Ubuntu Studio Installer can add Ubuntu Studio’s benefits to any installation of Ubuntu or its official flavors* so that you can use whatever desktop environment you prefer and gives you a curated selection of packages to fit your workflow, whether you’re a graphics artist, audio engineer, musician, publisher, photographer, or video producer.
Installing
To get Ubuntu Studio Installer, you must first have installed Ubuntu or an official flavor. Once you have done that, simply open a terminal window and type:
sudo apt install ubuntustudio-installer
In Ubuntu 22.04 LTS, This will bring in other tools, such as Studio Controls which is required for audio configuration prep, which is done after Ubuntu Studio Installer has been run.
Using Ubuntu Studio Installer (prior to Ubuntu 23.04)
To use, simply click on the icon for Ubuntu Studio Installer, or find it in your launcher/dash.
Once it is open, you will see a window like this:
Simply click on the packages you desire in the left-hand box (descriptions of those packages are in the right-hand box).
If you wish to add the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA to have the latest versions of certain packages as they become available, click “Add Backports PPA”.
If you already have the Backports PPA and wish to remove it, click “Remove Backports PPA”. Note: This will not remove any packages installed from the PPA, or downgrade to a lower version of those packages if installed.
Once you have your selection(s) made, click “Install”. If instructed to log-out and log-in after installer completes, do so. This simply adds the real-time audio permissions to your user if you don’t have them already. If you don’t need real-time audio permissions, then this will have no effect on your workflow.
Using Ubuntu Studio Installer (Ubuntu 23.04 and later)
NOTE: Due to a packaging bug in Ubuntu Desktop (the ubuntu-desktop metapackage specifically), ubuntustudio-pulseaudio-config is incompatible and cannot be installed. Users of Ubuntu Desktop (also known as Ubuntu GNOME or Ubuntu “vanilla”) must use ubuntustudio-pipewire-config.
To use, simply click on the icon for Ubuntu Studio Installer, or find it in your launcher/dash.
Once it is open, you will see a window like this:
Simply check or uncheck the components you wish to add or remove.
Once you have your selection(s) made, click “Modify Installed Package Selection”. If instructed to log-out and log-in after installer completes, do so. This simply adds the real-time audio permissions to your user if you don’t have them already. If you don’t need real-time audio permissions, then this will have no effect on your workflow.
23.04 ONLY:
Please note that ubuntustudio-pulseaudio-config and ubuntustudio-pipewire-config cannot be installed at the same time, you must select one or the other. For professional or prosumer audio setup, we recommend ubuntustudio-pulseaudio-config as PipeWire is not yet ready for professional or prosumer audio. See Switching Audio Setup for more information.
If you wish to add the Ubuntu Studio Backports PPA to have the latest versions of certain packages as they become available, check PPA-ubuntustudio-backports.
If you already have the Backports PPA and wish to remove it, uncheck PPA-ubuntustudio-backports. Note: This WILL remove/downgrade any packages installed from the PPA to those from the main/universe/multiverse Ubuntu repositories.
Ubuntu Studio Audio Configuration (23.10 and later)
In Ubuntu Studio 23.10 and later, we include the Ubuntu Studio Audio Configuration utility to configure PipeWire Quantum (audio latency and sample rate), turn on/off the PipeWire-JACK implementation on-the-fly in order to use native JACK (via qjackctl), or switch to the classic PulseAudio configuration which can be bridged to JACK via Studio Controls.
This is a wizard-like utility and is quite easy to use. Do bear in mind that all changes are system-wide and require an administrator password.
- “Configure Current Audio Configuration” takes you to the screen that allows you to configure the PipeWire Quantum, or lets you launch Studio Controls if using PulseAudio/JACK.
- “Switch Configuration” installs the classic PulseAudio/JACK configuration and removes the PipeWire Audio configuration, or does the reverse depending on what is installed.
- “DISABLE|ENABLE Pipewire’s JACK Emulation” does exactly that: disables or enables PipeWire’s JACK implementation so one can use native JACK via QJackControl.
When setting the Quantum / JACK Plugin configuration, you simply fill-out a text box. Make sure it’s formatted correctly like the example or you may get an error.
Leaving it blank will get the default.
Also note that not all audio devices cannot use all sample rates, so keep this in mind.
If switching the audio configuration between PipeWire and PulseAudio-JACK, please keep in mind that this will make major system configuration changes, installs and removes various system packages, and requires a restart.
Mauro Gaspari has created an excellent tutorial on FrontPageLinux.com of a typical installation of Ubuntu Studio’s audio system using this method.
That’s it! You are ready to create. We’ve done all the heavy lifting, so you don’t have to.
*Note: unofficial Ubuntu derivatives (those NOT listed as official flavors) are not supported, nor is Ubuntu Server.
