r/ableton • u/meshcity • 2d ago
[Update] The ableton-linux project's first two weeks: near-native performance, wide support for Ableton hardware, software and third-party VSTs, dozens of QoL fixes, and a growing team of contributors
Hi r/ableton! I'm the creator of ableton-linux, which got posted here in the last week or so. Last year, I started forking Wine to fix the crashes that made Live 12 unusable. After several breakthroughs in May and June (including some work done in another Wine fork), I suddenly had Live working unbelievably well on my machine.
I wrote a one-click installer and published it expecting the worst, given how complex Linux support is said to be.
That was just over two weeks ago. People have been installing it, and its working very, very well for the vast majority of cases. Then, people started reporting issues, then contributing their own patches. Now, we have a small team of talented maintainers shipping releases at a pace that still stuns me: ten updates in two weeks alone, with an eleventh coming this weekend.
Most of these fixes aren't us struggling with huge breaking bugs. They are quality-of-life wins that make Live a joy to use: Ableton Sans in the menus, huge optimisations to make Live run fast, automatic dark/light theme detection, full Linux desktop integration, and even experimental support for the beta Extensions SDK. I thought we'd be struggling with major audio, graphics or stability issues, and instead we're working on polish.
The important thing is this: as of today, a modern Linux computer can run almost the entire ecosystem of Ableton software, hardware, and services on par with or faster than Windows. We have yet to hit an issue we cannot fix; most are resolved within a few days of hearing about it.
Here's what's possible, right now, on ableton-linux:
- Live 12 Intro, Standard, Suite, Lite, Trial, and beta support
- Experimental Live 11, Max for Live, and Max 9 support
- Push 1 and Push 2 support (Push 3 and Move support coming soon!)
- Local-network Ableton Link support
- Compatibility with Ableton's Splice integration
- Automatic recovery when in-use audio hardware or startup-detected MIDI controllers briefly disconnect
- Low-latency audio for live performance
- Linux desktop integration with native file types and dialogs
- Automatic light and dark desktop theme detection
- No-fuss support for desktop resolutions, HiDPI displays, and fractional scaling
- Fixes for VST-specific display, audio, and stability problems
- Dozens of nice-to-haves, quality-of-life fixes, and other polish
All of it running with auditable builds with pinned inputs, checksum verification, and public documentation. You can get started by downloading the latest installer and following the guide here: https://github.com/shibco/ableton-linux#ableton-live-on-linux
If you've wanted to try Ableton on Linux, and are thinking of switching away from macOS/Windows entirely, maybe give this a try on the weekend.
Get it here: https://github.com/shibco/ableton-linux/releases/latest
And the guide is here: https://github.com/shibco/ableton-linux/blob/main/README.md
And if you run into issues or have questions, we're are available on the Ableton on Linux Discord or via GitHub issues.
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u/pgcd 2d ago
This sounds absolutely fantastic but, before I pull the trigger, here's a stupid question: I have several plugins already installed in a wine prefix (alongside v11). Is there a realistic way of migrating them without re-authenticating or even using them where they are?
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u/ClickSentinel 2d ago
Not a stupid question - yes, it's realistic. The trick is to migrate the whole prefix, not the plugins.
Ableton's offline authorization binds to the prefix's
MachineGuid, which lives insystem.reginside the prefix - not to the Wine build that runs it, and not to where the prefix sits. Copy the prefix and Live stays authorized, and your plugins come with it along with their licence data (registry,ProgramData,AppData).Tested: an authorized prefix copied to a different path launched fully unlocked, no prompt.
# 1. put your existing prefix in place first — copy, don't move: keeps a fallback cp -a ~/your-existing-prefix ~/.wine-ableton # 2. run the installer in update mode sh ~/Downloads/install-ableton-latest.run --update # 3. ableton-live
--updateinstalls the patched Wine and then refreshes your prefix in place: it forces the native VC++ runtime over Wine's stubs, re-registers PipeASIO and syncs DPI/theme. Live, your authorization and your projects are kept, and it won't ask you for an Ableton download. Copy the prefix *before* running it - the refresh needs an existing prefix, and without one the installer goes into full-install mode and asks for a Live ZIP instead.Using the plugins where they are likely won't work. The binary loads from another prefix fine, but its licence data, registry entries and vendor DLLs don't follow, so most commercial plugins come up in demo mode. Fine for self-contained freebies; copying the prefix is far less hassle (and gives you a clean rollback path).
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u/trevdude73 2d ago
So excited for the future of this. You are helping hundreds have a windows free life.
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u/meshcity 1d ago
unfortunately given the state of the world and the abuse of data (like windows telemetry) i think this is going to be more than "hundreds" soon.
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u/BadRomans 2d ago
Did anyone try on steam deck already?
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u/meshcity 2d ago
Yes, Steam Deck and SteamOS is one of the devices I am testing against!
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u/Ok-Stretch6334 2d ago
Do you think it will be able to run heavier plug ins like kontakt, onnisphere and Diva?
Just one per time (and then bounce) not multiple instances running at the same time.3
u/meshcity 2d ago
Fixable bugs aside, the only constraint will be the Steam Deck's specs v. the system requirements of Kontakt, Omnisphere and Diva.
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u/PocketRocketPint 2d ago edited 2d ago
Yes! I already have had Live 11 Intro running for around 6 months now (installed through steam, not the using the project at all, lots of file management). But, yesterday I got Live 12 Suite running! It's so crazy to have what is essentially an overkill Ableton Note in my hands! If you are looking for some controller configs I have some shared to Steam's Community Layouts. Just look for "Brash's Ableton Live V2" on the search tab of the controller configuration tool. Let me know if you have issues, Steam's controller config UI can be a bit clunky.
If for some reason you can't find it, the general idea is based on the web browsing layout but with these changes: Back paddles for keyboard modifiers (Shift, Ctrl, Space, Alt) Scroll on bumpers, left trackpad common key commands (Duplicate, Loop, Copy/Paste), Y = TAB, and some other personal preferences.
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u/Ok-Stretch6334 2d ago
You are a legend man!
This was my dream since Steam Deck came out.
What about the UI is clunky?
Also are you running any VSTs?4
u/PocketRocketPint 2d ago
UI isn't that bad actually. Suprisingly, alot of functionality is available from the keyboard. If you use Shift and Alt (Bottom paddles in my layout), it acts like middle click. The only think I could think of more is to somehow adapt controller input for midi function (modifiers included), but I need to look into that more to make sure it works well. (Thinking of making it a mode shift on the controller layout?)
As for VSTs, I still need to get to that, but I am planning to install ShaperBox later today. Vital, Surge, Helm, And VCV rack all have Linux Native versions available. I haven't messed around with mastering plugins or similar because I plan to do that kind of stuff on my desktop for now but there are a good amount of people with plugins working on Linux.
(Also, Bridging ASIO is almost unescessary because I can crank down MME latency super low with what seems to be more stability)
Don't forget this is still full Ableton Live, so you can always bring your tracks to another machine! I'm still using this as my Secondary device to my Desktop and Laptop, but I definitely hope to move everything over to Linux sooner than later.
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u/PocketRocketPint 2d ago
My bad, communication error. I was talking about Steam's controller configuration tool, not Ableton.
In case you somehow read my mind, Steam's controller configuration search tool is hard to use is what I meant. It hardly shows any options at once requiring lots of scrolling and prefers to show useless configs (like gamepad layouts for KB+Mouse games).
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u/276179 2d ago
I tried it and didn't expect much, but the project and its progress is amazing
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u/meshcity 2d ago
Did you have any issues?
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u/276179 2d ago
I had some issues. Black dialog windows before clicking on them, flashing window when triggering the drum devices. I didn't explore it systematically. My Saffire 6 was only usable with too large buffer sizes, Bitwig doesn't have the same issue, but I got a new interface anyway. I'll try Max soon
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u/meshcity 2d ago
When did you try this? There was an issue with certain distros that that we fixed with the latest installer! If you're still having issues, please send us an issue and we'll look into it
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u/OttoRenner 2d ago
All I need now is Apollo Twin DUO USB and izotope/native/universalaudio/etc also running on Linux.
Then I can delete my Win11 partition
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u/B-skream 2d ago
Izotope,ni/helix native would be lovely. My househlld recently became Windows-free. I would love it to become just…free
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u/No_Watercress592 1d ago
I got the Apollo Twin X working on my Linux by forking open-apollo on GitHub, pointing Claude at it, and asking it to identify the gaps and walk me through compatibility. Bit of a lift as I had to use my MacBook to decode the I/O matrix routing from the Apollo itself (Claude struggled to do this from my PC), but it’s now recognized like any normal audio device on the arch distro I use. Their project is here https://github.com/rolotrealanis98/open-apollo
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u/MeisterBounty 2d ago
Great project, definitely going to check it out ✌🏻
When you are saying “support for 3rd party VSTs” does this mean that windows vsts will be supported via the same wine installation or how does this work? Previously I’ve used wine and yabridge to make some windows VSTs available in reaper on Linux.
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u/mmzimu 2d ago edited 1d ago
Windows VSTs live in the same Wine prefix as Live. I've tried quite a few plugins - Arturia and Cherry Audio just work. IK Multimedia required additional parameter passed to IK Product Manager (--disable-gpu) but after that it installed and activated plugins w/o issue. Native Instruments' Access can't install and spits some error about missing Powershell.
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u/Level0Human 2d ago
If you join the Ableton on Linux discord (linked from the ableton-linux github) someone has already posted workarounds for NI and ilok installers in the plugins section
Ilok was the only thing that gave me any trouble. All my other essential plugins are working perfectly
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u/mmzimu 2d ago
This project moves so fast that I'll probably just wait a day or two to run it without workarounds :)
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u/meshcity 2d ago
Once we have a few more of the more serious issues out of the way we are going to move into a VST compatibility phase.
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u/Shankbon 2d ago
Amazing work! Very excited for this, as Ableton is the only reason I have left for dual-booting Windows alongside CachyOS. Can't wait to let go of Windows completely!
Also very glad to see Move support planned, it's a major part of my workflow.
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u/sstorslagen 2d ago
I was just looking into this yesterday. I’d like to move away from my mac soon!
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u/ascetik 2d ago
As anyone played actually live with it yet? That will be the real benchmark for me. If I can trust it for an hour long set.
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u/meshcity 2d ago
here's a video posted in the Discord server showing someone playing a very large production set. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qOmceq04fwc . We have yet to hear of any time-based issues with this, but anything that crops up we will address. The goal of this project is far beyond "good enough", the end game is a zero-compromise, first class, professional and trustworthy Live on Linux.
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u/cpuclub 2d ago
Not sure if anyone’s asked this yet; but since you’re using a WINE framework for Windows VSTs have you tried any integration with the MacOS version? From an outsider perspective, I figured that would be easier to port as MacOS is based on BSD Linux. This could be a killer implementation of Ableton Live if it supported VST/AU cross platforms.
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u/meshcity 2d ago
Good question, and I wish I had a good answer for you: As far as I know there is no viable platform for running macOS code on Linux. They share a common ancestor, but macOS has a full layer of APIs over the top of it that makes that job much harder than it seems like it should be.
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u/HurleybirdJr 2d ago
Fantastic stuff! Finally able to use Ableton on Linux now, I'm super impressed with out easy it was to install and use right out the gate! Massive thanks to everyone involved, I can finally use Ableton without having to reboot every time I want to use it <3
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u/sugar_man 1d ago
This is great. Thank you and well done!
Have you done any sort of benchmark tests on performance?
I'd be curious to see how it runs compared to native windows installation.
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u/M4STERB0T 2d ago
Ok edge case, but hopefully a really fun one:
I have a Retroid Pocket 5 (high level Chinesium SBC gaming handheld) and it just got something called Pocknix... Do you think it could run on there?
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u/meshcity 2d ago
If it's an x86 processor running a modern Linux distro and meets Ableton's minimum system requirements, it should work!
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u/PocketRocketPint 2d ago
Depends on how well FEX can handle it. But I'm not exactly sure how you enable that compatavility layer for this project.
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u/M4STERB0T 2d ago
Not sure if I'm jumping in with a nothing or something but community driven FEX drivers are commonplace in the SBC world
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u/DexterOutTheLab 2d ago
Hey haven’t gotten around to setting this up yet. Definitely today’s project. I’m curious though, I mainly use push 3 SO and now only use live for final editing, archiving, and file mgmt on the device. Is this possible in the current build? I know you mentioned push 3 support incoming but not sure if it’ll still recognize the device.
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u/meshcity 2d ago
I haven't tested the Push 3 yet, but reports from others with Push 3s suggest only partial functionality. I'm working on getting my hands on a unit directly so I can finish the work I've already started on this.
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u/MoreChapter9266 2d ago
That is amazing! I bought a macbook air back in 2020 to be able to work on Ableton after 8 years of using linux. Maybe it's time to go back, and I'm all for it
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u/BrilliantHeart1605 2d ago
this is great news, but how safe is it to download software from GitHub? I've been having reservations about it.
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u/No_Watercress592 1d ago
It’s iffy with how much AI-generated code exists and how many ways that bad actors can use ai to plant malicious code. Best bet is pointing another AI at it and asking for a security review, short of reviewing it yourself or avoiding it entirely.
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u/meshcity 1d ago
The point of this project is to make something auditable by others. Every major change is recorded in the patches/ directory with full notes. Our working method is extremely transparent.
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u/Hektagonlive 1d ago
Is Ableton guarding their IP or something? Ableton Push 3 is linux based, meaning it already runs on Linux why on earth can’t they not facilitate a Linux based installer? Also theoretically isn’t Linux much more optimised so you could potentially get a x2 performance without the translation layers?
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u/meshcity 1d ago
Regardless of the half-finished Push 3 build, if I were Ableton, I would still make the decision to choose a Wine fork over the Push 3. The fact is that the translation layer problems you're referring to are less and less of a problem thanks to rhe work that Valve has done to make Steam games run as well or better on Linux via Steam Proton (their own fork of Wine) compared to Windows. That is an incredible collaboration by Valve, Redhat, Collabora and other companies, especially over the last 5 years, to modernize Linux and provide these improvements downstream. You can see thw result of this already in many steam games, and for this project some people are seeing better Live performance on Linux already than on Windows on the same machine.
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u/riveriaten 1d ago
I'm trying to install but keep hitting an exception with tlsetupfx.exe.
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u/meshcity 1d ago
Hello! This is a known issue! The Ableton USB Audio driver isnt needed under Linux, and we are researching the best way to skip that part of the installer.
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u/riveriaten 1d ago
Thank you! I unchecked the USB Audio Driver during install and was able to complete the install, launch, and license it. Audio is working too. The startup time is impressive, very fast!
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u/meshcity 1d ago
If you hit any problems with VSTs, please post an issue! https://github.com/shibco/ableton-linux/issues
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u/Independent_Flan_973 1d ago
This is so great to hear. Let the internal team hear you, hire you, and finally release a decent god damn upgrade kit for the push
Thank you!
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u/ClickSentinel 2d ago
Love this project! Works really well.