Troubleshoot on Linux

Is Haskell installed?

Open a terminal window, and type:

ghci

You should see something like this:

GHCi, version 8.6.3: http://www.haskell.org/ghc/  :? for help
Prelude>

If you don't see something like the above, you probably need to install Haskell. You might well see a different version number, don't worry. At the time of writing, Tidal is tested against versions right back to 7.10.3.

Is the Tidal Library installed?

Keeping that ghci window open, type (or paste in):

import Sound.Tidal.Context

You should now see something like:

GHCi, version 8.6.3: http://www.haskell.org/ghc/  :? for help
Prelude> import Sound.Tidal.Context
Prelude Sound.Tidal.Context>

If you instead see an error message like:

<no location info>: error:
  Could not find module ‘Sound.Tidal.Context’

This means that the Tidal library isn't installed. To install it, open a new terminal window and type:

cabal update
cabal new-install tidal --lib

Note: as of version 1.7 instead you'll have to use the following commands:

cabal v1-update
cabal v1-install tidal

caution

You can ignore warnings about 'legacy v1 style'.

If you still see an error message, then make sure you have installed the Full Haskell Platform and try again. If it still doesn't work, ask help on the Forum or on the Discord or RocketChat.

Is SuperDirt alright?

CLASS Not Found

If you see the following error:

ERROR: Class not defined.

This means SuperDirt isn't installed. Install it by running:

 include("SuperDirt")

If it fails to install, make sure you have the git command installed. You can do this by running git --version from a command prompt. If the command isn't found, then check the install page for how to install Git. Once it's installed, you'll need to restart SuperCollider before trying again.

For users who have just installed SuperCollider, restarting it prior to running include("SuperDirt") could also resolve the error.

Could not bind to requested port

If you see an error like:

Could not bind to requested port. This may mean it is in use already by another application.
ERROR: Could not open UDP port 57120

This probably means you have stray SuperCollider processes running, blocking network ports. Shut down SuperCollider, and force quit sclang and scserver in your task manager. Failing that, a reboot will clear them.

Is the Jack Audio Server ok?

Supercollider runs on a Jack audio server in order to deliver sound to your speakers. If you see the following error in SuperCollider's post window:

Couldn't set realtime scheduling priority 1: Operation not permitted

You will need to setup Jack with the command:

sudo dpkg-reconfigure jackd2

and add your username to the audio group with (replace USERNAME):

sudo adduser USERNAME audio

You can check if your username is already in the audio group by typing the command:

groups USERNAME

You may need to log out and log back in for this to take effect.

If you are on Arch and the issue still persist, you can try this as suggested here.

Compilation errors

You might encounter problems when installing the Tidal Haskell Library. If you encounter errors, the problem might come from the Tidal Haskell library itself. Run the following command to ensure that it is correctly installed:

cabal update
cabal new-install tidal --lib

Sometimes, the installation process can fail without any clear reason. This command can help to fix the problem:

sudo ghc-pkg recache
cabal update
cabal new-install tidal --lib

Why don't I hear anything?

Missing samples

Tidal Cycles is installed with an extensive library of default audio samples. The download can sometimes fail, leaving you without any sound to play. If everything seems to be working, but not all sounds play, then probably there was a problem causing the download of Tidal's sound library to fail part way through.

You can fix this by finding the Dirt-Samples folder, via the SuperCollider menus: Open File > Open user Support directory (top-menu). Find the downloaded-quarks and then the Dirt-Samples folder. You'll probably find that many of the folders are missing or empty. You can download the missing samples from this link and place them here.

Audio configuration

The problem can also come from your sound system. Check that everything is plugged correctly, check if you selected the right audio interface and that the volume is up. If you still don't hear anything, it might come from something else.

Installing via 'stack' rather than 'cabal'

If the Tidal Haskell Library has stubborn problems when installed with cabal, particularly if it brings up errors related to the 'network' library under library, then instead installing with stack solves it.

For most -nix operating systems, the easiest way to install stack is to run:

curl -sSL https://get.haskellstack.org/ | sh

or:

wget -qO- https://get.haskellstack.org/ | sh

This is done with the following command in a terminal window:

stack install tidal

Once that's done, you just have to tell your editor plugin to use the Tidal installed with stack. In Atom, find the settings for the Tidal Cycles package, and set the ghci path setting to:

stack exec --package tidal -- ghci

Restart Atom and all should be well.