Installation

How to install or uninstall Synfire

Upgrade From an Earlier Version

Always make a full backup of your system before you install an update. You should do that at least daily anyway. At the very least, backup your current Synfire projects and other saved files.

Important: It is not necessary to uninstall a previous version of Synfire before you install an newer updated version. During installation, all important settings will be migrated and preserved. An uninstall is only needed when you possibly need to revert to an earlier version.

iLok License Manager

Before you install or update Synfire, always download and install also the most recent version of iLok License Manager from the PACE website ilok.com. Synfire will not run without it, even if no specific license is required for a demo or other utility.

Install Synfire On macOS

  1. Download the most current version of Synfire from your user account at the Cognitone website. Your web browser will place the downloaded archive in your Downloads folder.

  2. Right-click on the package named Synfire Pro.mpkg (or similar) and select Open.

    You will see a warning that the developer can't be verified, which however is merely because the package needed to be compiled on our servers prior to download and, thanks to Apple's lack of support for other operating systems, could not be signed properly on a Linux system. You can safely dismiss the warning, provided you obtained the download directly from our website.

  3. The macOS system installer will install the Audio Engine and all associated system components and documents and open another SETUP application that will guide you through the steps of installing Synfire itself.

  4. When SETUP has finished, you will find the Synfire program in your Applications folder.

  5. Please keep your original download files in a safe place. This will allow you to reinstall your current version of Synfire at any time.

Install Synfire On Windows

  1. Log-in to Windows with an administrator account. Administrator rights are required to install Synfire. Otherwise Synfire will not be able to install or update required system components.

  2. Download the most current version of Synfire from your user account at the Cognitone website. Your web browser will place the downloaded archive in your Downloads folder.

  3. Extract the ZIP archive completely before you proceed. This is a required step. Launching SETUP.exe from inside the ZIP archive is not supported.

  4. Please regard the file README.rtf, if available. It contains the most current installation instructions.

  5. Launch the program SETUP.exe found among the downloaded files. If at some point you need to reinstall the Audio Engine, you can also do so by running Cognitone Audio Engine.msi. Installing Synfire however does not work this way.

  6. The Windows system installer will install the Audio Engine and all associated system components and documents and open another SETUP application that will guide you through the steps of installing Synfire itself.

  7. When SETUP has finished, you will find a shortcut to the Synfire program on your desktop.

  8. Please keep your original download files in a safe place. This will allow you to reinstall your current version of Synfire at any time.

Uninstall Synfire From macOS

Apple does not provide a standard uninstall procedure. Instead, run the Automator script Uninstall Synfire Pro (or similar) that came with the original download. You will be asked for your log-in password, so the script can obtain administrator rights in order to be able to remove the system components associated with Synfire.

Delete Files Manually
If for some reason the above method does not work, you can manually delete the files associated with Synfire.

  1. /Library/Application Support/Cognitone. If you have other Cognitone software installed, make sure you only delete the sub-folders associated with Synfire.

  2. /Library/Application Support/Synfire

  3. /Users/Shared/Documents/Synfire/Examples

  4. /Applications/Synfire.app

  5. All Drone plug-ins in /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components, VST and VST3

  6. /Library/Application Support/Propellerhead Software/ReWire/Transport.bundle

Files You May Want To Keep
If you potentially want to re-install Synfire at a later time, you should keep or backup the following files, which contain your personal configuration and documents. They are located under your user account's home directory.
  1. ~/Library/Application Support/Cognitone.

  2. ~/Documents/Synfire

  3. Your custom Projects folder, if you changed it.

Uninstall Synfire From Windows

Synfire and the Audio Engine can be removed from the Windows System Control Panel in the Apps section. Alternatively, you will also find an Uninstaller in the Windows Start menu right under Cognitone. Administrator rights are required to uninstall Synfire.

Delete Files Manually
If for some reason the above method does not work, you can manually delete the files associated with Synfire.

  1. C:\ProgramData\Cognitone. If you have other Cognitone software installed, make sure you only delete the sub-folders associated with Synfire.

  2. C:\ProgramData\Synfire

  3. C:\Users\Public\Documents\Synfire\Examples

  4. C:\Program Files\Cognitone\Synfire

  5. All Drone plug-ins in C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VstPlugins or any other directory you chose when you installed the Audio Engine

  6. In the Windows registry, delete the key HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\Synfire 2 using the command regedit from the command prompt as an administrator.

Files You May Want To Keep
If you potentially want to re-install Synfire at a later time, you should keep or backup the following files, which contain your personal configuration and documents. They are located under your user account's home directory.
  1. C:\Users\<name>\AppData\Roaming\Cognitone.

  2. C:\Users\<name>\Documents\Synfire

  3. Your custom Projects folder, if you changed it.