Installation
Get HISE
If you haven't installed HISE already, grab the latest stable release and come on board! If you want to compile on Linux please take a look at the readme .
System Requirements
- Minimum Windows 7 / OSX 10.6 /
- 32bit / 64bit
- a quite modern CPU (like every other audio software, HISE can be quite demanding regarding memory / cpu speed.)
- at least 2GB RAM
Recommended:
- a soundcard with a ASIO driver
- a MIDI keyboard
- more RAM
After installing you should be able to start HISE either as a Standalone or as plugin inside your DAW. With the stable release you should be ready to go and be able to prototype your first instrument and check out HISE. A crucial part is still missing, though:
Setting up VSTi/plugin compilation
If you want to be able to export a plugin or VSTI by yourself you first have to setup additional software. HISE is not able compile anything by itself, but mainly packages your HISE-project's scripts and files and outsources the heavy lifting to your system compilers. This is why you have to install a suitable IDE (Integrated Development Environment) on your OS environment and some additional Software development kits (SDKs).
Let's get started: Below is a list of every application required for compiling & exporting virtual instruments with HISE .
| Tool | Type | Link | Explanation |
| HISE | Source Code | Github | The source code that contains the HISE engine. |
| IDE | Application | Visual Studio 2017
for Windows / XCode <= 10.3
for macOS |
The main application for compiling native applications for each platform. They come shipped with command-line compilers, so if everything runs smooth you don't need to touch the IDE once. |
| VST SDK | Source Code | Steinberg Website | If you want to compile VST plugins, you'll need to download the VST SDK from Steinberg yourself (for licensing reasons it can't be distributed with HISE
). Grab the VST 3 Audio Plug-Ins SDK
from their website and extract it. In the extracted folder you'll find a .bat file that you have to execute. The folder VST3_SDK
has to be renamed to VST3 SDK
(get rid of that pesky underscore) and be put in your HISE
source code folder under HISE > tools > SDK >
. |
| ASIO SDK | Source Code | Steinberg Website | If you are building a standalone application on Windows, you might want to support the low latency ASIO driver. Get ASIO SDK
from their website and put the extracted ASIOSDK2.3
in HISE > tools > SDK >
, too. |
| Intel IPP | Application (1.2GB) | Download | It's strongly recommended to use this library because it will improve the performance drastically and it's obligatory for the convolution reverb. |
After installing these programs we're almost ready for compiling plugins with HISE . In a last step we have to point your HISE instance to the HISE source-code via the HISE Path Setting.
Configure the Settings
In HISE you can access the Settings dialog with File -> Settings or click the little gear symbol on the right of the tool-bar. Here you can set the HISE Path to the root HISE -source-code folder that you downloaded or cloned earlier.
Scroll to the Compiler Settings section in the HISE Settings. You can insert your path by hand or select the HISE source code folder location with the Browse button.
In the Settings you will encounter many other options to adjust your project. Have a look at HISE Settings to learn more about them.
BTW: There you'll also find the Audio & MIDI Settings to adjust and connect your sound-card, drivers and MIDI Equipment.
Compile the latest HISE
A nice side effect of having installed these tools is that you are now able to compile HISE
yourself! In this way you can work with the bleeding edge development branch
and don't have to wait for upcoming stable build releases.
HISE
ships with an adapted version of the JUCE Projucer
that can be found in the HISE folder @ HISE/tools/projucer/Projucer
. The Projucer is a user-friendly application that allows you to deploy HISE
on different platforms in conjunction with your preferred IDE.
To compile HISE open the Projucer
and select (File > Open
) the 'HISE Standalone.jucer' file that you can find in the HISE/projects/standalone/
folder. It will present you with compile (debug/release) options for MacOS, Windows and Linux.
Select the Release Version for your applicable IDE and select File > Save Project and Open in IDE . This will open the latest HISE source code in your IDE (VS, XCode etc..). Hit the Compile -Button in your IDE (something with a play-arrow) and let the compiler proceed.
A few seconds (and compiler warnings) later a brand-new version of HISE
should jump up. You can find the newly compiled executable in HISE\projects\standalone\Builds\VisualStudio2022\x64\Release\App\
.
Installation FAQ
If you encounter problems installing HISE or face unencountered challenges please post your problem in the HISE Forum and we'll try to help you.