Linux Plans
Hello all -
Just wondering what the plans for the future of MuseScore on Linux are. I've seen some discussion about an official Flatpak app. I've tried the version available from Flathub, which is current but sadly does not scale correctly on my 4K display so I'm unable to use it and am sticking with Windows 11 instead.
In my view, it would be wonderful if current application versions were available in the normal repositories as that software seems to have a better "it just works" track record. The latest available on my Fedora KDE 41 system appears to be v. 2.3.
Anyway, just curious. I am happy this excellent software is available on Linux at all but the only thing keeping a Windows system around at my house is the ability to use MuseScore on Win11 without any issues. FYI, I am running a classical music publishing business and using MuseScore as my daily driver.
Comments
Have you tried the AppImages? I've been happy with them the past couple of years:
https://musescore.org/en/download
OS: Ubuntu 22.04.5 LTS, Arch.: x86_64, MuseScore Studio version (64-bit): 4.4.4-243461245, revision: 2232670
In reply to Have you tried the AppImages… by underquark
Me too, just as happy with AppImage and MuseScore, but for the last 2 days... ! :) I've recycled a computer that had run out of steam on Win 10, and it's just been given a new lease of life. This is a first for me with Linux, after 30 uninterrupted years with Windows (edited)
OS: Linux Mint 22, Arch.: x86_64, MuseScore Studio version (64-bit): 4.5.0-250501335, revision: 8b8d44b
In reply to Me too, just as happy with… by cadiz1
30 years of MuseScore?
Anyway, appimage is the answer. I really do not understand what's not good about it.
In reply to 30 years of MuseScore?… by graffesmusic
"30 years of MuseScore?"
Oops... of Windows! (version Windows95)
And a dozen of MuseScore (version 1.3)
In reply to Have you tried the AppImages… by underquark
I have and it also doesn't scale correctly for me. It took me forever to get it running on my previous distro (Ubuntu 22.04) because it relies on a deprecated libfuse package. I think that is a conflict between Ubuntu and AppImage, so not directly related to MuseScore. It does run fine on Fedora KDE though; now if I could just see the menus and palettes! --Thanks for the suggestion though!
In reply to I have and it also doesn't… by benevolent151
Perhaps experimenting with QT_SCALE_FACTOR could solve your problem.
The Appimages needs libfuse2, which is not included in a standard Ubuntu distro. It's just a apt install command. (but MuseScore should start using fuse3, indeed)
If it runs fine on Fedora, that simply means that Fedora installs by default the 'deprecated' libfuse2 library.
In reply to Perhaps experimenting with… by graffesmusic
You shouldn't be using the FlatPak version anyhow. Or at least don't ask for support for it here ;-)
In reply to Perhaps experimenting with… by graffesmusic
I will check out your scale factor suggestion when I get a chance - thanks for that. Maybe the developers could post a note by the AppImage download that says something along the lines of, "Hey if you're using Ubuntu you need a 'sudo apt install libfuse2 -y' to get this running. Also 'sudo chmod +x ~/Downloads/MuseScore*.AppImage' would be helpful for newbies.
In reply to I will check out your scale… by benevolent151
I don't think 'sudo chmod +x ~/Downloads/MuseScore*.AppImage' is the right thing to do. Just drop the sudo. And that is mentioned, sort of, see https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/download-and-installation#AppImage
Unfortunately the handbook is still blocked for editing...
In reply to I don't think 'sudo chmod … by Jojo-Schmitz
Ah - great! Thanks for the link. RTFM, I guess huh? ;)
In reply to I don't think 'sudo chmod … by Jojo-Schmitz
Is the upgrade path for a new AppImage simply to follow the uninstall directions for the old version and './"path to file" install' for the new version?
In reply to Is the upgrade path for a… by benevolent151
IIRC there's an update option. So try
Mscore4portable updateIn reply to IIRC there's an update option by Jojo-Schmitz
Will do. Now if the scaling issue could be fixed. I suspect it's an issue with Wayland, which is somehow still not ready for primetime after like 15 years of development. I don't have an Xorg system to easily try it out on but I might set one up just to see...
In reply to Will do. Now if the scaling… by benevolent151
Perhaps with QT_QPA_PLATFORM=wayland (not tested by myself, i do not use wayland)
In reply to IIRC there's an update option by Jojo-Schmitz
In case anyone is wondering, the successful update command is "sudo mscore4portable update"
In reply to In case anyone is wondering,… by benevolent151
No it is not. You should not run MuseScore with superuser privileges.
In reply to No it is not. You should not… by graffesmusic
That's the update/install, not running it.
In reply to That's the update/install,… by Jojo-Schmitz
One should not install/update nor run as root.
In reply to One should not install… by graffesmusic
Depends, maybe not an AppImage, but without sudo you won't be able to 'apt install' anything
In reply to No it is not. You should not… by graffesmusic
"sudo" is definitely required when updating the .appimage in Ubuntu, but yes the program itself runs just fine without su privileges.
In reply to "sudo" is definitely… by benevolent151
I don't think it is, see https://musescore.org/en/handbook/3/install-linux (which is for Mu3, but that shouldn't make a difference)
In reply to "sudo" is definitely… by benevolent151
https://musescore.org/en/handbook/4/download-and-installation#AppImage doesn't talk about sudo either
In reply to https://musescore.org/en… by Jojo-Schmitz
My experience was that "mscore4portable update" failed (should have screenshotted the error message, but I didn't think of it) and "sudo mscore4portable update" worked fine. The initial install doesn't need "sudo", but the update process does.
In reply to My experience was that … by benevolent151
No, it does not. Never has.
Where is your mscore4portable executable located? (type on cmd line: which mscore4portable)
It should be under ~/.local/bin/mscore4portable (where ~ is your home directory), if you installed it following the instructions in the handbook. You do not need sudo for anything installed in your home directory. (unless of course, you changed permissions)
In reply to No, it does not. Where is… by graffesmusic
It is installed as expected in /usr/local/bin/. Though the instructions specify the install location as ~/.local/bin/, that path doesn't exist in Ubuntu. See the results from "which" and "ls -la" in the attached screenshot. Because this installs in the system's /usr/ directory, that might be why sudo is required to update it.
I think the larger point here is to ensure that we give folks accurate instructions. It hurts nothing to run the update with the sudo command, indeed it fails w/o in Ubuntu, so why not just include that in the handbook?
In reply to It is installed as expected… by benevolent151
Of course, if it is installed in /usr/local/bin, you did install it as root, and of course, then you need sudo to upgrade.
~/.local/bin exist on every fresh installed Ubuntu machine, and is included in user's $PATH
The instructions in the handbook are completely accurate.
You are of course free to do whatever you want on your systems, but you give false info on this forum.
In reply to Of course, if it is… by graffesmusic
Yes, you are correct - I appear to have installed it as root. My apologies. Going to fix that now.
In reply to Yes, you are correct - I… by benevolent151
It is not a problem of course to install it in /usr/local/bin (or any other directory).
this is the install script:
if [ "$1" != "" ]; then
# User specified a directory
local prefix="$1"
local bin="$prefix/bin"
local bin_str="PREFIX/bin"
local question="The default location might be better. Proceed anyway [Y/n]?"
local cancelled="Cancelled: rerun without a PREFIX to use the default."
elif [ "${EUID}" == "0" ]; then
# Running as root (sudo)
local prefix="/usr/local"
local bin="$prefix/bin"
local bin_str="PREFIX/bin"
local question="Install resources for all users [Y/n]?"
local cancelled="Cancelled: rerun without root (sudo) to install for one user only."
else
# Not running as root
prefix="${HOME}/.local"
local bin="$prefix/bin"
local bin_str="PREFIX/bin"
local question="Install resources for one user only (${USER}) [Y/n]?"
local cancelled="Cancelled: rerun as root (sudo)~
Should ~/.local/bin not exist on a particulare linux distro, if would just create it and check the $PATH.
I put my (python) scripts and other excecutables in there. At least, when i install a new system, i can just copy my home directory to the new system and i have all my stuff available, without the need to check all possible system paths. just my idea of course.
In reply to Have you tried the AppImages… by underquark
Just to add a comment on AppImages: I used MuseScore Flatpaks for a couple of years, but then I started having the odd problem with them. I switched to AppImages and I have to say I'm a fan now. I like the fact I can quickly and easily use previous MS versions (when the need arises) - and the nightly downloads page has been my go-to for checking out upcoming versions. I think I'll stick with AppImages going forward.
I've tried the version available from Flathub,
That version is known to have bad issues, not scaling on your 4k display is among the harmless ones there...
In reply to I've tried the version… by Jojo-Schmitz
I generally prefer building from source. However, since v4.4.4 it seems impossible to build a functional MuseScore on Linux. Either the build fails, or the resulting build has a lot of menu-related errors. As I understand it, this has to do with MuseScore refusing to build properly against a Qt6 later than v6.2 (most Linux distros ships later versions).
So the AppImage (whch works just fine for me) seems to be the best option for now. Maybe some upcoming release will solve the Qt6 problem.
In reply to I generally prefer building… by kgha
Moving to a newer Qt version is in the works
But installing an older Qt version in order to build MuseScore yourself isn't rocket science either
In reply to Moving to a newer Qt version… by Jojo-Schmitz
Glad to hear that a move to newer Qt is in the works. And as said, in the meantime the AppImage version works fine. I'm most grateful, MuseScore is a great application for creating sheet music.
A temporary Qt6 downgrade for compiling MuseScore is indeed no big deal. However, finding a working Qt6-6.2 package for linux is more difficult... even at https://download.qt.io/official_releases/qt/ there are no releases available between v5.15 and v6.5.
In reply to Glad to hear that a move to… by kgha
See https://github.com/musescore/MuseScore/wiki/Install-Qt-and-Qt-Creator#s…
You need 6.2.4
In reply to See https://github.com… by Jojo-Schmitz
Thanks.
Is Qt-6.2.4 a build-only dependency, so that the built package will run on a system with Qt6.8? If so, I might try compiling in a VM. If v 6.2.4 is runtime depedency I'll probably pass, being wary of adding another version to a stable system.
In reply to Thanks. Is Qt-6.2.4 a build… by kgha
You need 6.2.4, all the way. An AppImage has it built in, so doesn't need it at run-time
In reply to You need 6.2.4, all the way… by Jojo-Schmitz
Thanks. I'll stick with the AppImage for now, then.
In reply to I generally prefer building… by kgha
Another option is to build your own Appimage on github, if you want/need to change things in the source.