Plugins
Not to be confused with VST and VSTi.
Overview
A MuseScore plugin is a small piece of software that adds extra functionality to the program. Some plugins come pre-installed, you may also install other compatible plugins, or write your own plugin.
Managing plugins
Installing a new plugin
- Search for available plugins at, for example:
- https://musescore.org/plugins [musescore.org→Download→Plugins]
Warning: Plugins can potentially contain bad or malicious code, which can compromise or damage your scores or system. All plugins shared on musescore.org's plugin repository are unvetted. No warranty of any kind is provided. You should download from a trusted author or double-check the code yourself. Seek advice on the Plugins forum. - https://github.com/topics/musescore-plugin
- https://github.com/topics/musescore-plugins
- https://musescore.org/plugins [musescore.org→Download→Plugins]
- Make sure it is compatibile with your Musescore version.
- Download the file:
- for musescore.org hosted qml files, sometimes a web browser open it as plain text and refuses to download it as file, you might need to right click on a link and select Save link as...
- for github.com unpackaged code, download the project as a zip file by clicking Code: Download ZIP
- for github.com packaged release, click on an appropiate item under Assets
- (If it is a zip file) Extract it using an archive extraction software.
- Move the files to MuseScore's plugins folder, configurable at Preferences:General:Folders. The default directories are
- Windows: C:/Users/[Your User Name]/Documents/MuseScore4/Plugins/
- macOS: [work in progress, please provide missing info]
- Linux: ~/Documents/MuseScore4/Plugins
Updating an existing plugins
Updating works the same way as installing, but remember to remove the files from the previous version to avoid duplicate plugins!
Enabling and disabling plugins
- Click Home: Plugins or Plugins: Manage plugins...
- Select a plugin and click Enable or Disable
Running a plugin
- Make sure you opened the Score tab.
- Select Plugins: [The plugin name]
You can also set shortcuts to run specific plugins, inside Home: Plugins or Plugins: Manage plugins....
Pre-installed plugins
[work in progress, please provide missing info, write brief info on each]
See https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/tree/master/share/plugins
* Add Courtesy Accidentals
* Color Notes
* Lilypond Lyrics
* Mirror Intervals
* Modal Temperaments
* Modal Tuning
* New Retrograde
* Note Names
* Remove Courtesy Accidentals
* Tuning
Create a plugin
The plugin system of Musescore 4 is currently being redesigned and reimplemented.
As of October 2023, Musescore 4.1.1 plugin system is mostly a somewhat restricted version of the Musescore 3 plugin system. Visit Developers' Handbook Plugins for 3.x Chapter for fundamentals, and Plugins for 4.x Chapter for info on the new parameters and porting a Musescore 3 plugin to MuseScore 4.