# Zrythm v2.0.0-alpha.3 Released
**URL:** https://forum.zrythm.org/t/zrythm-v2-0-0-alpha-3-released/601
**Category:** News
**Tags:** release
**Created:** [September 3, 2026, 5:52pm UTC](https://forum.zrythm.org/t/zrythm-v2-0-0-alpha-3-released/601 "2026-09-03T17:52:46Z")
**Posts on this page:** 4
**Page:** 1
### Author:  [@alex](https://forum.zrythm.org/u/alex)
#### Post date: [September 3, 2026, 5:52pm UTC](https://forum.zrythm.org/t/zrythm-v2-0-0-alpha-3-released/601/1 "2026-09-03T17:52:46Z")
# Zrythm v2.0.0-alpha.3 Released
We’re happy to release Zrythm v2.0.0-alpha.3! This release brings native VST3 plugin hosting, new Windows ARM64EC builds, a rework of multi-channel audio routing, and a long list of fixes.
This is an **alpha release** intended for testing and feedback. Many features are still missing or incomplete.
## What’s new
**Native VST3 hosting:**
- VST3 plugins are now hosted natively, with resizable embedded editor windows featuring a header strip, bypass and A/B state comparison
- Durable preset selection with VST3 program tracking, a prev/next preset selector in plugin windows, and a searchable preset browser with group filtering and keyboard auditioning
- Parameter groups (e.g. VST3 units) shown as sections in the generic plugin parameter editor
- Diagnostics row in plugin windows showing DSP load and latency (#4526)
- Host transport (play state, tempo, time signature and musical position) delivered to VST3 and CLAP plugins, so tempo-synced plugins follow the project
- Parallel polyphonic voice rendering for bundled synths on a realtime-safe worker pool, and hosting of the CLAP thread-pool extension for plugins that parallelize their processing
**Windows on ARM:**
- Windows on ARM installers are now built as ARM64EC: Zrythm runs natively on ARM64 while loading x64 plugins in-process
- These builds are made possible by a Surface Pro build machine sponsored by Microsoft — thank you!
**Audio routing:**
- Multi-channel routing reworked around speaker arrangements: audio folds between layouts per ITU-R BS.775 instead of silencing unmatched buses, port connections carry explicit channel routings, and plugin bus changes at runtime detach and revive ports without losing connections
- Sidechain buses are excluded from automatic track chain wiring and connect through explicit user connections
- The playhead keeps its musical position across tempo changes, and engine-internal pauses (e.g. for undo) no longer trigger return-to-cue moves
**Workflow & polish:**
- Drag and wheel scrubbing on the transport bar BPM, time signature and position readouts (Shift/Ctrl for fine steps)
- Pinned-cursor dragging with Shift fine mode for knobs, faders and balance controls, so values can be edited indefinitely without the cursor hitting screen edges
- Type and format filters with persisted search in the plugin browser
- Per-stage progress reporting for project load and save, and a modal dialog that blocks concurrent project loads
- System information and a Copy System Info button in the About dialog
**Notable fixes:**
- Plugin parameters being zeroed on the first processing cycle, resetting patches of plugins like Surge XT
- Crash when removing a MIDI device while its processor is part of the processing graph (#5284)
- Backups cloning their pool files over the main project’s pool files
- Crash on port connections referencing nonexistent endpoints; such connections are now dropped with a warning at load
- Data races between the main and audio threads on transport state and playhead processing state (ThreadSanitizer)
- Deadlocks when graph recalculation or engine pausing was requested while already in progress
- Count-in metronome clicks continuing to play after pausing during the count-in
- Faders and balance controls resetting to hardcoded values instead of the parameter default, and the fader hover label showing -2.1 dB at unity gain (#5307)
- Faders ramping to new volumes faster than real time during playback
- Generic plugin editor windows opening without a title bar on Windows
- Unstyled platform scrollbars and fallback controls on Windows (#5312)
- Arrangers setting drag cursors when the pointer is elsewhere in the window
- DSP load indicator rendering an empty meter as a solid block
Carla plugin hosting support has been removed (it was already disabled).
## Downloads
Source tarballs with GPG signatures are available at [zrythm.org/releases](https://www.zrythm.org/releases/).
Prebuilt installers — including, for the first time, Windows ARM64EC builds — are available on the [GitHub release page](https://github.com/zrythm/zrythm/releases/tag/v2.0.0-alpha.3).
## Building from source
See the [build instructions](https://gitlab.zrythm.org/zrythm/zrythm/-/blob/master/README.md) in the README. You’ll need CMake, Qt, and an internet connection for dependency fetching.
## Reporting issues
Please report bugs [here](https://gitlab.zrythm.org/zrythm/zrythm/-/work_items).
## Thanks
The project is currently funded through [NGI0 Commons Fund](https://nlnet.nl/commonsfund), a fund established by [NLnet](https://nlnet.nl) with financial support from the European Commission’s [Next Generation Internet](https://ngi.eu) program.
Thanks to [Microsoft](https://www.microsoft.com) for sponsoring the Surface Pro build machine that powers the new ARM64EC builds.
If you’d like to support Zrythm’s development, consider purchasing a plan from [zrythm.org](https://www.zrythm.org/en/download.html) or [donating](https://www.zrythm.org/en/community.html#donate).
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### Author:  [@Vladymir](https://forum.zrythm.org/u/Vladymir)
#### Post date: [September 8, 2026, 9:48pm UTC](https://forum.zrythm.org/t/zrythm-v2-0-0-alpha-3-released/601/2 "2026-09-08T21:48:38Z")
Hi, nice news! This release is great 😎
Just tested appimage, and see that menu font is SERIF.
Can it be changed somehow? It’s difficult to be read.
All other labels are sans-serif, and look perfect.
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### Author:  [@alex](https://forum.zrythm.org/u/alex)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2026, 12:04pm UTC](https://forum.zrythm.org/t/zrythm-v2-0-0-alpha-3-released/601/3 "2026-09-09T12:04:36Z")
> [@Vladymir](#):
>
> menu font is SERIF
Which menu exactly? Can you post a screenshot please?
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### Author:  [@Vladymir](https://forum.zrythm.org/u/Vladymir)
#### Post date: [September 9, 2026, 5:57pm UTC](https://forum.zrythm.org/t/zrythm-v2-0-0-alpha-3-released/601/4 "2026-09-09T17:57:07Z")
here it is.
may be it’s due to my system language, really I don’t know 🙃