There are two ways to get up and running with JUCE on Ubuntu.
- Option 1 - The Download Technique
Simply download, uncompress, then double-click the `Projucer` application which is ready to run with no installation needed.
https://juce.com/get-juce/download
- Option 2 - The `apt` Technique
You can also install the official bits blessed by the `Ubuntu` team by using `apt`, the official package manager.
#update package list
sudo apt update
#install JUCE
sudo apt install -y juce-tools juce-modules-source
In this write-up we discuss getting your Ubuntu 20.04 system up and running with JUCE, the open-source framework for creating audio plugins, dsps, etc.
You can check your os version with:
cat /etc/os-release
When landing at the following link, be sure to select your OS from the top right of the page if you are not on focal (20.04).
https://packages.ubuntu.com/focal/juce-tools
The Projucer application is the official GUI application for working with the JUCE framework. You will get this with either the download or the apt technique.
We can download the bits and start creating things immediately without needing to compile or do anything tricky. Just click the link in the "TLDR" above and you can extract the .zip file and locate the Projucer application. The Projucer application will already be executable and you can simply launch it, though feel free to review the properties if desired.
Here we just repeat the steps shown in the TLDR since the apt technique is that easy.
#update package list
sudo apt-get update
#install JUCE
sudo apt install -y juce-tools juce-modules-source
Note: This will also result in a nice GUI experience once we get the bits installed.
After installing with apt we will have an icon in our Applications menu. You want to show off right away and add this as a favorite.
Note: If you are running projucer that you downloaded from the website, then you can navigate manually when wanting to launch projucer (i.e. to your Downloads or /home directory, wherever you placed the bits).
You can run the latest version which you downloaded manually from the site (in the TLDR) which is currently version 6.1.4 as of this writing. However, the version that we get from our Ubuntu package manager will be version 5.4.7 currently (a little behind as expected).
Juce has its own editor / IDE, but you can also install Visual Studio Code, if desired.
#download gpg key
wget -qO- https://packages.microsoft.com/keys/microsoft.asc | gpg --dearmor > packages.microsoft.gpg
#add gpg key
sudo install -o root -g root -m 644 packages.microsoft.gpg /etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/
#Copy/Paste the following very long one-liner
sudo sh -c 'echo "deb [arch=amd64,arm64,armhf signed-by=/etc/apt/trusted.gpg.d/packages.microsoft.gpg] https://packages.microsoft.com/repos/code stable main" > /etc/apt/sources.list.d/vscode.list'
#cleanup
rm -f packages.microsoft.gpg
#refresh package list
sudo apt update
#install visual studio code
sudo apt install code
If using Visual Studio Code, be sure to click the extension icon in the left pane and search for the c++ extension from microsoft.
You will also want the "extension" pack from microsoft which includes additional support for C++ and can be installed like normal.
Tip: Not needed, but the nerd-mode extension install technique is press ctrl + p, to access the vs code quick open menu, then paste an ext command such as ext install ms-vscode.cpptools-extension-pack.
Juce should have everything you need, but if going all out you might also want g++ which you can install on its own, or better yet as part of the official Ubuntu package known as build-essential.
#optional
sudo apt install -y build-essential
By doing the official Microsoft "hello world" tutorials for c++, you will further get your system ready for working with JUCE.
#supporting links
https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/cpp
https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/languages/cpp#_tutorials
https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/cpp/config-linux
Note: We can optionally add support for cmake as well if desired, but not required. See https://code.visualstudio.com/docs/cpp/cmake-linux for more detail on setting up support for cmake in Visual Studio Code.
In this write-up we got you up and running with JUCE on Ubuntu 20.04.
Get started coding with the JUCE framework by reviewing the official get started guides which take you from start to finish and have many options if you want to skip ahead directly to a topic that interests you; Or follow the guide straight through!
https://juce.com/learn/tutorials
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