Plugin bundles + installer

💭 v2.0+

A fresh install of Pit is more useful with a working set of plugins already installed than with an empty plugin list and a Google search. The plan is to ship a curated theatre-ready toolkit and provide a one-click installer for additional packs.

The philosophy

Don’t bundle 300 plugins. Curate.

The temptation in OSS audio is to ship everything that exists. That produces:

Bloated installs
Confusing UX (twelve EQs, which one do I use?)
License compliance nightmares
Stale plugins drift in quality and nobody owns the curation

Instead: a small, opinionated default install + optional downloadable packs, with the curation itself as part of the value. A theatre keyboardist installing Pit should get a working rig immediately. A guitarist installing Pit should get amp sims + IRs immediately. A sound designer installing Pit should be able to opt into experimental packs.

Stardust’s job isn’t to be the plugin author; it’s to be the trusted curator and frictionless installer for theatre-relevant open-source audio.

Bundle structure

Day-one install (~50 MB, ships with Pit):

Core synths: a clean polysynth, a versatile FM, a basic sampler
Essential utilities: EQ, compressor, limiter, gate, basic reverb
One amp sim suitable for both keys and guitar

Optional packs, installed via the in-app browser:

Pack	Audience	Contents (illustrative)
Broadway Synth Pack	Keyboardists	Surge XT, Dexed, Helm + theatre-leaning presets
Guitar Pit Pack	Guitarists	Neural Amp Modeler, Guitarix, AIDA-X, IR libraries
Orchestral Toolkit	MDs / pit	sfizz + curated SFZ libraries, orchestral utilities
Mixing Essentials	Anyone serious about output	ChowDSP, Airwindows, LSP utilities
Reverb Pack	Anyone	Dragonfly Reverb, convolution IRs
Experimental	Sound designers	Cardinal (modular), unusual DSP, glitchy stuff
Linux Native	Linux users	Calf, x42, Linux-first ecosystem

Plus per-show-style packs (“Stephen Sondheim Synths”, “1980s Rock Pit”) as the community grows.

What’s in scope to bundle

The bundle infrastructure focuses on open-source plugins with redistributable licenses:

GPLv3, LGPL, MPL 2.0, Apache 2.0, BSD, MIT — all redistributable
Plugins with explicit redistribution permission from upstream
Curated freeware that’s mainstream but not OSS (Surge XT is OSS; Spitfire LABS isn’t) — these get discovery + installation through the bundle browser but aren’t redistributed (the installer downloads from upstream)

Each bundled plugin gets a license verification step before inclusion. The bundle UI surfaces license info clearly so users understand what they’re installing.

Plugin finder + installer

For plugins Pit doesn’t redistribute, the bundle browser still helps users find and install them:

Searchable catalog with theatre-relevant filtering (instrument category, use case, license, platform)
One-click install for OSS plugins (download → verify → install → register with Pit)
For commercial / freeware-with-attribution: links to upstream + setup walkthroughs
Automatic detection of already-installed system plugins (so a user’s existing iLok-licensed Neural DSP shows up in Pit’s plugin list without re-install)

Discovery vs. redistribution

A clean separation:

Bundled — Pit redistributes the binary, version-locked, tested, supported
Linked — Pit lists it, offers install guidance, doesn’t redistribute (commercial / freeware-with-redistribution-restrictions)
Found — Pit auto-detects plugins already on the user’s system

The bundle UI uses the same surface for all three; the difference is invisible to the user except for licensing transparency.

Why this matters

A working theatre rig requires plugins that work together. The OSS audio ecosystem has excellent individual plugins (Surge XT, NAM, ChowDSP, Airwindows) but the assembly cost is real — finding them, checking licenses, installing them, learning what each one is for. For schools, community theatre, and self-taught keyboardists, that assembly cost is the difference between “I tried Stardust” and “I use Stardust.”

A curated, opinionated, theatre-flavored install also gives Pit a clear identity:

“Stardust is the open-source live-performance host that ships with the right plugins for a pit, out of the box.”

That’s a different product positioning than MainStage (closed ecosystem, polished UX, no plugin curation) or Gig Performer (open plugin support, you bring your own). It’s a positioning that maps naturally onto theatre users specifically.

Order of operations

v0.5 — basic plugin browser UI inside Pit’s plugin picker
v0.6 / v1.0 — one-click installer for core bundle, foundational packs (Synth, Guitar, Orchestral, Mixing)
v1.x+ — community-submitted packs, license verification automation, per-show packs
v2.0+ — integrates with Stardust Galaxy for shared installation manifests, presets, and full theatre rig bundles

Plugin Hosting — the underlying VST3 / CLAP / AU support that bundles rely on
Community Sharing — the free hub for presets, layouts, profiles that grows alongside bundles
Marketplace — the paid layer for premium content