The Focusrite USB audio interfaces are class compliant, meaning that they work “out of the box” on Linux as audio and MIDI interfaces (although on Gen 3/4/Vocaster you need to disable MSD mode first for full functionality). However, except for some of the smallest models, this kernel driver is required to access the full range of features of these interfaces.
This driver is an extension to ALSA, specifically to the
snd_usb_audio module.
The interfaces currently supported are:
This driver is already a part of the mainstream Linux kernel since Linux kernel version 5.4. Depending on the particular interface you have, you might have the driver for your interface already installed:
Note: From Linux 6.7 onwards, the driver is enabled by default and this is the first version where the level meters work.
It's recommended that you use at least 6.7, or install the backported driver (see below).
This repository is a fork of the Linux kernel, used for:
1) Sharing the development code before it arrives in the mainstream kernel.
2) Sharing backports for the snd_usb_audio module so that you don't
have to wait for Linux 6.8 to access the Scarlett Gen 4 support or
Linux 6.10 to access the Vocaster support.
If you want to build an entire kernel from source, check the
scarlett2 branch. Otherwise, visit the
Releases
page to download a backport of just the snd_usb_audio module, which
can be built against your running kernel.
To use the controls introduced by this driver, please refer to the dedicated GUI application repository: ALSA Scarlett GUI.