MiniHub
A free, open-source music workstation for Windows that works with any MIDI
controller: map yours in the browser with the Builder,
or start with the Arturia MiniLab 3 it comes with. A node-based Patch Bay where one
cable joins two nodes, a native VST3 host, a sample-accurate MIDI + audio sequencer and
its mix console, Mixer / Morpher /
Arpeggiator / Audio Player / Drum Sequencer nodes, a One Ring node that sequences the parameters of your own
patch and plays notes of its own, and learning that binds physical knobs to
VST3 parameters.
Your cables — not the page you happen to be looking at — decide what you hear.
Status
A personal project under active development. The current build is
MiniHub 0.9.5,
a beta, available two ways: an installer, or a portable folder you unzip
and replace. Both carry the same build, and both read the same settings,
projects and recordings — none of which live inside the application folder
(see D-031). It also builds and runs from source, below.
The executable is not code-signed, so SmartScreen will warn; the SHA-256 sums are
published with the release.
Requirements
| |
|---|
| System | Windows 10/11 — final, no port planned |
| Node.js | 20 or newer |
| Compiler | Visual Studio 2022 or 2026, C++ desktop workload |
| CMake | 3.22 or newer |
| Audio | a WASAPI output |
Native dependencies to fetch
Never committed. Their revisions are pinned in
native/deps.json, and one command fetches them into
native/third_party/ and builds lame.exe (git and Visual Studio needed):
node scripts/fetch-native-deps.mjs
| Folder | What | Pin |
|---|
native/third_party/JUCE | JUCE | 9.0.1 |
native/third_party/vst3sdk | Steinberg's VST3 SDK | 3.8.1 |
native/third_party/portaudio | PortAudio | 19.7.0 |
native/third_party/lame | LAME, including bin/lame.exe | 3.100.1 |
A folder already there is left alone if it is at its pin, and refused
otherwise — never replaced. CMake stops with an explicit message if one is
missing — there is no silent failure at this stage.
Build and run
npm install
Configure the native tree once (the only unscripted step):
cmake -S native/audio-engine -B native/audio-engine/build -A x64
Then:
npm start # native build + dist sync + launch
Verify
npm test # JS tests, node:test runner
npm run check # invariant checker
npm run build:native # must pass with 0 errors, 0 warnings
After npm run build:native:tests, the four native binaries:
native/audio-engine/build/Release/mlh_native_tests.exe --core
native/audio-engine/build/Release/mlh_native_tests.exe --vst3-e2e
native/audio-engine/build/Release/mlh_native_tests.exe --cross-track-isolation
native/audio-engine/build/Release/mlh_realtime_output_tests.exe
A change is not finished until everything that touches it is green.
See AGENTS.md §8.
Diagnosis
Startup log: %APPDATA%/minilab-hub/minilab-hub-startup.log. It is the first
thing to read when the engine will not start.
Documentation
The repository documents itself. Mandatory entry point for a contributor or an
agent: AGENTS.md.
Name
MiniHub is the product name. minilab-hub (npm, %APPDATA%) and mlh_
(native targets) are historical and must not be "corrected": they are paths
that already exist on users' disks. MiniLab alone always means the hardware
controller, never the application. See AGENTS.md §2.
Licences
MiniHub is open source, under two licences:
- the native audio engine and the VST3 scanner (
native/audio-engine/),
which link the JUCE framework, are under the GNU AGPLv3 — see
native/LICENSE;
- everything else is under the MIT licence — see LICENSE.
Anyone may use, change and share MiniHub. A changed version of the engine that
is distributed must stay open under the AGPLv3. The third-party components and
their licences are listed in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md.
MiniHub is an independent project, not affiliated with Arturia. MiniLab is a
trademark of Arturia.
