Rack Multiplayer

Getting Started

Rack Multiplayer is a plugin for VCV Rack 2 that lets you patch together. One person hosts a session, shares a short invite code, and everyone builds the same patch in real time — modules, cables, knobs, and even each other’s cursors stay in sync.

This guide gets you installed and into your first session.

Installing

Rack Multiplayer is distributed directly — it is not on the official VCV Library.

  1. Download the build for your operating system from the latest release:

    • Windows — Multiplayer-2.0.0-win-x64.vcvplugin
    • macOS (Apple Silicon) — Multiplayer-2.0.0-mac-arm64.vcvplugin
    • Linux — Multiplayer-2.0.0-lin-x64.vcvplugin

  2. Install it. Either drop the file into your Rack 2 user plugins folder, or use Library → Install plugin from file… inside Rack and pick the downloaded file.

    The plugins folder per OS:

    • Windows — %LOCALAPPDATA%\Rack2\plugins-win-x64\
    • macOS — ~/Library/Application Support/Rack2/plugins-mac-arm64/
    • Linux — ~/.local/share/Rack2/plugins-lin-x64/

  3. Restart VCV Rack. The module appears under the Multiplayer brand.

macOS note: the published build is Apple Silicon (arm64). On an Intel Mac you’ll need to build from source for now.

Creating an account

Rack Multiplayer uses a small online lobby to find sessions and verify identities. You’ll register once.

  1. Add the Multiplayer module to your rack (right-click the rack → Multiplayer → Collab).

  2. On the login screen, click Register and enter a nickname, email, and password.

  3. Check your email. Registration sends a verification link — click it, and you’ll see a “verified” page.

    Didn’t get it? Check your spam folder. The screen also has a Resend email button. (The sending domain is new, so the first message sometimes lands in spam.)

  4. Back in the module, log in with your nickname and password.

You stay logged in between sessions — you only register and verify once.

Your first session

Once you’re logged in you’ll see the lobby. From here you can:

  • Host a session — create a room, get a short invite code, and bring people in.
  • Join a session — enter a friend’s invite code, or click a public session in the list.

The fastest way to try it: have one person host, copy the invite code, and send it to a second person to join by code. When they’re in, drag a module onto the rack — it appears on the other screen instantly.

How syncing works (the short version)

The host’s patch is the source of truth. When you join, you receive a full snapshot of the host’s rack, then every change anyone makes is relayed to everyone else: modules added or moved, cables connected, knobs turned. A small periodic reconciliation heals any drift, so the patches stay matched even over a flaky connection.

What syncs: modules, cables, parameters, the multiplayer module’s position, and live cursors. Who’s allowed to change things depends on roles and the session lock.