Packaging Instruments Guide?

[jonalexander23]

Hi, I'm new to HISE (from Kontakt) and just trying to package my first free small instrument..I've been scraping around for info and have starting making the dmg file, but thought I'd ask if there's a good guide on best practises for packaging for both mac and pc? A walkthrough video from @David-Healey would be the ideal thing! I realise I need to use things like Inno / Packages, but would be great to get help with setting these up, as well as things I need to know such as licensing, encryption (for when I release something commercial) etc. I've also seen people say they've create custom scripts for eg. automating sample file installation along with the vst3/au files..things like that would be great to know. I'm more a musician who learnt to code in Kontakt so all this is a bit new to me. Thanks in advance for any help!

[David Healey]

@jonalexander23 I prefer Packages (pkg) to dmg, but either is fine. I have a couple of video on YouTube/Patreon about using Packages.

On MacOS you'll also need a developer account so you can codesign and notarize your plugins. Otherwise users won't be able to run it on their system.

@jonalexander23 said in Packaging Instruments Guide?:

things I need to know such as licensing, encryption (for when I release something commercial)

If you're releasing an open source plugin then it should be under the GNU GPL. If it's proprietary then you'll need a HISE and a JUCE license. The price you charge makes no difference here.

@jonalexander23 said in Packaging Instruments Guide?:

ve also seen people say they've create custom scripts for eg. automating sample file installation along with the vst3/au files

Simplest solution is to use HISE's built in sample installer. You ship the data/installer and the samples as separate files. Then in future when you need to update the instrument's data the user doesn't have to redownload all the samples again. This also makes it easy for the user to choose where they want to install the samples.

[jonalexander23]

Great thanks! I just saw your YT vid 'Automated Exporter Script for Mac OS'..but I think you mentioned in another post it's now a bit outdated, or can I use this instead of Packages? For PC I guess I will try Inno Setup. Thanks again.

[David Healey]

@jonalexander23 said in Packaging Instruments Guide?:

or can I use this instead of Packages

The script uses Packages. Don't use the script though until you can do all the steps manually.

[jonalexander23]

After spending all day trying to manual package, codesign and notarize, I've got as far as notarizing..I've been following the Notarising For Dummies thread and it seems some of it is out of date as altool no longer works (I get an error in Terminal 'ERROR: [altool.600001C484C0] ArgumentParsingFailure("Missing or no command argument specified.') - someone on the net said it became unusable about a year ago.

I'm pretty disillusioned regarding being able to use HISE even though I love creating in it - due to this crazy OS packaging process which seems to change from year to year by the looks of things...maybe there's plans for HISE to handle this part for non-experienced bash coders like me?

[David Healey]

@jonalexander23 This is the guide I used: https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=531663

[jonalexander23]

@David-Healey thanks for that, I will try again tomorrow!

[dannytaurus]

@David-Healey It would be great if we had HISE-approved guides for creating installers for all platforms. Everyone can reference them, and as soon as something stops working we can report back, fix it and update the guide.

Your videos are great but as soon as the info goes out of date they're more confusing than helpful.

If we had written docs they would be much easier to update, and can be timestamped to give the reader some amount of certainty that they're up to date.

[Lindon]

@jonalexander23 said in Packaging Instruments Guide?:

I'm pretty disillusioned regarding being able to use HISE even though I love creating in it - due to this crazy OS packaging process which seems to change from year to year by the looks of things...maybe there's plans for HISE to handle this part for non-experienced bash coders like me?

this is an issue with Apple not HISE, - welcome to plugin development - where eventually you end up hating Apple Corp.

[David Healey]

@dannytaurus The kvr guide has been updated so the info there should be good

[dannytaurus]

@David-Healey That topic has 28 pages!

Is it the first post by discoDSP? The one that says last updated Nov 2023?

[Lindon]

@dannytaurus said in Packaging Instruments Guide?:

@David-Healey That topic has 28 pages!

Is it the first post by discoDSP? The one that says last updated Nov 2023?

you will need to read (nearly) all 28 pages...

[David Healey]

@dannytaurus Just the first post. It has been updated with recent changes. I have not read beyond the first page.

[Lindon]

@David-Healey said in Packaging Instruments Guide?:

@dannytaurus Just the first post. It has been updated with recent changes. I have not read beyond the first page.

well yes, and no... if there are any recent changes it usually takes DiscoDSP a few days at least to update that front page....

for instance, I found this to be incorrect:

After it's accepted, staple using:

xcrun stapler staple "plugin.zip"

Stapling the zip doesnt seem to work for me , but stapling the plugin works fine.

[jonalexander23]

Thanks guys. I'm nearly there now but one last thing - I'm trying to build the package in Packages with my Developer ID Installation cert all set up, but it causes the build to fail saying the cert can not be trusted..even though it's valid and set up right in Keychain Access. The build works fine when I remove the certificate link. AI told me to reset the intermediate certificates via downloading more Apple certs, but same problem. Any help appreciated thanks again!

[David Healey]

@jonalexander23 I don't use the signing thing in packages, i sign it manually after

[jonalexander23]

@David-Healey said in Packaging Instruments Guide?:

@jonalexander23 I don't use the signing thing in packages, i sign it manually after

Ah OK..the post you referenced tells me to set the certificate in Packages! I presume there's just a line I need to put in Terminal instead, if possible to get any help on that?

[David Healey]

@jonalexander23 said in Packaging Instruments Guide?:

if possible to get any help on that?

The automated script I provided has all the steps and commands you need. Read through it, I think I might have added some comments in there too.

[jonalexander23]

@David-Healey said in Packaging Instruments Guide?:

@jonalexander23 said in Packaging Instruments Guide?:

if possible to get any help on that?

The automated script I provided has all the steps and commands you need. Read through it, I think I might have added some comments in there too.

Thanks David. I've tried your script again from scratch, and it's going better but now I'm getting this error...the first bit seems to point to a 'build' folder (inside the OSX folder) that it's looking for, which was not in your video?

"Build Failed
productsign: error: input product archive "/Users/XXXXXDocuments/HISE Projects/XXXXX/Packaging/OSX/build/XXXXX.pkg" not found.
cp: /Users/XXXXX/Documents/HISE Projects/XXXXX/Packaging/OSX/build/XXXXX_signed.pkg: No such file or directory
Cleanup
Notarizing
Error: The value '/Users/XXXXX/Documents/HISE Projects/XXXXX/Packaging/OSX/XXXXX Installer 1.0.0.pkg' is invalid for '': The file couldn’t be opened because it doesn’t exist."

[David Healey]

@jonalexander23 said in Packaging Instruments Guide?:

I've tried your script again from scratch

If I recall correctly that script will only work if you use it for the whole process and setup the template packages project I'm using.

I wasn't suggesting you use the script, but read the commands that are in it. Then you can use these to manually sign and notarize your project.