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Installation

New in v1.6

Section titled “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

Section titled “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

Section titled “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

Section titled “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

Section titled “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

Section titled “Common Issues”

Module XML Problems

Section titled “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

Section titled “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

Section titled “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

Section titled “Recent Releases”

Recent changes and fixes. View full changelog

Unreleased

  • new modules “Sample and Hold2’ fixes issue with missing a ‘hold’ at time zero

v1.6.161 — 2026-07-21

  • load wavetables on a background thread in Wavetable Osc
  • limit Wavetable Osc display to 32 evenly-spaced slots
  • hot-reloaded modules now rescan their module description, so pin/parameter changes are picked up
  • fix for possible MIDI driver crash on exit
  • fix a crash in module hot-reloading.
  • change delay 3 default interpolation

v1.6.159 — 2026-07-17

  • restyled Wavetable Osc Display
  • native MIDI-assignment ‘Edit…’ dialog for Windows plugins
  • native MIDI-assignment ‘Edit…’ dialog for Mac plugins
  • add ‘Load MIDI’ / ‘Save MIDI’ patch commands
  • add ‘Load MIDI’ / ‘Save MIDI’ patch commands
  • ALT + middle-button passes the event to the module under the mouse

v1.6.158 — 2026-07-16

  • load a wavetable’s real slots instead of padding to a fixed 64
  • FFT-resample wavetable frames both ways, drop linear fallback

v1.6.157 — 2026-07-16

  • simplify Compensated Delay to a pure latency fixer
  • round-trip module latency through ExportModuleInfo
  • round the oversampler’s inner->outer report conversion
  • keep calcReportedLatency in step with calcDelayCompensation overrides
  • fix crash deleting a container the breadcrumb trail remembers
  • add Delay3 - modernised GMPI echo delay
  • Compensated Delay over-reported latency at some sample rates
  • Compensated Delay latches its report at compensation time and snaps it to the delay line’s tap count

v1.6.156 — 2026-07-15

  • add Ctrl+D presenter command to toggle debugger on selection
  • Ctrl+D shows debuggers on selected modules of current view

v1.6.155 — 2026-07-14

  • Compensated Delay module + decoupled reported-latency pass

v1.6.154 — 2026-07-14

  • port Oscillator HD to GMPI SDK
  • new module Lookahead2, adds lookahead without restarting Processor (when ‘ms’ pin not connected).
  • fix possible crash on closing a document

v1.6.153 — 2026-07-10

  • recent-files menu showed duplicate entries differing only by slash style

v1.6.152 — 2026-07-07

  • plugin export no longer drops parameters from upgraded PatchMemory modules
  • find dialog focuses find field on open, not replace
  • BlurBitmap Mode enum — Glow / Drop Shadow / Outer Glow / Inner Shadow

v1.6.151 — 2026-07-06

  • allow editing default of connected editable output pins
  • General prefs tab too short, Vendor Name field was clipped
  • BlurBitmap Fill mode + RenderBitmap Offset X/Y (neumorphic drop-shadows)

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)

Demo vs Full Version

Section titled “Demo vs Full Version”
FeatureDemoFull Version
Build synthsYesYes
All modulesYesYes
Save projectsYesYes
Export VST/AU pluginsYesYes
Time limit60 daysNone

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

Section titled “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

Section titled “Next Steps”

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