Applications
Apps encompass anything from audio editors, DAWs, notation editors, sound design tools, utilities right over to the latest AI tools or even desktop versions of browser-based services.
MuseHub can distribute applications on macOS and Windows. Linux is not supported.
MuseHub is designed for music and audio creators. If your app falls into this demographic, then it's suitable for distribution on MuseHub.
Supported types
You can distribute application binaries in a few different ways. MuseHub installs applications through the use of a background service, which is called when it's required and may show UAC or ask for elevated privilieges from the user, depending on the requirements.
macOS
Application Bundles
If your application is a self-contained .app bundle, simply zip the .app and upload it to the Partner Portal. You can also use a .dmg disk image. However, if the .dmg is not correctly notarized, MuseHub's copying of the .app to the /Applications folder might cause the app to run under app translocation until GateKeeper considers it safe.
The recommended approach is to upload a ZIP archive of your application bundle.
Installers
MuseHub can install standard macOS .pkg installers. These installers run silently to provide a seamless experience for the user, which is recommended. However, if you wish to show the installer UI to the user, you can disable the "Silent Install" option.
Self-contained .app bundles can be uninstalled via the Hub, whereas applications delivered via a .pkg installer can not.
Bundle Identifiers
You'll need to provide the application's bundle ID; this can be found within the applications .plist file, and looks similar to com.muse.musehub
This bundleID is used by the Hub to ensure the application can be launched from the Hub properly, and is also used to track the installation state. It's important to provide the correct bundleID.
Windows
MuseHub supports installation of applications within .exe, .msi and .msix installer types. We recommend .msix as the best installation format for Windows, followed by .msi
MuseHub simplifies product acquisition, including the installation process. It can perform "silent" application installs, running installers without showing the UI for a seamless experience. You can disable silent install if user input is needed, though it’s not recommended.
MuseHub can also uninstall applications, even if delivered via an installer, as long as the provided installer type is capable.
Application IDs
Application IDs are mandatory for MSIX installers, and optional for MSI and EXE installers.
MSIX: You must provide the package family name (for example Muse.MuseHub_rb9pth70m6nz6). See the Microsoft Documentation for more information.
EXE or MSI: For these installers, the application id is optional but recommended. Without a valid id users will still be able to install and update your application via MuseHub, but enhanced functionality like version checking, launching, and uninstalling may be unavailable.
If you don't provide an application id, MuseHub will attempt to auto-discover it when a user is installing your application. This feature is quite conservative to avoid false positives, so there is no guarantee it will work.
Generally speaking, if in doubt about your application ID, leave it blank and MuseHub will detect it in most cases.
Manually finding your Application ID
MSI: You must provide the UpgradeCode for your MSI installer. It will look something like this: {141527EE-E28A-4D14-97A4-92E6075D28B2} . Please make sure you include the {} brackets around the id when submitting this to cosmos.
This is dependent on your installer build process and tools. See Wix and InstallShield for examples, but generally speaking, searching for "installer technology" + "UpgradeCode" should lead you to the right path.
EXE: Installers will refer to this field as the AppID or something similar, we have provided some examples for different installer technologies.
Technically speaking, MuseHub is after the Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Uninstall\ registry key for your application (the key that makes it appear in Add/Remove Programs).
See the documentation here. You will find this value within the setup script (.iss). Make sure you append _is1 to the value specified.
Here's some examples of what the id should look like. From internal testing, GUIDs (or the default generated ID) will tend to have {} brackets around the value before appending _is1.
Audacity_is1
{8AB81F47-272B-4C8B-9AA9-D29F6A36DDF4}}_is1
{52D4F102-D487-46F4-8DD8-738FD313BEAB}_is1
Automatically finding your Application ID
Alternatively, you can use the auto-discover feature mentioned above yourself to determine what value to place in this field. To do this, don't provide an application id and submit your product.
Once in-review or beta, open MuseHub and install your application, once installed, right-click the arrow next to the "Installed" or "Launch" button to find the detected application id.
Applications must meet the Product Requirements before they can be distributed on MuseHub
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