Rack users love factory presets when learning and being inspired by new modules. If you are a plugin developer interested in adding factory presets to your modules, see the new VCV Manual - Module Presets article for a full reference of Rack’s preset feature.
Here is a new Rack 2 build that fixes a few issues with the plugin API (see git log). For ease of migrating, it is recommended for plugin developers to always use the latest Rack SDK.
New Rack 2 build available:
- VCV Rack Community Edition 2.git.219bbaf1: Linux / Windows / Mac
- Rack SDK 2.git.219bbaf1: Linux / Windows / Mac
- Audible Instruments (built for 2.git.219bbaf1): Linux / Windows / Mac
Developers with a plugin published on the VCV Library should have received an email directed to their plugin’s contact address containing a free license for VCV Rack Studio Edition. If you did not receive this email, contact VCV Support stating your plugin name(s) and VCV account email.
New Rack 2 build available. Remember to delete <Rack user folder>/plugins
and only install plugins built with the following SDK version.
- VCV Rack Community Edition 2.git.588342d7: Linux / Windows / Mac
- Rack SDK 2.git.588342d7: Linux / Windows / Mac
The Rack 2 plugin ABI should not yet be considered stable, but this build presents a “release candidate” for the stable ABI. We will soon announce to plugin developers via email and this thread when we begin accepting plugin updates to the VCV Library.
We are happy to announce that the Rack 2 ABI is now stable after 2 years of development. Rack 2 will be available in two variants:
- Pro ($149 regular price, $99 launch sale until 2022): Standalone, VST2
- Free (open-source, GPLv3+): Standalone
You can download beta builds and the SDK below.
If you have installed a development (git) build before, remember to delete your plugins
folder, or your entire Rack2
user folder before attempting to run.
We are now accepting v2 plugin updates to the VCV Library repo for open-source plugins and VCV Support for closed-source plugins.
Contact VCV Support for questions and reporting bugs.
This build fixes missing linker symbol issues with a few plugins, along with several usability tweaks.
Note: After installing a beta or git build of Rack, if you wish to update to a newer version of Rack, you must delete the old installation folder and user folder. (See Where is the “Rack user folder”?)
In-place updates from beta or git builds of Rack are not supported by VCV and will likely cause crashes or bugs if the above suggestion is not followed.
Before Rack 2 was released, we planned to release bleeding-edge updates to Rack Free as soon as they were ready, and 1-2 weeks later release these stable, tested updates to Rack Pro. However, this plan prevents Rack Pro customers from trying new features when Rack Free users can, so instead we will be posting “preview” builds here before both variants become available at VCV Rack 2 - Virtual Eurorack Studio a few days later.
The official release will be these exact files (not re-builds), and if a build is rejected due to a regression, its version number is skipped.
VCV Rack 2.0.4 is released
VCV Rack 2.2.0 has been released, including VST3, Audio Unit, and CLAP plugins for Rack Pro.
Builds of Rack for Mac ARM are available for developers to build and test their plugins on Mac ARM. This is in “beta” stage, so some features or plugin adapters might not work correctly.
- Rack Free 2.2.0: Windows / Mac x64 / Mac ARM64 (beta) / Linux
- Rack Pro 2.2.0: Windows / Mac x64 / Mac ARM64 (beta) / Linux (Links only valid if purchased)
- Changelog
- Support for feature requests and bug reports
VCV Rack 2.2.1 preview
- Rack Free 2.2.1: Windows / Mac x64 / Mac ARM64 (beta) / Linux
- Rack Pro 2.2.1: Windows / Mac x64 / Mac ARM64 (beta) / Linux (Links only valid if purchased)
- Changelog
- Support for feature requests and bug reports
VCV Rack 2.2.2 preview
- Rack Free 2.2.2: Windows / Mac x64 / Mac ARM64 (beta) / Linux
- Rack Pro 2.2.2: Windows / Mac x64 / Mac ARM64 (beta) / Linux (Links only valid if purchased)
- Changelog
- Support for feature requests and bug reports
VCV Rack 2.2.3 preview
- Rack Free 2.2.3: Windows / Mac x64 / Mac ARM64 (beta) / Linux
- Rack Pro 2.2.3: Windows / Mac x64 / Mac ARM64 (beta) / Linux (Links only valid if purchased)
- Changelog
- Support for feature requests and bug reports
Deprecating “deprecated” module property, replacing with “hidden”
Sometimes it is useful to hide modules in a plugin to discourage their use, while allowing them to be used when loading old patches, to avoid breaking patch compatibility.
Plugin developers can do this by setting "hidden": true
in a module’s manifest. VCV Manual - Plugin Manifest
Effective now, VCV Library hides all modules with the “hidden” property (or the deprecated “deprecated” or “disabled” aliases) from its index and search results, while showing a “Hidden” tag on module pages. Example: VCV Library - VCV VCA-2
In the next version of VCV Rack, modules with this property will be hidden from the module browser but can still be loaded by patches and selections.
VCV Rack 2.3.0 preview
- Rack Free 2.3.0: Windows / Mac x64 / Mac ARM64 (beta) / Linux
- Rack Pro 2.3.0: Windows / Mac x64 / Mac ARM64 (beta) / Linux (Links only valid if purchased)
- Changelog
- Support for feature requests and bug reports
VCV Rack 2.4.0 pre-release
- Rack Free 2.4.0: Windows / Mac x64 / Mac ARM64 (beta) / Linux
- Rack Pro 2.4.0: Windows / Mac x64 / Mac ARM64 (beta) / Linux (Links only valid if purchased)
- Rack SDK 2.4.0: Windows / Mac x64 / Mac ARM64 (beta) / Linux
- Changelog
Please send bug reports to VCV Support so we can fix them in the next release.
We will begin distributing Mac ARM64 plugin builds on the VCV Library. Plugin developers submitting binaries to VCV Support must build with Rack SDK 2.4.0 or higher. All open-source plugins on the library repo will be built by us in the next few weeks.