juce

JUCE is an open-source, cross-platform C++ application framework aimed at developers building desktop and mobile audio software. Its headline capability is audio plug-in development: it supports creating VST, VST3, AU, AUv3, AAX and LV2 plug-ins as well as plug-in hosts, covering the major formats used by DAWs and editors such as Pro Tools. Project management can be done in two ways. The first is CMake (version 3.22 or higher), which lets JUCE be integrated into existing projects; the repository includes CMake examples that can serve as starting points, and bundled examples and extras can be built with standard CMake commands. The second is the Projucer, JUCE's own project-configuration tool, which must be built from source (build projects for Xcode, Visual Studio and Linux Makefiles are included). The Projucer can create new JUCE projects, export projects for Xcode (macOS and iOS), Visual Studio, Android Studio and Linux Makefiles, view tutorials, run examples, and doubles as a source code editor. JUCE modules can also be included directly in an existing project or built into a static or dynamic library. The repository maintains a develop branch with the latest fixes and features, periodically merged into master as stable tagged releases; pre-built binaries are available from the JUCE website. Documentation and tutorials are provided on the JUCE site. Minimum build requirements: C++17 (C++20 when JUCE_USE_WINDOWS_MIDI_SERVICES is enabled); Xcode 12.4 on macOS 10.15.4 (Intel) or macOS 11.0 (Apple Silicon); Visual Studio 2019 on Windows 10 version 1607; g++ 7.0 or Clang 6.0 on Linux; Android Studio with NDK 26. Deployment targets include macOS 10.11, Windows 10 (x86_64, x86, Arm64, Arm64EC), mainstream Linux distributions (x86_64, Arm64), iOS 12, and Android 7 (API level 24). Licensing is dual: the open-source AGPLv3 and a commercial JUCE licence, so commercial use may require a paid licence. For AAX plug-ins specifically, the README details the process of obtaining Avid's Pro Tools Developer build and PACE Anti-Piracy signing tools, since AAX plug-ins must be digitally signed before running in commercial Pro Tools installations; once signed, plug-ins can be sold and distributed, including via the Avid Marketplace.