View source for Installing Effect, Generator and Analyzer plug-ins on Linux

__NOTOC__
{{intro|You can download and install plug-ins to add extra functionality to Audacity. Plug-ins can give you extra effects, or more audio generation and analysis capabilities.  }}

==Contents==
#[[#nyquist_install|Installing Nyquist plug-ins]]
#[[#vst_install|Installing VST plug-ins]]
#[[#vst_faulty|Why do some VST plug-ins not work or display incorrectly?]]
#[[#lv2_vamp|Installing  LADSPA, LV2 or VAMP plug-ins]]
#[[#linux_plug-ins|Installing plug-ins on Linux]]
#[[#launch|How can I solve Audacity crashing after I add a plug-in?]]

<div id="nyquist_install"></div>
==Installing Nyquist plug-ins==
[http://web.audacityteam.org/help/nyquist Nyquist] plug-ins provide most of the optional effects underneath the divider in the [[Effect Menu|Effect menu]]. They are also used to provide some of Audacity's built-in audio [[Generate Menu|generators]] and [[Analyze Menu|analysis tools]]. A wide range of additional Nyquist effect, generation and analysis plug-ins can be obtained from [http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Download_Nyquist_Plug-ins Download Nyquist Plug-ins] on our Wiki.

To add a new Nyquist plug-in, put it in the Audacity "Plug-Ins" folder. On '''Linux''', the "plug-ins" folder is in '''usr/share/audacity''' if you installed an Audacity package supplied by your distribution, or '''usr/local/share/audacity''' if you compiled Audacity from source code. Optionally a "plug-ins" folder can be created in the home directory thus: '''~/.audacity-files/plug-ins''' (you can also call the folder "plugins").  

To load the new effects into Audacity so they are available in the menu, use the [[Manage Effects, Generators and Analyzers|Plug-in Manager: Effects, Generators and Analyzers]] dialog.
{{advice|Some Nyquist plug-ins could crash while processing very long audio selections (typically an hour or more). This is due to the plug-in using a large amount of memory and is a known issue in Audacity's current Nyquist implementation. Try using the plug-in on shorter selections instead. }}


<div id="vst_install"></div>

==Installing VST plug-ins==
Audacity supports almost all VST effect plug-ins on Linux including "shell" VST's that host multiple VST effects. On Linux, you must add a "plug-ins" folder to /usr/bin/ (if you installed a packaged version of Audacity) or to /usr/local/bin (if you installed a self-compiled version of Audacity). VST effects will also be found if they are added to (or already exist in) various [[Effect Menu#syslocs|system or user locations]]. 

You can install new VST effects into Audacity by using the {{menu|Effect > [[Effect Menu#manage|Add / Remove Plug-ins...]]}} menu item. This opens the [[Manage Effects, Generators and Analyzers|Plug-in Manager: Effects, Generators and Analyzers]] dialog where you can select and enable the new effects then click {{button|OK}} to load them. Next time you launch Audacity the enabled effect(s) will be cached and you won't need to re-enable them.      
{{note|The list of effects in the dialog will include any detected VST instrument (VSTi) plug-ins (such as synths) and any real-time VST effects that are capable of changing audio data while it's being written to disk. Neither of these are yet supported and they '''will not load''' even if you enable or re-enable them in the dialog.}}


<div id="vst_faulty"></div>

==Why do some VST plug-ins not work or display incorrectly?==
Audacity will by default display VST effect plug-ins with a full graphical interface where the plug-in supplies this. 

VST instruments (VSTi) (such as synths) and real-time VST effects (that change the audio data while it's being written) are not yet supported. These '''will not load''' even if you enable or re-enable them in the [[Manage Effects, Generators and Analyzers|Plug-in Manager: Effects, Generators and Analyzers]] dialog. [http://www.steinberg.net/en/company/technologies/vst3.html VST 3] plug-ins are not supported. 

If any plug-in displays incorrectly, you can use the ''Manage'' button [[Image:Manage button icon W10.png|link=]] in the effect's dialog then choose ''Options...'' to open the 
[[Effect Menu#vst_options|VST&nbsp;Effect&nbsp;Options]] for that effect. Then remove the checkmark from the "Enable graphical interface" checkbox {{CheckboxNotChecked|Enable graphical interface}} and click {{button|OK}}. When you reopen the effect it will display a simpler tabular interface. 
{{advice|On '''GNU/Linux''', 32-bit systems will have 32-bit versions of Audacity which won't see 64-bit VST plug-ins. 64-bit systems will have 64-bit versions of Audacity which will see 64-bit VST plug-ins but won't see 32-bit plug-ins.    
}}
If you experience a problem with a specific VST effect plug-in in Audacity, please [http://web.audacityteam.org/contact#feedback contact us].


<div id="lv2_vamp"></div>

==Installing  LADSPA, LV2 or VAMP plug-ins==
{{ednote|'''Gale 18Aug14:''' Rather than carbon-copy the information about LV2 plug-ins from [[Effect Menu#lv2]] I thought it would be better to describe LV2 and VAMP because users will see them in Effects Preferences and may not know what they are. }}      
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LV2 LV2] is a more advanced evolution of the [http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Ladspa_Plugins LADSPA] plug-in architecture which was originally developed on Linux. Audacity supports both LV2 and LADSPA effects on Windows and Mac OS X as well as GNU/Linux. You can download and install a [http://web.audacityteam.org/download/plugins#ladspa set of over 90 LADSPA plug-ins] for all operating systems. See [[Effect Menu#add_ladspa|Adding a LADSPA plug-in]] for where to install LADSPA plug-ins. You can then choose which LADSPA plug-ins to enable in the [[Manage Effects, Generators and Analyzers|Plug-in Manager: Effects, Generators and Analyzers]] dialog.

There are not yet many pre-compiled LV2 plug-ins for Windows and Mac OS X, though it may be possible to compile some Linux LV2 plug-ins for other operating systems. To add a new LV2 effect, place its '''complete ".lv2" folder''' (''not'' the files alone) at the top level of any of the [[Effect Menu#LV2_effects|LV2 search locations]] then enable it in the [[Manage Effects, Generators and Analyzers|Plug-in Manager: Effects, Generators and Analyzers]] dialog.

[http://www.vamp-plugins.org/ VAMP] plug-ins are usually for analyzing audio so will appear under Audacity's [[Analyze Menu]]. You can do interesting things like attempt to track beats, note pitches, chords or frequencies. Any VAMP plug-ins whose output is suitable for a label track should work in Audacity on Windows, Mac OS X or GNU/Linux. To add a new VAMP analysis tool, add the plug-in's DLL, DYLIB or SO file and any supplied category or RDF files to any of the [[Analyze Menu#vamp|VAMP search locations]] then enable the tool in the [[Manage Effects, Generators and Analyzers|Plug-in Manager: Effects, Generators and Analyzers]] dialog.


<div id="linux_plug-ins"></div>

==Installing plug-ins on Linux==
Audacity on GNU/Linux supports a large number of [[Effect_Menu#nyquist_effects|Nyquist]], [[Effect Menu#LADSPA effects|LADSPA]], [[Effect_Menu#LV2 effects|LV2]] and [[Analyze Menu#vamp|VAMP]] effects. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_Studio_Technology VST] effects are now supported in Audacity on Linux and can be installed as described at [[Effect_Menu#vst|VST Effects]]. However native Linux VST effects are quite rare. Consequently, if a specific VST effect is required on Linux, it may be necessary to employ [http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/Linux_Issues#vst workarounds] such as running Audacity for Windows in a [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Virtual_machine virtual machine].

Audacity supports 64-bit effects in VST, LADSPA and VAMP format on 64-bit Linux systems (conversely, 32-bit plug-ins in those formats will not load into Audacity on 64-bit Linux). 

Individual '''Nyquist''' and '''LADSPA''' plug-ins can be installed by putting the plug-ins into the Audacity "Plug-Ins" folder:
* '''/usr/share/audacity/plug-ins''' if Audacity was installed from a repository package
* '''/usr/local/share/audacity/plug-ins''' if you compiled Audacity from source code. 
These locations are usually set as read-only, so the plug-ins will need to be copied as root (for example, by issuing an appropriate root command in the terminal, or by using the terminal to open a file manager application with root permissions).
{{advice|Updating the repository package of Audacity may remove plug-ins that are not part of the package. To solve that problem you can:
* Create a folder called '''.audacity-files''' in your home directory, create a sub-folder called '''Plug-Ins''' (or '''Plugins''') then add your plug-ins into that 
* Add plug-ins to the '''Plug-Ins''' folder in the '''.audacity-data''' folder in your home directory.
The dot in the folder name '''.audacity-data''' and '''.audacity-files''' indicates that it is a hidden folder, but the "Plug-Ins" subfolder in either folder is accessible without root permissions and will not be modified by installing a new Audacity package.}}   
Audacity installed from a repository package or [http://wiki.audacityteam.org/wiki/CompilingAudacityForBeginners compiled from source] should automatically find LADSPA plug-ins installed in /usr/lib/ladspa. This may not be the case if you are compiling older source code. If necessary you can set an environment variable to indicate to Audacity where LADSPA plug-ins are installed. For Debian-based distributions this can be done by entering the following code at the command prompt (change <user> to your account username):
{{code|1=export LADSPA_PATH=$LADSPA_PATH:/home/<user>/.ladspa:/usr/local/lib/ladspa:/usr/lib/ladspa}}
If you wish this path to be set each time you boot, the LADSPA_PATH environment variable may be added to '''~/.profile''' or this file may be created if it does not exist. An example of how to add the LADSPA_PATH environment variable:
{{code|1=LADSPA_PATH=$LADSPA_PATH:/home/<user>/.ladspa:/usr/local/lib/ladspa:/usr/lib/ladspa<br>export LADSPA_PATH}}
For OpenSuse 64, LADSPA plug-ins may be found in '''/usr/lib64/ladspa'''. This path can be set by adding the following line to your '''/etc/environment''' file:
{{code|1=LADSPA_PATH=/usr/lib64/ladspa}}

[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/LV2 LV2] and [http://www.vamp-plugins.org/ VAMP] plug-ins cannot be placed in the Audacity "Plug-Ins" folder or your .audacity-files folder. '''LV2''' plug-ins should be installed by placing the complete .lv2 folder (not the individual files in that folder) in the root of ~/.lv2, /usr/local/lib/lv2, /usr/local/lib64/lv2, /usr/lib/lv2 or /usr/lib64/lv2. Alternatively the environment variable may be set as in this example:  
{{code|1=export LV2_PATH=$HOME/.lv2:/usr/local/lib/lv2:/usr/lib/lv2}}
'''VAMP''' plug-ins may be installed in $HOME/vamp, $HOME/.vamp, /usr/local/lib/vamp or /usr/lib/vamp. Alternatively the VAMP_PATH environment variable may be set to any of those specified VAMP installation directories. VAMP plug-ins will normally be placed in the Analyze Menu of Audacity.
{{advice|After installing effects, go to the [[Manage Effects, Generators and Analyzers|Add / Remove Plug-ins]] dialog to enable them in Audacity.  }}



<div id="launch"></div>
== How can I solve Audacity crashing after I add a plug-in? ==
{{ednote|'''Peter 28Feb16:''' This section may end up staying in the FAQ rather than migrationg to here. To be decided later.  }}
'''LADSPA, LV2, VST or Audio Unit plug-ins'''

A hang or crash could occur after you use the [[Manage Effects, Generators and Analyzers|Plug-in Manager: Effects, Generators and Analyzers]] dialog to add new [[Effect Menu#LADSPA_effects|LADSPA]], [[Effect Menu#LV2_effects|LV2]], [[Effect Menu#vst|VST]] or [[Effect Menu#Audio Unit effects|Audio Unit]] (Mac OS X) effects. The crash or hang could occur immediately after pressing OK in the dialog, when using an effect, when exiting Audacity or when restarting it next time.    

If Audacity crashes immediately after you enable one or more effects in the Plug-in Manager dialog, the effect(s) that crashed should be disabled next time you launch Audacity. They will be relisted in Plug-in Manager as "New" rather than "Disabled". If Audacity crashes when an effect is launched from the Effect Menu or applied to the audio, you can restart Audacity then try disabling the effect in the Plug-in Manager. This effect will then not be available in Effect Menu.

Sometimes it may not be obvious which effects to disable to solve a hang or crash. You might be able to identify offending effects from '''Audacity.zip''' if there is an Audacity [[Help Menu#data|Debug report]]. You can also try Windows Event Viewer (or more easily on Windows Vista and later, type "Reliability" without quotes in the Search box to open Reliability Monitor). To view Mac OS X reports, open /Applications/Utilities/Console.app then look at the System Diagnostic Reports.  

Should it remain unclear which effects are responsible, it may be useful to reset Audacity to load only the enabled effects that it had on first installation. To do this, go to Audacity's folder for application data as follows:

* '''Windows Windows 10/Windows 8/Windows 7/Vista:''' {{path|Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Audacity\}} (or type '''%appdata%''' in Explorer)
* '''Windows XP:''' {{path|Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\Audacity\}} (or type '''%appdata%''' in Explorer)
* '''OS X:''' {{path|~/Library/Application Support/audacity/}} (use Go > Go to Folder in Finder)
* '''Linux:''' {{path|~/.audacity-data/}} .

In that folder, delete the '''pluginregistry.cfg''' and '''pluginsettings.cfg''' files and restart Audacity.  Then you can use the Plug-in Manager dialog to selectively enable effects to find the possible culprit.     
{{note|
If you discover a specific plug-in that misbehaves in Audacity, please email our [http://web.audacityteam.org/contact/#feedback feedback address]. Please include any available [[Help Menu#data|Debug report]] that Audacity generates.}}