AAX Connectivity Toolkit
The Avid Audio Plugin Developer Program offers a full range of resources to develop high-quality audio effects and virtual instrument plugins that work seamlessly with Pro Tools and other award-winning audio products from Avid including Media Composer. As a member, you’ll receive:
- Detailed documentation including a continually updated SDK, technical notes, and code examples to get you started quickly
- Technical support via a forum where Avid professionals and fellow developers can assist you with your questions and issues
- Access to a variety of social media, event and web-based co-marketing services to market your products to our mutual customers
- Guidelines to test your product with Pro Tools systems for performance and compatibility
- Invitations to Development Partners Conferences, kitchens, and other community events
As you decide whether to create an audio plugin for the Avid platform, here are some important things to know:
- You will be required to review and accept a developer agreement and license that includes a confidentiality agreement and some restrictions on how the Avid developer materials are used.
- You must be willing to make your product available for commercial sale to end-users. We don’t offer our developer materials or services for academic use, experimentation, or “just to check them out.
- The only third-party plugins that we allow through this program are software-based effects and virtual instruments. If you have an idea for a different type of product, please have a look at our other programs, particularly the Audio Workflow Solutions program.
- AAX plugins must be digitally signed and this requires a fee in certain cases. This is part of a comprehensive technical effort to prevent the use of unauthorized copies of your plugins (“cracks”) with Avid products.
- You need to be familiar with C++ object-oriented programming. Plugins designed for our hardware-accelerated platforms require that you are also familiar with their associated hardware and design tools. Knowledge of the Avid products you are targeting for plugin development is also key to delivering effective solutions.
Avid offers and continually updates the AAX platform for audio plugin development. Designed from the ground up, it offers a richly-featured, flexible platform for plugin development that is engineered for growth. Our developer community is delivering AAX plugins for Pro Tools based on plugins available on pre-existing Avid platforms and delivering new creations. AAX DSP plugins are designed to work on the latest flagship professional digital audio workstation, Pro Tools | HDX. Avid plans to continue to enhance the AAX platform based on your ideas and input, and to drive this groundbreaking technology into future products.