Mikoto Docs
← Back to site

Troubleshooting

Solutions to common problems in the Mikoto Studio Early Access Preview. If your issue isn't listed here, ask in the Mikoto Studio Discord - the team and community are active and happy to help.

App won't launch

Windows: "Windows protected your PC" (SmartScreen warning)

The EAP installer is not yet code-signed. Click More info, then Run anyway. The app is safe to run.

macOS: "Mikoto Studio can't be opened because it's from an unidentified developer"

Gatekeeper is blocking the app. To allow it:

  1. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security.
  2. Scroll down until you see the Mikoto Studio message and click Open Anyway.
  3. Confirm in the next dialog. You may need to repeat this once.

App crashes immediately on launch

  1. Restart your computer and try again.
  2. Check that your system meets the minimum requirements.
  3. Delete the app's settings folder to reset to defaults, then relaunch:
    • Windows: %AppData%\ExpressiveLabs\Mikoto Studio
    • macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/ExpressiveLabs/Mikoto Studio
  4. Reinstall using the latest installer from mikoto.studio/eap.

Audio problems

No audio output during playback

  • Open File → Settings → Audio and check that the correct output device is selected in the Audio output dropdown.
  • If a new device isn't showing up, click Refresh in the Audio settings to rescan connected devices.
  • On Windows, try switching the Audio host between WASAPI and ASIO. WASAPI is the default and works with all output devices.
  • Make sure your system volume is not muted and the track is not muted in the Arranger (the Mute button on the track header).

Audio crackles, pops, or dropouts during playback

  • If you're using ASIO, increase the buffer size in your audio interface's control panel. Start at 512 samples; try 1024 or 2048 if issues persist.
  • Close other applications that may be using audio output.
  • On Windows with WASAPI, make sure no other application has exclusive control of the audio device.

Rendering is slow or the progress indicator stalls

  • During the first few render cycles, new voice libraries generate their cache files. This takes processing power and time. After these cache files are generated, re-rendering should run faster.
  • You may want to increase the number of simultaneous render processes Mikoto can spawn. To do this, go into File → Settings → Engine → CPU threads and increase the number. Beware that higher thread counts also place more strain on your hardware - please ensure proper cooling to avoid damaging or throttling your system.

Voicebank issues

Singer not appearing in the Library panel

  1. Go to File → Settings → Singer and check that the folder containing your voicebanks is listed under Singer search paths. If it isn't, add it.
  2. After updating the search paths, you may need to use Singer → Reload Library to rescan without restarting.
  3. Check that the voicebank folder contains a valid oto.ini file. If the archive was corrupted or incompletely extracted, re-download and re-install it via Singer → Add Singer.
  4. Ensure that the voicebank has exactly one default Expression. In the library, right-click the singer and open Singer Settings → Expressions. If no default is set, or multiple are set, the singer may not appear in the library or cause other issues when in use.

Singer sounds robotic or has wrong phonemes

  • Check that the voicebank's language and reclist style are set correctly. Right-click the singer in the Library panel → Singer Settings.
  • In the piano roll, try Tools → (Re)generate phonemes to re-run automatic phoneme conversion on your notes.
  • Check the Language Settings popover in the piano roll editor. Here you can control whether Mikoto uses the singer's default language, auto-detects from your lyrics, or uses a fixed override.
  • Many UTAU voicebanks use non-standard alias formats which may not convert correctly automatically. These voicebanks can only be used with manual alias input by toggling Use legacy UTAU input in the Language Settings menu for that clip. Format support for automatic conversion will be expanded in future updates.

Default singer ID is invalid (warning in Settings)

If you see "The saved default singer ID is invalid. The settings file may be corrupted." in Settings → Singer, click Reset Settings to restore defaults. You can then reconfigure your search paths and default singer.

Export issues

Exported file is silent or missing tracks

  • Make sure no tracks are muted (track header Mute button).
  • If Export selected area only was checked, make sure the selection in the Arranger ruler covers your content.
  • Try playing back the project in full before exporting to confirm all clips render correctly.
  • Right-click each clip → Render to force a re-render before exporting.

Project & saving issues

Project file won't open

Project files from significantly older EAP versions may not be loadable in newer builds when a breaking format change was made. If you have an older project that won't open, please report it in the Discord with the project file attached. The team will investigate and try to provide a conversion solution if possible.

Unsaved changes are lost after a crash

Autosave is not available in the current EAP build. Save manually with Ctrl+S / Cmd+S regularly. If Mikoto crashes and the last save was recent, your .msq file on disk should be intact.

Reporting bugs

Bug reports help the team fix issues quickly. Please include:

  • Your OS version and Mikoto Studio version (shown in Help → About Mikoto Studio).
  • A description of what you were doing when the issue occurred.
  • Any error message or on-screen text you saw.
  • Steps to reproduce the problem, if possible.

Report bugs via:

  • In-app: Help → Report a bug. Crash reports and logs are automatically attached so the team can get to the root of the problem.
  • Discord: Post in the #eap-bug-reports channel on the Mikoto Studio Discord.