Exported vst3 for Windows, now macOS?

[ThinkTank]

Hi All,

I have successfully released my plugin for Windows.
But i am still not sure where to go from here when i want to release it for macOS as well.

Do i need to compile builds on an actual mac?

• isnt vst3 supported on macOS?

AAX seems like i would need additional licensing etc, which im not interested in if its an expensive venture.

[d.healey]

@ThinkTank said in Exported vst3 for Windows, now macOS?:

Do i need to compile builds on an actual mac?

No, you can use a virtual machine.

@ThinkTank said in Exported vst3 for Windows, now macOS?:

isnt vst3 supported on macOS?

Yes

@ThinkTank said in Exported vst3 for Windows, now macOS?:

AAX seems like i would need additional licensing etc

Yes, and from what I hear it's a pain in the butt.

[ThinkTank]

@d-healey

Virtual Machine, here we go..
I was hoping i didnt need to compile on a MAC, so i need to install HISE, JUCE and everything on the VM?

I remember my earlier days developing apps for Android and iOS, XCode nearly killed me. I hate it like nothing else.

[Christoph Hart]

@ThinkTank Have fun with notarizing then, with a preexisting condition of Apple hate this process will be so painful that it starts to get funny again.

[ThinkTank]

@Christoph-Hart

I forgot about that. Yay! Cant wait.. Fun will now commence.

[d.healey]

@ThinkTank said in Exported vst3 for Windows, now macOS?:

so i need to install HISE, JUCE and everything on the VM?

You just need to clone the HISE repo, there's no installation required. All the instructions for building HISE on MacOS are in the repo's readme.

Here's a guide for notarizing - https://www.kvraudio.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=531663

It's difficult and time consuming the first few times you do it, but after a while it will become fairly painless, and you can put it all in a bash script to automate it.

[ThinkTank]

@d-healey

Thanks!
Oh boy, a developer account again.
The thing about macOS is that everytime theres an update, you need to spend time fixing and updating stuff. I remember we did this with our apps for iOS. Until we just didnt want to do it anymore.

I think ill wait for the day an LLM or AI can do this for me :grinning_squinting_face:

[ThinkTank]

@d-healey

But i remember with an earlier plugin i did, on another platform i exported a VST3 plugin, that a friend of mine got running on his Mac, i dont know if he used a bridge or something, but it worked.

Is there something specific in a vst3 export on windows that would not make it work on mac?

[d.healey]

@ThinkTank said in Exported vst3 for Windows, now macOS?:

Is there something specific in a vst3 export on windows that would not make it work on mac?

Totally different systems, to run natively they need to be compiled on the OS you want it to run. Linux too.

[gorangrooves]

@ThinkTank Do not overlook AAX! It is an absolute must, despite what hoops you may need to jump through. Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

Reach out to devauth@avid.com and get set up as a developer. Avid will get PACE to waive the signing tools fee. They have been great to deal with.

Once you set things up with scripts, it won't be difficult to re-sign things when recompiling software. Things are only challenging when you are doing them for the first time.

I regretted taking the advice of not doing AAX right away.

For skilled developers, doing these Apple and PACE extra steps are burdensome because they are out of their comfort zones. But for somebody who is struggling with everything (like me), it is just another little step of struggle.

[d.healey]

@gorangrooves said in Exported vst3 for Windows, now macOS?:

Don't let anyone convince you otherwise.

I'm not using it :D

[gorangrooves]

@d-healey and you have no idea of what you are missing out on!

[d.healey]

@gorangrooves said in Exported vst3 for Windows, now macOS?:

@d-healey and you have no idea of what you are missing out on!

I get a few enquiries about it but my hands are tied by the licensing. So I direct users to external hosts and wrapper plugins.

[ThinkTank]

We need a vst3 wrapper for mac that can run windows plugins!

[gorangrooves]

@d-healey there is more than that. Why are your hands tied by licensing?

[ThinkTank]

@gorangrooves

Appreciate the tip. Will try and dig deep once more.

[d.healey]

@gorangrooves said in Exported vst3 for Windows, now macOS?:

@d-healey there is more than that. Why are your hands tied by licensing?

Can't release AAX as GPL.

[gorangrooves]

@d-healey Then change the license how you release the AAX.

[d.healey]

@gorangrooves I'd have to pay for a HISE, JUCE, and PACE/AVID license and I don't see me making that cost back from pro-tools users

[gorangrooves]

@d-healey FYI There is no fee for Avid/ PACE. Nobody will chase you from JUCE, and the HISE starting fee is quite reasonable. But yeah, you'd have to decide if/when the moment is right. I went all in.

One of the main reasons for me to develop plugins using HISE was the accessibility to as wide of a user base as possible. I didn't want to be limited to Kontakt users or, say, Halion. Part of the accessibility is affordable pricing to end-users. So, covering all grounds is very important for growth. There is a significant Pro Tools user base, especially in pro studios.
The mobile platforms are the next frontier.