How to install python-rtmidi from source on Windows¶
These instructions should work for installing python-rtmidi
from source with
Python 3.8+ in the 64-bit or 32-bit versions (you can run the latter on Windows
64-bit versions with no problems).
Please follow all the steps below in the exact order.
Installing required software¶
You probably need administrator rights for some or all of the following steps.
Install the latest release of Python (3.12 at the time of writing, at least 3.8+) from https://www.python.org/downloads/windows/ to the default location (e.g.
C:\Python312
). You can install either or both the 32-bit and the 64-bit version.In the installer, enable the option to install pip. Optionally, for only one of the chosen Python versions, enable the options to add the installation directory to your
PATH
and set it as the system’s default version. Also enable the option to install thepy
helper script (only available with some Python versions).Install virtualenv from a command prompt:
python -m pip install -U virtualenv
Repeat this for all Python versions you have installed (run
py --help
to get help on how to run different python version from the command line).Go to https://wiki.python.org/moin/WindowsCompilers and follow the instructions there to select and install the correct version(s) of the Visual C++ compiler for the version(s) of Python you installed.
You can install several versions of Visual C++ at the same time.
After installation, use Windows Update to get any pending security updates and fixes.
Setting up a virtual environment¶
Open a command line and run:
python -m virtualenv rtmidi rtmidi\Scripts\activate
Update pip within your virtual environment to the latest version with:
(rtmidi)> python -m pip install -U pip
Install build dependencies (still in the same command line window):
(rtmidi)> python -m pip install build installer
Download & unpack python-rtmidi source¶
Get the latest python-rtmidi distribution as a Zip archive from https://pypi.python.org/pypi/python-rtmidi and unpack it somewhere. You can do the downloading and unpacking in one step using pip:
python -m pip install --no-install -d . "python-rtmidi"
Alternatively, clone the python-rtmidi git repository:
git clone https://github.com/SpotlightKid/python-rtmidi.git
In the command line window you opened above, change into the python-rtmidi
directory, which you created by unpacking the source or cloning the repository:
(rtmidi)> cd python-rtmidi
Build & install python-rtmidi¶
Just run the usual setup command from within the source directory with the active virtual environment, i.e. from still the same command line window:
(rtmidi)> python -m build
(rtmidi)> python -m installer dist/*.whl
Verify your installation¶
Change out of the python-rtmidi
source directory (important!) and run:
(rtmidi)> cd ..
(rtmidi)> python
>>> import rtmidi
>>> rtmidi.API_WINDOWS_MM in rtmidi.get_compiled_api()
True
>>> midiout = rtmidi.MidiOut()
>>> midiout.get_ports()
['Microsoft GS Wavetable Synth']
If you have any other MIDI outputs (hardware MIDI interfaces, MIDI Yoke etc.)
active, they should be listed by get_ports()
as well.
That’s it, congratulations!
Notes¶
Windows Kernel Streaming support in RtMidi has been removed (it was
broken anyway) and consequently in python-rtmidi
as well.
Compiling with MinGW also does not work out-of-the-box yet. If you have any useful hints, please let the author know.