manual/include/working-with-plugins.html
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<p>
<dfn>Plugins</dfn> are bits of software that get loaded by Ardour in order to:</p>
<ul>
<li>Create various audio or MIDI effects</li>
<li>Generate audio by functioning as "software instruments"</li>
</ul>
<p>
They are usually written by 3rd parties, though <a href="@@plugins-bundled-with-ardour">a few come as part of a standard Ardour install</a>. The sources for plugins are many and varied; see <a href="@@getting-more-plugins">here</a> for some information on how to get them.
</p>
<p>
Ardour supports a variety of different plugin standards:
</p>
<dl class="narrower-table">
<dt><abbr title="Linux Audio Developers' Simple Plugin API">LADSPA</abbr></dt>
<dd>An early, simple, lightweight plugin <abbr title="Application
Programming Interface">API</abbr>, audio effects only,
plugins have no editors/GUI of their own (Ardour provides one, however).</dd>
<dt><abbr title="LADSPA Version 2">LV2</abbr></dt>
<dd>An extensible, full-featured plugin API, audio and <abbr
title="Musical Instrument Digital Interface">MIDI</abbr>, plugins can provide their
own <abbr title="Graphical User Interface">GUI</abbr>s but may use the
one Ardour provides instead.</dd>
<dt><abbr title="Audio Unit">AU</abbr></dt>
<dd>OS X only, full featured, audio and MIDI, plugins can provide their own GUI</dd>
<dt><abbr title="Virtual Studio Technology">VST</abbr></dt>
<dd>Plugins using Steinberg's VST plugin standard. Varies by platform:
<dl>
<dt>on Linux</dt><dd>(native) Linux VST plugins fully supported (VST2.4)</dd>
<dt>on Windows</dt><dd>(native) Windows VST plugins fully supported (VST2.4)</dd>
<dt>on OS X</dt><dd>(native) macOS VST plugins fully supported (VST2.4) since Ardour 5.5</dd>
</dl>
</dd>
<dt>Windows VST Plugins on Linux</dt>
<dd>VST plugins for Windows, but being used on Linux. <em>Not
supported by normal builds of Ardour. <a href="/working-with-plugins/windows-vst-support/">Read
more&hellip;</a></em>
</dd>
</dl>
<h2>Adding/Removing/Copying Plugins</h2>
<p>
Within Ardour, plugins are just another type of <dfn>Processor</dfn> and so
the techniques for adding/removing/copying/moving processors apply to plugins
as well. These techniques are covered on the
<a href="@@processor-box">Processor Box</a> page.
</p>