Cardinal

by DISTRHO

Virtual modular synthesizer plugin

Version
26.02
License
GPL-3.0
Installer
inno
Architecture
x64
Package ID
DISTRHO.Cardinal
audioeuroracklv2musicpluginsoundsynthsynthesizervcvrackvst
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About Cardinal

Cardinal, the Rack! Cardinal is a free and open-source virtual modular synthesizer plugin, available in AudioUnit/CLAP/LV2/VST2/VST3 plugin formats and as a standalone app for FreeBSD, Linux, macOS, Windows and the Web. It is based on the popular VCV Rack but with a focus on being a fully self-contained plugin version. More specifically, this is a DPF-based plugin wrapper around VCV Rack, using its code directly instead of forking the project, with the target of having a self-contained, fully free and open-source plugin version of Rack. See the why section below for the reasons Cardinal exists, also for frequently asked questions check this FAQ document. Cardinal contains Rack, some 3rd-party modules and a few internal utilities all in a single binary. All "Core" modules from Rack have been replaced by Cardinal equivalents, simplified to better work for an audio plugin. Cardinal does not load external modules and does not connect to the official Rack library/store. All VCV branding has been removed (to the best of our knowledge) in order to avoid any trademark issues.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I install Cardinal using winget?
Open Windows Terminal or PowerShell and run: winget install DISTRHO.Cardinal. Winget is built into Windows 10 (version 1809+) and Windows 11 — no separate download required.
What is Cardinal?
Virtual modular synthesizer plugin
Is Cardinal free to download?
Cardinal is available under the GPL-3.0 license. Use the winget command above or click the download button to get the installer directly from the publisher.
How do I update Cardinal with winget?
Run winget upgrade DISTRHO.Cardinal in Windows Terminal or PowerShell to update Cardinal to the latest available version.
What Windows versions support Cardinal?
The installer for Cardinal targets the x64 architecture. Check the publisher’s documentation for minimum Windows version requirements. Winget itself requires Windows 10 version 1809 or later.