I apologize if this has been covered previously.
Will there ever be a Linux version of BIAB?
I do not want to run Win 11 and after support is dropped for win 10 I will switch to Linux for my everyday computing. If I continue to use win 10 off line for BIAB, will upgrades and updates of BIAB still work on offline win 10? Or should I just use my system as it is at that time? I am not sure that this is clear. I will try to explain further if anyone would like me to.
I don't use BIAB professionally, but I have a lot of fun with it.
I am a retired Chemist and Musician and would like to keep using it.

Thank You for reading and also if you respond.
I am not technically challenged but close to it.
Den Rogers

My question is why are you going to want to tie your hands behind your back like that?

It doesn't look likely that PGM will produce a Linux version, at least not anytime soon.

It is, though, possible to run BiaB on Linux using Wine ... both user pipeline and I, at least, have it mostly working, but there are still a few hangups. Probably the bigbest is that BiaB uses Windows Media Player to play .wma files and that doesn't work for it on Linux. There's a workaround for most things, by expanding the .wma files to .wav, or by getting the audiophile version. The demo songs don't play, I presume because BiaB doesn't even look for a .wav version.

It will also run in VirtualBox on Linux. There's a bit of messing about to route USB MIDI devices.

Have a look through +++ this thread +++ where pipeline helped me to fix a few issues.
My later efforts with +++ AVL:MXE +++ went quite well. I'm now more likely to work with BiaB on Linux than on Windows10, though mostly because I'm a long-term Unix/Linux user.

As an aside, whilst I don't have a huge number of VSTs and similar, most work just fine in Linux, though some of the download managers need some coaxing, for example, the Native-Instruments downloader fails to install downloaded .iso files, but one can just mount and run them manually (there's a special mount mode).

HTH.

Thank You Gordon! Your info is very helpful.

Byron Thanks for your reply.
I have a computer that works very well for me. It will not upgrade to win 11. I want to keep my computer. I will work my music offline and use a linux Hdd for my other business.
I'm just an old stubborn man I guess.
Mountain Man

At this time there's no plans for a Linux version, but as mentioned above you can technically simulate a Windows environment on a Linux machine in order to run Windows programs.

I've upgraded to Windows 11, and for all I do, it doesn't seem that different from Win 10. Some cosmetic changes, some new minor irritants, and some things seem to work better.

What am I missing?

What's wrong with Win 11 that I shouldn't want to use it?

Thanks,
Notes ♫

A main issue seems to me to be Windows 11 refusing to install/run unless your CPU is of a sufficiently recent generation. If you've updated OK, then I think there are few or no reasons to not use it.

PC World: Here are the CPUs that officially can run Windows 11

Microsoft: Windows Processor Requirements

Edit ... an additional annoyance that I hit for myself is older versions of Windows (in my case Win7) will also not install if the CPU is deemed too new.

Thank You Gordon. You said it better than I could.
I would only like to add IMHO Microsoft is slowly moving towards not allowing any software to run that is not approved by their app store.
I have 5 computers in my household and can't afford to replace all of them.

Mountain Man

I have only a few applications on Windows that I need(*) for which I don't have either good Linux substitutes or I can't/don't run under Wine or in VirtualBox on Linux. My wife uses Linux and for a number of years simply presumed it was Windows. She hadn't realised it wasn't.

BiaB is good but imperfect under Wine, though a few little things actually work better under Wine than on Windows.
(*)I have a PCB CAD system that won't render layouts under Wine or VirtualBox.

IIRC, that's it, though I'm sure there are other things. Video editors are sometimes still a bit limited and a bit fragile. I have 7 computers here in pretty-much everyday use. Two of those are ITXs (my main file-server and BackupPC in an outbuilding), one is a Raspberry Pi (DMZ and mail transport). None of those three, nor my studio PC even have Windows on them.

I do though have around 40 years experience with Unix and Linux systems and I'm perfectly happy using the command line for some tasks. Indeed I prefer it for some tasks.

Oh, BTW, I have no objection to paying for software on Linux and I'll make donations to help support the free stuff. To me that seems only fair.

... which is perfectly understandable for many reasons... PGM has a business to run, staff to pay and mouths to feed. At the same time, though, it would be wonderful if someone within PGM had an active interest in Linux and could help towards smoothing out the odd bumps in the road.

Windows 11 preview is demonstrating a new Sound Recorder utility. +++ Sound Recorder Preview Article +++

I can't guarantee anything as a result of doing so, but I can at the very least pass these wishes along for you.

Biab Track Injector for REAPER should work under Linux as there is a Reaper version for Linux, and running Biab and AutoHotkey under wine.
The Reaper script just calls on Autohotkey scripts to access Biab functions.
The bb folder may have to be changed in the Reaper script to point to the wine folder as the script just needs to read C:\bb\Data
temp.text
trackdata.txt
RealTracksList.txt
RealDrumsList.txt

and the wine path added in front of the RealTrack/Drums path.

If the BBPlugin was self contained with all the functions in it rather than in the BB app it would work under Linux with yarbridge.

It would be good if there was a Biab Linux version but then they would need 6 months on Win, 6 months on Mac and 6 months on Linux and that is more months than in a year.

Thanks, Gordon.

Notes ♫

I've been meaning to try this for ages, but never quite got around to it until now. I have no evidenced whether the following translates into reality and clearly must try it to find out.

RealBand Action->Test_Audio_Performance on this rather old series-7.

Windows 10 ... estimated 145 tracks.
AVL:MXE Linux ... estimated 208 tracks.

I wonder if there's a good repeatable way to prove or disprove those estimates.

A year and a half later, I'll echo this. Linux is growing in ”market share” (now running on over 5% of computers according to an article I read last month), and there are at least 2 Linux distributions aimed directly at media production (Ubuntu Studio and AVLinux). As Gordon alluded, there may not be a strong enough business case to invest resources into porting BIAB/RB to Linux. But I think PGM would do well to have a Linux specialist on their support staff. Write some articles and make some videos on how make it work. Create a section on the forum for setting up and running BIAB/RB on Linux. Provide a workaround for the Windows Media Player problem.

That's likely just the desktop share. Most of the Internet and many of the big data systems are Linux.

FWIW, 100% of my own machines run Linux.
Nearly half do also have Windows available on them.

PG should have an interest in getting Biab to run on Linux under Wine.
I have asked many times to have an internal code to play the wma files.
It's the same problem when using the BiabVST under yabridge
Windows Media Player issues as in the dialogs it calls on the WMP.dll then can't find it and gives an error.
PG, please install Linux and try it out under Wine, I bet you can get it sorted !!! this will also solve the issue that comes up all the time over the years with users not being able to play the demo wma's because Windows can't access the audio device. Having an internal wma player will solve this issue on Win and Lin. You don't have another 6 months to work on a Lin version as 6 is spent on Win then another 6 on Mac. Unless you go over to JUCE you need to get it working under Wine.

Indeed.

There are obvious imperatives for focussing on Windows and the Mac, not many for Linux, but there are potential benefits in doing it anyway. Amongst those is the extra understanding it can give on the various differences between the OSs and how and where to best put any interfaces, rationalisations and/or shims. I fully understand(*) a reluctance to produce a formal Linux product.

(*) Well, OK, as a long-term, die-hard, Linux user I don't entirely agree with it, but I do understand it.