VST3 CPack

VST3 CPack uses CPack (part of CMake) to create VST3 plugin installers for Windows, macOS and Linux. It gives you a good starting point for a simple installer that you can extend by your own components and scripts.

Use as a subdirectory

Using CMake's FetchContent module allows you to easily integrate VST3 CPack into your existing VST3 project.

include(FetchContent)

FetchContent_Declare(
    vst3-cpack
    GIT_REPOSITORY https://github.com/hansen-audio/vst3-cpack.git
    GIT_TAG main
)

FetchContent_MakeAvailable(vst3-cpack)

Add the following lines to the end of the CMakeLists.txt which contains the project command at the beginning. In most cases this is the root CMakeLists.txt.

get_target_property(PLUGIN_PACKAGE_PATH MyPlugin SMTG_PLUGIN_PACKAGE_PATH)
vst3_cpack_configure(
    PLUGIN_PACKAGE_PATH "${PLUGIN_PACKAGE_PATH}"
    PLUGIN_PRESETS_PATH "/path/to/MyPlugin/presets" # Optional
)

include(CPack)

include(CPack) must be called at the very end!

Get more advanced with CPack

You can still use CPack as usual and set CPack variables.

...
set(CPACK_PACKAGE_VENDOR "My Company")
set(CPACK_RESOURCE_FILE_LICENSE ${PROJECT_SOURCE_DIR}/LICENSE)
vst3_cpack_configure(
    PLUGIN_PACKAGE_PATH "/path/to/build/Release/MyPlugin.vst3"
    PLUGIN_PRESETS_PATH "/path/to/MyPlugin/presets" # Optional
)

include(CPack)

Execute CPack on command line

VST3 CPack is tested with following CPack geneartors:

• Windows: INNOSETUP and NSIS
• macOS: productbuild
• Linux: TGZ

Other CPack generators might work as well. If you find a generator which is not working as expected, report an issue or create a pull request.

Execute CPack inside the CMake binary directory of your VST3 project.

cpack -C Release -G INNOSETUP .

You can also use -C Debug to pickup the debug build of your VST3 plugin for testing purpose.

Prepare Windows for VST3 CPack

Use winget command line tool on Windows to install Inno Setup (https://jrsoftware.org) and/or NSIS (https://nsis.sourceforge.io).

winget install JRSoftware.InnoSetup
winget install NSIS.NSIS