Open Source

Most computer software has an unusual property: the details of its design, construction, and inner workings are invisible in the final product. This can be a good thing, for software products which people use to make a living, because it makes it difficult for competitors to clone them illegally.

But there are many kinds of software that are not about making a living. Many programs are written to teach. Some exist to support not-for-profit endeavors of various kinds. And some are written just for fun. These kinds of programs are often made available at no cost, but some people have argued that they are not truly free unless the “source code” (the language in which programs are written, which is lost when they are “compiled” into executable binary form) is also freely available. These considerations have led to a very large open-source software movement today.

Free and open-source plug-ins included with Unify

Distributing a number of free and open-source (F/OSS) plug-ins with Unify allows us to help users get started without having to own an expensive core set of commercial plug-ins. A as open-source contributors ourselves (Shane Dunne is a core team member of AudioKit, and his contributions to the OB-Xd synthesizer plug-in are the basis of the official v1.5 update), we are grateful to the creators/maintainers of these software projects, and we pledge to support them insofar as this is possible.

We applaud the generosity of the developers of the following plug-ins, and encourage you to visit their web sites to learn more about them:

Our F/OSS policy

Our official policy on F/OSS plug-ins.

Our open-source projects

Each of the open-source projects we maintain or contribute to has an associated page. Roll your mouse over the “Open Source” link at the top-right corner above, to see links to all of these pages.