---
layout: default
title: Starting Ardour
---                        
  
<p>
  There are several ways of <dfn>starting Ardour</dfn>, which may vary
  depending on which platform you are using it.
</p>
<ul>
  <li>double-click the Ardour icon in your platform's file manager (e.g. 
  Nautilus on Linux, Finder on OS X)</li>
  <li>double click on an Ardour session file in your platform's file manager</li>
  <li>on Linux, you can also start Ardour <a 
  href="/ardours-interface/starting-ardour/starting-ardour-from-the-command-line/">on 
  the command line</a></li>
</ul>
<p>
  When Ardour is run for the very first time, a special dialog is displayed 
  that will ask you several questions about your setup. You will not be asked
  these questions again, but you can always modify your choices via the
  <kbd class="menu">Edit &gt; Preferences</kbd> dialog.
</p>
<p>
  If you want to use JACK, in general, it is sensible to start it <em>before</em> you run Ardour. This is not
  necessary, but will provide you with more control and options over JACK's operation.
  You can start JACK through its <abbr title="Command Line Interface">CLI</abbr>, or using a <abbr title="Graphical User Interface">GUI</abbr>
  program, like <a href="https://qjackctl.sourceforge.io/">QjackCtl</a> or <a href="http://kxstudio.linuxaudio.org/Applications:Cadence">Cadence</a>.
</p>
<p>
  If you open Ardour without specifying an existing session it will display 
  the <kbd class="menu">Session &gt; New...</kbd> dialog and the <kbd class="menu">Audio/MIDI Setup</kbd> dialog.
  See <a href="/working-with-sessions/new-session-dialog/">New/Open Session Dialog</a> for a description of those dialogs. 
</p>
  

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