port it is very new — treat it as experimental and test your plugin in the hosts you care about.

The Wayland requirement applies to the editor, not to what you build with it. A plugin exported on Linux carries no dependency on the editor’s Wayland backend. It ships with both display-server paths in the one binary and picks between them when the host opens its window:

• Wayland where the host supports it — the kPlatformTypeWaylandSurfaceID embedding added in VST3 3.8.0.
• X11 everywhere else — the long-standing kPlatformTypeX11EmbedWindowID. This is the path an X11 DAW such as Ardour takes, and also what a Wayland desktop gets when the host embeds its plugins through XWayland.

The choice is made by asking the host what it supports, not by looking at your desktop session — only the host knows which one it actually uses. So there’s one build to ship, and your users don’t need a Wayland session to run your plugin.

Not working yet

• Picking a specific audio output device (only PipeWire’s default sink is offered)
• Multiple windows (tear-out)

You can open, edit, and save projects, and the full structure view renders natively. Feedback to jef@synthedit.com is very welcome.

AI Assistant Support

To drive SynthEdit from Claude Code, Cursor, or any other MCP-compatible AI assistant, you need the headless SynthEditCL command-line tool. The setup differs slightly by platform:

macOS — already done. SynthEditCL ships inside SynthEdit.app. Skip ahead to the MCP connector guide to wire up your AI host. (Prefer not to install the GUI? A standalone SynthEditCL_mac.zip is also available — unzip it and point SE_CLI at SynthEditCL.app/Contents/MacOS/SynthEditCL.)

Windows — install the standalone command-line tool. Works with or without the GUI.

Download SynthEditCL Installer (.exe)

1. Run the installer
2. Tick “Add to PATH” if you want SynthEditCL.exe available system-wide (recommended)
3. Continue to the MCP connector guide to configure your AI host

Linux — download the standalone command-line tool. Fully headless: no Wayland session, no GPU — it works over ssh and in CI, so it isn’t limited by the editor’s experimental status.

Download SynthEditCL for Linux (.tar.gz)

1. Extract into /opt or your home directory: tar -xzf SynthEditCL-linux-x64.tar.gz — the MCP server auto-detects /opt/SynthEditCL/ and ~/SynthEditCL/, as well as SynthEditCL on your PATH. (Extracted somewhere else? Set SE_CLI to the extracted SynthEditCL/SynthEditCL executable in your MCP host config.)
2. Continue to the MCP connector guide to configure your AI host

Common Issues

Module XML Problems

This happens when a third-party module has typos in its XML definition. The fix is to get the latest update for those modules from their original developer — newer versions correct these mistakes.

Scrolling or Zooming Past the Document Bounds

You can now scroll and zoom beyond the edges of the document. This is intentional — it lets you position the part of the document you’re working on comfortably within the view.

Slight Delay When Resizing the Module Browser

There is a slight delay when you adjust the size of the module browser. This is intentional — it reduces the load on your graphics card from recreating a fresh swapchain on every size change.

Recent Releases

Recent changes and fixes. View full changelog

Unreleased

• same-type GUI wires no longer round-trip through text
• Voice Allocator strategies - Round Robin, with Glide, Mono, Highest Note Glides
• RenderBitmap draws 8-bit masks
• Mask2Bitmap reads any input format, not just an 8-bit mask
• GUI value sent from a GMPI editor’s initialize() reaches its wire
• GUI modules upstream of an auto-duplicated input are processed first
• ‘Value’ (PatchMemGet) outputs the patch value on the DSP side too
• ‘Text to Mask’ x2 pin renders at twice the DPI
• ‘Text to Mask’ GUI module - text rendered to an 8-bit mask bitmap
• ‘Style Switch’ GUI module - an int picks one of its auto-duplicating Style inputs
• ‘Point’ and ‘Multiline’ GUI modules
• ‘Path to Mask’ GUI module - a path rendered to an 8-bit mask
• ‘Meter Value’ (PatchMemMeter) - a DSP float input drives the parameter, for meters
• ‘Blur2’ GUI module - blurs an 8-bit mask into an 8-bit mask
• ‘Bits To Int’ GUI module - auto-duplicating bool inputs, one bit each

v1.6.216 — 2026-10-01

• MIDI message to steal a physical voice, fading it out in 20ms
• MIDI 2.0 note-on can pick its physical voice, and carry a per-note glide start

v1.6.215 — 2026-10-01

• keep editor panes off DWM overlay planes, to stop monitor flicker

v1.6.214 — 2026-09-30

• oversampler upsampling filter matches the FIR quality setting
• notify the DAW when plugin state changes outside its parameters
• improvements to CPU graph accuracy and responsiveness
• crash on exit after MIDI Out device failed to open
• better hit testing no resize nodes
• VST3 marks the DAW project dirty on non-parameter state changes
• AU state-change notification throttled by timer ticks
• AU notifies the DAW of non-parameter state changes

v1.6.213 — 2026-09-29

• fix unneeded ‘save changes’
• crash on exit after MIDI Out device failed to open
• MIDI Out driver not started unless it’s in use

v1.6.212 — 2026-09-28

• MIDI output working again in VST3 plugins
• MIDI learn save/recall in VST3 plugins
• MIDI Out working in editor

v1.6.211 — 2026-09-25

• paste keeps z-order, so Containerise/Un-containerise no longer reverse it
• lower GUI CPU (no timers on scope parameters)
• better hit-test of mouse over blue selected-module outline
• GMPI module controllers run in exported plugins

v1.6.210 — 2026-09-23

• WorkSemaphore default constructor on Windows/Linux
• GUI float wired to a text pin showed garbage (e.g. a CJK character)

v1.6.208 — 2026-09-23

• WavetableLoader builds for macOS 10.15 (no std::counting_semaphore)
• SubControls4 GmpiUiTest builds for macOS 10.15 (no float std::format)
• Randomise Parameters module, controllers use ControllerBase
• Last Parameter Update module, Diagnostics2 modules under ‘SDK Examples’

v1.6.206 — 2026-09-23

• skip exporting a patch parameter that has neither module nor host control
• scope and analyser backgrounds ignored the display’s DPI scale
• Voice/Active no longer makes its target module polyphonic
• Ctrl+X / Ctrl+C / Ctrl+V in the editor view
• Ctrl+A / Ctrl+Z / Ctrl+Y / Ctrl+D, and guard Undo/Redo

v1.6.204 — 2026-09-16

• mac plugin GUI left a container unpainted when a sibling module invalidated during render
• [0262] fix Polyphony Control audio pin (should be float)
• MPE per-note expression follows the latest note on the channel, not every stale key
• MPE key rotation no longer sticks to a spare key; All Notes Off releases the mapper

v1.6.202 — 2026-09-15

• fix crash when loading projects containing ROY_MPACK_LTE.sem
• GUI strings lost through ‘String Concat GUI’ on auto-duplicated pins

v1.6.201 — 2026-09-10

• OS Rate module - remove Windows-only _RPTN trace (Linux build)

v1.6.199 — 2026-09-10

• fix crash when containerising
• add missing CMakeLists.txt for Diagnostics2 module
• [0251] improved contrast of Properties Browser (light mode)
• Per-note Controllers now include MPE note bender
• Fix Text Entry crashing when clicking on Properties Browser

v1.6.198 — 2026-09-09

• MIDI-CV2 new pin ‘Disable Bender’
• ‘MIDI Message’ module now sends long multi-part messages individually

Demo vs Full Version

Feature	Demo	Full Version
Build synths	Yes	Yes
All modules	Yes	Yes
Save projects	Yes	Yes
Export VST/AU plugins	Yes	Yes
Time limit	60 days	None
Price	Free	€170, paid once

The demo is fully featured — you can build synths, save projects, and export commercial-quality VST or AU plugins for the full 60 days. After that, a license keeps everything working with no further restrictions.

Activation

Licenses are handled through Moonbase, our new licensing partner (the previous provider, ShareIt, has closed down).

To activate your copy:

1. In SynthEdit, open the registration settings and click the Activate button
2. This launches the Moonbase website in your browser
3. Create a Moonbase account using the email address associated with your SynthEdit license

Most existing customers’ email addresses have already been imported into Moonbase, so activation should work straight away. If you hit any trouble, email jef@synthedit.com and Jeff will sort it out.

Next Steps

Once installed, follow the Your First Synth guide to build something right away.