Installation

New in v1.6

Update 01Platform

Mac

Native macOS

First-class macOS support on Apple Silicon and Intel. 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.

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”).

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.

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

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

v1.6.150 — 2026-07-03

• remove simdutf entirely; deterministic UTF conversion
• pick pin colours from a native colour picker in the Properties Browser
• hide the value editor for connected pins in the Properties Browser
• forward colour-picker dialog creation through the module host chain
• edit struct:color pins in the Properties Browser (hex + swatch)
• draw Object-pin connectors purple on structure view
• deliver struct:color pin defaults to In<Color> on view creation

v1.6.149 — 2026-07-02

• soften the Properties Browser divider highlight to grey
• set HostedView isCaptured unconditionally so the OS-cursor poll runs for no-button drags
• right-click context menu now works on panel-view modules
• resize the Properties Browser columns by dragging the divider
• left-align all value fields and tick boxes in Properties Browser
• keep in-place edit alive across a caret-reposition click
• keep TopStripLayout routing in sync with logical capture (pickup-drag auto-scroll)
• highlight the hovered row in the Properties Browser
• headless mouse + keyboard injection for panel GUI testing
• add a Layout section (X/Y/W/H) to the Properties Browser in panel view

v1.6.148 — 2026-07-01

• suppress leading context-menu separator in WinUI menu
• migrate Mac MIDI automation dialog to RawView SetValue
• fix crash when attempting to open non-wav file in waveplayer
• double-click a MouseTarget to edit the NumberEntry beneath it
• click to position the caret while editing a NumberEntry
• NumberEntry units get their own (smaller) Style
• NumberEntry edits in-place in the control’s own style
• NumberEntry auto decimal places (-1)
• NumberEntry auto -1 uses 2 dp below 0.1 (was 3)
• NumberEntry -2 auto-decimals (one extra digit per tier)

v1.6.147 — 2026-06-30

• reopen projects on the editor tab that was active when saved
• physical-pixel glow (BlurBitmap) + centered RenderBitmap
• physical-pixel RenderText2Bitmap (centred, colour-tinted)
• drop dead setAnimationPos() in Image4Gui; pins are In<T>
• cull orphaned host-control parameters on delete and save
• add stroke cap-style to IStyle (Flat/Square/Round)
• add NumberEntry module (click-to-edit value + Units)
• add ArcGeometry (value-arc) + centre RenderGeometry
• TopStripLayout forwards preGraphicsRedraw to children
• TextEntry4Gui takes a Style (transparent bg, styled text)
• NumberEntry stays mono-directional (output -> Value Set)
• Number Entry edits now stick (kill the write-fight)

v1.6.146 — 2026-06-29

• emit ../../changelog/ in website changelog template

v1.6.145 — 2026-06-29

• upgrade GmpiUiTest prototypes to typed object pins
• unit-circle template + composable Transform Each
• scope 4 auto-brightness
• per-instance variation (ScaleXY + CombineEach)
• per-instance geometry (Circles + RenderEach) for constant stroke
• give CircleGeometry a Radius pin (size baked into geometry)
• fix resolveFilename function returning patch with wrong type of slash character
• add transform producer modules (Rotation/Translation/Scale/Combine)
• add modernised Object-pin example modules
• add instancing renderer proof-of-concept
• add generic layout spine (numberlist + Series + NumberMath + TranslateXY)
• add IStyle style-bundle pin + StyleBuilder module
• add Color(RGBA) module + fill/stroke colour pins on RenderGeometry
• [0011] Separate VST3 Export for Windows and macOS

v1.6.144 — 2026-06-27

• object pin subtype connection check + struct/object export

v1.6.143 — 2026-06-24

• fix hit-testing on sliders with padding

v1.6.142 — 2026-06-23

• stop bundling windowsappruntime msix in self-contained installer
• ‘Hint’ working on new vector controls

v1.6.140 — 2026-06-22

• better Slider tick marks

v1.6.139 — 2026-06-22

• fix mouse-flags when holding shift
• build filesystem code on macOS < 10.15 via ghc::filesystem
• FastUnicode::Utf8ToWstring corrupted astral codepoints

v1.6.138 — 2026-06-19

• pass DIPs to popup menu factory (it now scales internally)
• keep active tab when rescanning modules
• ensure the modules required for automatic GUI pin conversions are always exported
• ensure the modules required for automatic GUI pin conversions are always exported
• consolidate module upgrade warnings into a single dialog

v1.6.136 — 2026-06-19

• post the built version’s changelog block to Discord (not —limit 1)
• fix for thumbnail crash
• disable USE_SIMD_UTF_CONVERSION (intermittent empty unicode conversion on CI)
• compact breadcrumb crumbs — title overlaid on the thumbnail

v1.6.135 — 2026-06-18

• suppress WinUI3 pointer re-dispatch after slow prefab insert
• render shadow layers before normal layers across sub-views
• make top-level container tab non-closeable
• make native text-entry box background opaque
• lower vertical scroll bar top edge to bottom of breadcrumb bar
• hit zone for pin text increased
• drag module more reliable when mouse near to pins
• default new-project save filename to “project”
• apply breadcrumb strip offset to TopStripLayout dialog-host rects
• Int-to-bools GUI module back

v1.6.134 — 2026-06-17

• round breadcrumb thumbnail corners via gmpi geometry clip
• Properties browser - connected input pin defaults are now read-only

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

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.