How to Install mimium #

Supported Environments #

mimium is currently available for the following environments:

• macOS (x86/arm64)
• Linux (uses ALSA)
• Windows 11 (MIDI plugins do not work on WSL)

Getting Started with the Visual Studio Code Extension #

The easiest and recommended way to install mimium is by using the Visual Studio Code extension for this free text editor/IDE.

1. Install Visual Studio Code from the official website.
2. Launch Visual Studio Code and open the Extensions menu (Cmd+Shift+X).
3. Search for “mimium” in the search bar and install the extension that appears.
4. Create a file named hello.mmm, paste the following code, save it, and open the file again.
5. A dialog will appear prompting you to download and install the latest mimium binary¹.
6. Open the command palette with Cmd+Shift+P, search for “mimium,” and select “Run currently opening file.” A terminal will open and execute the currently opened file.
7. You can stop the sound by pressing Enter or Ctrl+C in the terminal.

// hello.mmm
fn dsp(){
  let output = sin(now*440*2*3.141595/samplerate)
  (output,output)
}

Manual Installation #

You can download the latest binary from the GitHub Release page. Copy mimium-cli to an appropriate location (for macOS/Linux, ~/.mimium is recommended).

Installation Directory #

When installed via the VSCode extension, mimium’s command-line tools, libraries, and sample files are located in the .mimium directory under the user’s home directory (on Windows, %HOME%; on macOS or Linux, ~). When including external files, mimium will first look in ~/.mimium/lib, so make sure your libraries are installed in this location.

Running from the Terminal #

You can also use mimium from the command line by running mimium-cli. To use it, ensure that ~/.mimium is included in your PATH.

For macOS, open the ~/.zshrc file and add the following line:

export PATH="$PATH:$HOME/.mimium"

After saving, restart your terminal.

If everything is set up correctly, you can view the help with the following command:

mimium-cli --help

Create a file named hello.mmm in your current directory, copy the code above, and save it.

Now, try running the following command in the terminal (make sure your speaker volume is set appropriately). You should hear a 440Hz sine wave.

mimium-cli hello.mmm

Proceed to the Making Sound page for a more detailed explanation of the syntax.