Open MPC: a plugin toolchain for MPC OS

Build, skin, release and distribute native plugins for Akai MPC OS standalone devices (MPC Live/One/X/Key, Force). Plugins run inside MPC's built-in JUCE plugin host, so they behave like MPC's own instruments and effects: you add them to a track, play them from pads, keys or the sequencer, turn them with Q-Links, and they save with the project. Each one gets its own native MPC touchscreen page. No bridge, no background app, no LD_PRELOAD for plugins.

💬 Community: join Open MPC on Discord for support, release announcements, plugin requests and MPC hacking.

Plugin catalog · Installer app · Plugin Manager VST · Build guide · Release workflow

| | | |---|---| | Plugins | Synths, samplers, drum machines, sequencers, effects and app-like plugins, ported from existing C/C++ engines. | | Addins | Libraries MPC preloads at start-up: web remote control, USB audio, rolling recorder and similar. docs/ADDINS.md | | Device patches | Opt-in changes to the device itself: 16-pad drum layout, button remap, drive exec, auto exec. tools/mpc_patch | | Catalog | One browsable list of everything above, with versions, SHA-256 checksums and hardware-test status. | | Installers | Desktop app, an on-device Plugin Manager VST, a shell command and USB-stick routes. | | Toolchain | Everything to port, skin, test, benchmark, package and publish your own. |

What you can build

• Instruments and effects that play from pads, keys and MIDI clips, with Q-Links, automation, presets in MPC's PRESET menu

• Ports of existing engines: describe the parameters in one small vst.json and the tools build the plugin, its page and

• MIDI generators: sequencers and arpeggiators that play other tracks, synced to MPC's tempo.
• App-like plugins that use the network (HTTP/HTTPS), read and write files or run helper programs, such as a record-digging streamer.
• Native pages: knobs, faders, switches, buttons, option selectors, pop-up lists, live text readouts and your own artwork

• Pages on the MPC Sample, whose own UI shows no plugin pages: a page of the plugin's own on the Sample's screen, driven by

• Ports for the desktop: the same port as a VST3 for local use in a DAW, showing its MPC skin. docs/DESKTOP_VST3.md

The workflow

describe  ->  build  ->  skin  ->  test on PC  ->  bench on device  ->  release  ->  list in catalog  ->  users install

1. Describe the engine in a vst.json: name, UID, parameters, sources. docs/PORTING.md
2. Build with tools/build_port.sh vst.json: the .so (armhf, glibc 2.31; aarch64 for Gen2), the skin and the MPC.settings entry.
3. Skin it automatically, in the browser-based Skin Studio (SkinStudio.command / .bat / .sh, needs Python 3), or from a

1. Test offline with tools/test_port.sh vst.json (x86 host test under ASan), then benchmark on the device with

1. Release with tools/release.py or the reusable vst-release.yml GitHub Actions workflow, which builds, tests, previews and

1. List it: open one PR adding catalog/plugins/.json. After that the catalog reads your releases every night and checks each zip.

1. Users install it from the catalog with the installer app, the Plugin Manager VST or mpc-store.sh.

The catalog

open-mpc.github.io lists the community's plugins, addins and device patches.

• Find: search; filter by kind, style, developer, license, MPC OS support or distribution; sort by recently updated or most downloaded.

• Trust tiers: Verified (newest release tested on real hardware and the test recorded, per generation), Listed (passed the

• Every version shows its date, SHA-256 and what it was tested on. A failed check hides the version and opens an issue.
• Collections: plugins one developer publishes from one repo are one card.
• Build it yourself: ports built from your own firmware can never ship a zip, so they list the exact build command instead.
• Contribute: catalog/README.md (how), docs/CATALOG.md (design),

Installing

| Route | For | |---|---| | Installer app (Windows, Mac, Linux) | Connects over SSH, installs a batch of catalog plugins or your own zips with one MPC restart, backs up settings first, removes plugins, installs to SD/USB, runs device patches. | | Plugin Manager VST | A plugin that browses the catalog and installs, updates and removes plugins on the MPC itself, with rollback. Gen1 and Gen2. | | tools/mpc-store.sh | The same install, update, remove and sync from a shell on the device. | | USB stick, no SSH | docs/USB_STICK.md (Gen1/Force), docs/GEN2.md (Gen2). | | Release zip | Each zip carries its own install.sh, uninstall.sh and INSTALL.md. Install guide |

Addins and device patches

Not everything is a plugin. Two more kinds of community work are in the catalog and use the same tooling:

• Addins are libraries MPC loads at start-up (LD_PRELOAD), installed to /data/mpc-addins/ by one shared, collision-safe

• Device patches change the device rather than add files: the 16-pad drum layout, drive exec, auto exec, button remap and addin

Compatibility

| | Gen1 (ARM32): Live/Live II, One, X, Key 61, Force | Gen2 (aarch64): Live III, One G2, Key(s) G2 | |---|---|---| | Plugin build | armhf against glibc 2.31 | separate aarch64 build per plugin | | Setup | root SSH, or USB stick | USB script / Plugin Manager VST; root filesystem is read-only | | MPC OS | 2.x (glibc 2.32) and 3.x (2.39) | 3.x | | Checked on | Force 3.9.1 (reference), MPC Live 2.15.1 | Live III |

Every release is built on a pinned toolchain, checked against the catalog's rules (layout, checksums, glibc and CPU limits), smoke-tested on a device and labelled 2.x + 3.x or 3.x only from its library and skin. A 3.x-only plugin loads on 2.x and plays from the Q-Links, but its page stays empty until its developer ships a compatible skin. Details, the 2.x skin shape and device internals: docs/COMPATIBILITY.md, docs/OS2_SKINS.md.

Limits

VST2 only (a desktop VST3 build exists) · no native drop-down picker, custom-drawn widgets or text entry · two fonts for live text (Titillium Web, Roboto) · plugin MIDI out is ignored by MPC (generators open their own port) · notes land on 128-sample blocks unless a port opts into sample-accurate starts · a plugin crash takes MPC down · Gen1 gives a plugin about 2.9 ms per audio block, shared with the whole project. Full list: docs/COMPATIBILITY.md. What is next: docs/ROADMAP.md.

Documentation

| I want to... | Read | |---|---| | Port an engine | PORTING.md, EMULATOR_PORTS.md, MIDI_TIMING.md | | Design a page | SKIN_STUDIO.md, SKIN_VARIANTS.md, COMMUNITY_SKINS.md | | Measure and ship | BENCH.md, RELEASING.md, CATALOG.md | | Know what is verified | NOTES.md (hardware facts, dated), MPC_OS_REFERENCE.md, AZ0X_SOURCE.md (inMusic's published source) | | Target the MPC Sample | MPC_SAMPLE.md | | Work with Gen2 or MPC OS 2.x | GEN2.md, OS2_SKINS.md, COMPATIBILITY.md | | Run an addin or patch | ADDINS.md, PATCHES.md |

Repository map: docs/COMPATIBILITY.md.

Credits

The route was first described on the MPC-Forums thread "Proof of Concept: Custom Standalone Plugins" (Sep 2026) by NoQuestion and dustyslices. Schwung by @charlesvestal, the open module platform for Ableton Move, inspired a good part of how this project is built: the small engine interface our wrapper and the adapters/schwung adapter follow, the build, test and release workflow for modules, and the catalog model. We made our own versions for MPC OS; thank you for building it in the open. The Plugin Manager VST began as a fork of poloq's MIT-licensed mpc-vst-manager.

Credits also to the MockbaMod community for assistance in development, especially @Locrian.

Legal

The code in this repository is under the MIT licence (see LICENSE); vendored third-party files keep their own licences.

VST2 is a deprecated Steinberg format; this project uses a hand-written ABI header and is for personal, non-commercial experimentation on hardware you own. No Akai content is redistributed. Editing MPC.settings is at your own risk; back it up first.