Could someone help me compile my vst3 plugin that was made in hise on windows for macOS?
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hi everyone
I have created a simple effect plugin in hise on windows and successfully exported it as a VST3 plugin and everything worked. However, I don’t have access to a mac, so Im unable to build the macOS version myself.
As far as I understand, I need someone with a Mac to open my hise project and compile/export the plugin as a VST3 for macOS so .vst3 file will work on macos too, but unfortunately i dont have mac and i my friends dont have it too.
So here is google drive download link for hise project folder with .hip file. Its simple effect so there is no libraries and other complicated stuff, just couple knob and background skins that i have already added to project folder (images) so everything will work smooth! If someone could open it on a Mac and build the macOS VST3 version for me, I would really appreciate it!
The project is already working correctly on Windows, so I’m mainly looking for help just with the macOS compilation because i want my plugin to work on mac too.
If there are any additional files or information you need from me, please let me know.
Any help would be appreciated!

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@dontoyumur said in Could someone help me compile my vst3 plugin that was made in hise on windows for macOS?:
However, I don’t have access to a mac, so Im unable to build the macOS version myself.
You can use a virtual machine. You'll need to be able to compile and run it yourself so you can test it. You'll also need to codesign and notarize it so it will run on other user's systems.
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@David-Healey Thanks for replying! I forgot to tell that i have already tried to run virtual machine but unfortunately it didnt work because of technical restrictions imposed by Apple on macOS virtualization. So im just looking for someone who can just try to compile my project file on hise on mac for me and just send me this vst3 file, and nothing else for this moments. When ill get to mass distribution of software ill make sure to notarize it, but i dont actually need it for rn
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@dontoyumur I use virtual machines for compiling on all operating systems so it can definitely work. Might need to try different VM software.
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@David-Healey Alr, i will try it but for rn if someone will just compile my plugin on mac it would be enough for me. But i still want to ask which VM software you using?
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@dontoyumur I'm using Proxmox but that requires setting up a machine dedicated to only VMs which is probably overkill for your needs.
Another option is to use github actions (not something I've looked into yet though).
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@David-Healey
As I understand it, Github Actions is designed more for lightweight tasks,
For this kind of work, a proper VM is better suited I think.
And then, real hardware is above that. -
@David-Healey @griffinboy I tried the VM route for running Windows on Mac but didn't like it.
In the end I bought and set up two second hand machines:
- 2020 Dell Latitude 5420 dual-booting Windows 10 and 11
- 2018 Intel MacBook Pro booting to Mojave, Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey, Ventura, Sonoma and Sequoia
Each laptop cost about £250 (Back Market and Amazon) and a few hours setting everything up.
Along with my daily Apple Silicon laptop, I can now reproduce and test in all my supported systems without any virtualisation overhead or quirks.
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This is also my recommendation.
(I can't speak for second hand, since I bought my machines new, but I bet it would be fine)
I didn't mention it, because this question was asked by a beginner who might not appreciate the bombardment, but my own personal setup is a lab of 7 physical computers with intentionally different hardware and operating systems (Two for Windows, two for MacOS two for Linux) and each one of these computers also has VMs as well as its native OS.
These are all hooked up to my main PC, and I interact with them through commands, so that I can work on code on my main development computer, and compile and benchmark on the other machines in parallel, almost as if they were remote.
I've found this to be ideal.
But I think there are "levels" to this kind of thing.
And depending on what you are developing, you probably don't need the most complicated version of this setup.For example, I do choose different optimized DSP kernels depending on what CPU I detect my user has, and the same for GPU acceleration and other features. And I wouldn't be able to do this without this kind of setup.
But someone who just wants their plugin to simply work on Windows, Mac, Linux can get by with a more minimal setup. -
Go and delete build folder and send it to me