Yes Jon_Vincent,
this is really a light at the end of a long tunnel.
I’ve been using linux since the 90’s and ugraded yesterday to Ubuntu 24.04 but I’ve always been skeptical about native musical apps for linux because of the narrow niche of linux users, Pianoteq being an exception.
I would be interested on the Astrolab linux implementation. But the Astrolab does not manage the Analog Lab gui.
+1 For Linux support. My machines run Fedora and MX but I would try any distro Arturia would decide to support. I guess my needs are simple: I just need to hook my Microfreak up to MCC
I bought a Keylab some time ago, just to get my hands on Analog Lab to try it out. Major kudos to Arturia support for digging up a replacement keybed that solved the ancient “high keys” problem on the OG Keylab! I loved the Keylab. It was a marvelous, marvelous piece of hardware, but after a year and a half of beating my head against Midi Control Center not quite running under Wine and Analog Lab not being able to communicate fully with the Keylab, I ended up selling it. If Arturia would get behind linux support and push, I’d probably buy another Keylab in a heartbeat. The 16 pads, the great keybed, the gobs of knobs and sliders - it was everything I needed in one package.I really loved that gadget but hated not having the software support to fully utilize it.
Arturia, Please… Give us a solution for the Midi Control Center [Linux support]
Under FreeBSD you can protect your source code. OR Flatpak for Linux, also protected
BUMP
I am using the minifreak V vst already on linux with PARTIAL functionality - namely the “Link to Minifreak” synchronization with hardware minifreak can’t work, real bummer. I’m using yabridge for anyone interested, follow the instructions there.
This is such an important functionality, because without it the minifreak can only ever be a music playing toy without much use in production.
So please!!
Native linux support that would enable this functionality (which currently doesn’t work due to the hacks used to run on linux) would be a game changer! Thank you!
What do you mean by this? Binaries do not contain source code …
For plugins and many other software it’ll be less about the distro and more important that you statically link dependencies and use a glibc that is low enough to cover the most users.
Many vendors will build on ie. Ubuntu 20.04 LTS which uses glibc 2.31
You could probably get away with Ubuntu 22.0.4 (glibc 2.35) as 20.04 will be EOL next year.
Older glibc builds will run on newer versions, but not the other way around.
So the trick is to find a good “lowest common denominator” for compatibility.
In these time go to ubuntu LTS it’s not good idea. Now we have Flatpacks. One package with all references and all distributions available.
Basically where we have lot of cross platform solutions like Qt, C# (yes it works under Linux!), Python etc. and much more.
Is there any way to update the firmware for the Minifreak on Linux? Anyone here successfully done it? Just wouldnt want to install Windows to update my newly bought Minifreak…
Yeah, +1 on Linux.
I’ve transitioned from CygWin to WSL, and I would really like to ditch Windows completely (I’m NOT going to spend $600 on upgrading my PC hardware so I can get Windows 11 just to get security updates).
Not to mention Windows is getting more and more bloated…
I’m not into religious debates about operating systems, but I will share my experience and resources.
My tasks are split between various laptops running MX Linux AHS 64-bit with the Liquorix Kernel for low-latency A/V production. It can be sideloaded under WSL 2.0, but I prefer it naked on its own device, and MIDI networked to the MIDI I/O of my Windows workstation, various pedals and MDI addressable circuit-bent devices.
I know there are Windows versions of Vital, SURGE XT, and several other virtual synths and FX as well, but I have a massive amount of fun experimenting with them on Linux.
I run Windows 11 Pro, on an older model Dell XPS 4980 workstation that miraculously runs Windows 11 Pro for some reason that I optimized using Pete Brown’s basic recommendations for using Windows as a DAW, which for me was turning off non-essential background processes like turning off USB, excluding software processes and my music production folders from being scanned by Windows Defender, and anything else that can affect connectivity and audio processing.
Here’s some of the latest news on MIDI 2.0 and more recent tips for system optimization, and you can also join the official Windows MIDI Discord for questions not covered in the video or the blog tutorial.
Here’s the original blog tutorial
Pete Brown is the principal software engineer at Microsoft, with a focusing on developing client-side Windows apps and technology for musicians, music app developers and music hardware developers. Pete is also the current chair of the Executive Board of the MIDI Association and lead architect for MIDI 2.0. The open-source Windows MIDI Services project (Overview | Windows MIDI Services) is nearing its first consumer release, and is getting ready to be in-boxed for near-term Windows updates in 2025.
I hope you find something I’ve shared helpful.
Looks like SteamOS for the desktop maybe the gift of 2025.
SteamOS Arch Linux hybrid OS for the desktop that hopefully goes beyond just running games. Maybe released in Beta soon. Fingers crossed.
Hi ! I never managed to get it updated from Linux. I tried several versions of WINE & Crossover. I tried VirtualBox. Under VirtualBox it attempted the update process and randomly interrupted itself. Sometimes I managed to get to the end then it never managed to finish (at the state the MF was supposed to reboot).
I was afraid to brick my MF so I gave up and used VirtualBox to create a bootable Windows on the Go with Rufus. It tooks hours and was a total PITA 
But it worked eventually. Windows is extremely slow from a USB key ; it is advised to use a USB SSD.
As I’ve been using Linux exclusively for 20 years (and 30 almost 30 years overall) it was very frustrating to do this But well, if that’s only for the update process I could go to a friend’s place.
Do you use Jack or Pipewire ?
Serious question. 100% not intended to intimidate.
When it’s this much of a permanently-uphill battle to run software on Linux computers that the software is just not intended to run on, why don’t you just build yourself, or buy, a Windows PC. If you’re so militant about Windows that you don’t want to generally just use it as a replacement for Linux, you can always relegate this computer to 100% music-only. It’s one thing being a martyr for your cause, and it’s another insisting on trying to eat soup with a fork because you don’t like spoons.
Well, there is no obvious reply to this, I guess that depends on how important the concessions you make are, and their consequences.
As a hobbyist musician, for instance, I already have way more than what I need on Linux. Massively more than 20 or almost 30 years back when I started using it. What is more important to me is improving my own fundamental music skills and in this area, I need less than more as far as I’m concerned 
Still, I would be happy if Arturia made the effort to port their stuff to Linux, even in an un-official un-supported way (especially since the Astrolab runs Linux !!). But what I NEED is being a better musician. – I decided to stop taking hours trying to get windows apps to run under Linux a few years back. THAT was a waste of time.
Actually, 20 years back, I knew many people switching to Linux for ethical & political reasons. Now that it is easier than ever and maybe more necessary and that the compromises are very little, I know almost none. (remember the horrendous Flash player years ?) But it’s true we rely on computers for way more than back then and got accustomed to having instant access to tons of services (which raises many questions).
(There is a similar subject with gaming. Although I kinda came to the conclusion I had to stop playing videogames anyway because that was a pointless addiction, 30-20 years back on Linux, we had a few nice open source games, a few companies porting their games (like Loki, ID Software). Then there was an era of non-free indie game supporting Linux. The beginning of Humble Indie Bundles. Then came Steam. Then came Proton transparently built into Steam. Well, as far as I am concerned, even though I now potentially have thousands of AAA games at my fingertips, I kinda preferred when there were open sources ones and a few indie ones. I have the feeling there are almost no more open source games being developped nowadays - there were many nice ones 25 years back.)
Dear Arturia,
Please do not be offended by my Rant.
I agree, kind of. One can also dual boot on the same PC…
Im not picking on Arturia, they are great at what they do most of the time.
But Midi Control Center is not one of them. Which is my only gripe right now
with the Linux debate. They could strip-out all the unnecessary parts, eg. controllers
from A to Z… (controllers can be installed separately* as needed) Bring the size down fix the problem they are having with the templates (mouse over, in Wine Linux) and the colour change buttons with pads…(Wine Linux) … tidy things up and port it to Linux. Not asking for the whole software collection. Some run rather well in Linux.
Linux/Unix runs massive servers, phones, offices, banking, etc… I think Mac OS was Birthed from BSD i believe.
*But i cant setup my Midi controller the way i want in Linux.
I personally have a hard time understanding when a product is sold like a
midi controller that can do nothing without an OS. I think consumers should
have as many choices that are available to a certain degree.
The Dev’s are great and many would like this to happen I’m sure. but sadly they do not call the shots.
Last Rant about it…
All the Best ,
Oh, if anyone is interested.
KXSTUDIO has some great tools for Linux users.
like Carla for plugins , and more… 
If that’s the case with the current keylabs then I agree that’s a bit of a backwards step. When the first Keylabs were launched, you could modify pretty much everything by putting the unit into Edit mode with the Edit button under the display and scrolling through the setup menus. It was way harder than just using Midi Control Center, but it was very possible.
Follow us for the hottest sounds, fresh content, exclusive offers and Arturia news as it happens.