Pure Data

This is the README file for Pd, a free real-time computer music system.

Getting Pd

You can get Pd for Linux, macOS, or Microsoft Windows from:

http://msp.ucsd.edu/software.html

or from the Pure Data community site:

https://puredata.info

Installation instructions are in INSTALL.txt and the Pd Manual at:

http://msp.ucsd.edu/Pd_documentation/index.htm

If you download and unpack Pd, you will also find the Manual locally in the file "doc/1.manual/index.htm".

Linux (or FreeBSD): In some Linux installations you can download Pd via "apt-get install puredata" or "dnf install puredata"; otherwise you can download the source and compile it as described in INSTALL.txt.

Apple macOS: Pd binaries are distributed as a "tar.gz" file. The web browser will probably download this archive into your Downloads folder. Double click to extract the archived Mac app which you can then run and/or drag into your Applications folder.

Microsoft Windows: Pd binaries are distributed as a self-extracting executable or as a "zip" file.

If you have questions about Pd or if you wish to be notified of releases, you can browse and/or join the Pd mailing list:

https://lists.puredata.info/listinfo

Many extensions to Pd are available, for instance to add video and 3D graphics. The easiest way to get these is to use the "Find externals" command in Pd's Help menu.

Copyright

Except as otherwise noted, all files in the Pd distribution are

Copyright (c) 1997-2024 Miller Puckette and others.

For information on usage and redistribution, and for a DISCLAIMER OF ALL WARRANTIES, see LICENSE.txt included in the Pd distribution. (Note that Tcl/Tk, expr, and some other files are copyrighted separately).

Acknowledgements

Thanks to Harry Castle, Krzysztof Czaja, Mark Danks, Christian Feldbauer, Guenter Geiger, Kerry Hagan, Trevor Johnson, Fernando Lopez-Lezcano, Adam Lindsay, Karl MacMillan, Thomas Musil, Toshinori Ohkouchi, Winfried Ritsch, Vibeke Sorensen, Rand Steiger, Hans-Christoph Steiner, Shahrokh Yadegari, Dan Wilcox, David Zicarelli, IOhannes m zmoelnig, Christof Ressi, Antoine Rousseau, Alexandre Torres Porres, Claude Heiland-Allen, Roman Haefeli, Lucarda, Chris McCormick, Seb Shader and probably many others for contributions of code, documentation, ideas, and expertise. This work has received support from Intel, Keith McMillen Instruments, ZKM, IEM, and UCSD.