Before You Start (Linux Edition)

Please read EVERYTHING on this page before proceeding to use Ardour.

How To Install

If you downloaded source code, these instructions are not for you. See the building instructions instead.

You should have been able to download a file whose name ends in ".run" and saved it to disk. Because Linux is a secure operating system in general, files you download are not automatically runnable as programs. Start the install process by opening a Terminal window (typically from the system's main menu, within the System Tools or Accessories submenus) and then type the following commands:

cd /folder/where/you/saved/the/file
/bin/sh ./<DOWNLOADED_FILENAME>.run
	

(replacing <DOWNLOADED_FILENAME> so that the command uses the full name of the downloaded file, ending in ".run")

Do not run these commands as root. The installation will ask you for any passwords if necessary. Running as root may cause the installation to fail.

Some output will appear in the Terminal window, and you will be asked to press the Return key finish the installation.

How To Uninstall

The installer will offer to uninstall any previous versions that is finds. If you wish to uninstall a version manually, run the uninstall script found in /opt for the version you wish to remove.

cd /opt
sh ./Ardour_<VERSION>.uninstall.sh
        

<VERSION> in the above command is replaced by som appropriate text to refer to the version you want to uninstall. For a complete uninstall, you may also want to delete ~/.config/ardour3 where your preferences, custom key bindings, and other Ardour specific settings are stored.

You might want to get to know JACK

Ardour does not require that you have JACK (the JACK Audio Connection Kit) installed on your system

But you may want to have JACK available so that Ardour can share audio and MIDI with other Linux audio applications. If you are wondering just what on earth JACK is then take a look here.

You can install it from your distribution's software repository using the normal system software install/update tools, or download and build it yourself from the JACK website.

If you use JACK, you are not required to have JACK running when you start Ardour, but you will generally find it much more convenient to start, stop and configure JACK using the separate JACK GUI control program called QJackctl (sometimes called "Jack Control"). You will be able to install this very easily from your distribution's software repository, using the normal system software install/update tools.