openDAW is a next-generation web-based Digital Audio Workstation designed to democratize music production by making professional creation tools accessible to everyone. Built entirely in TypeScript with Web Audio API, it runs in your browser with no required login and no vendor lock-in. Open-source under AGPL-3 and designed with education at its core.
Listen to openDAW music 🎧orStart creating your own tune 👩🏼💻
The default view in openDAW is designed to lower the barrier for users familiar with common native software. It functions as a multi-audio track editor, allowing users to easily add and manage tracks. This view can be effortlessly extended with effects and low-level components, making it both powerful and user-friendly.
openDAW provides one growing mixer to bring all your tracks together, each with their own effects, send-effects, different outputs, volume, and panning. Each instrument unit has its dedicated mixer channel, ensuring precise control over your audio routing. An export function allows you to export all STEMS as a Zip File in one go.
Your midi effects, instrument and audio-effects for each audio-unit in one panel.
A dedicated editor to edit your notes with some fresh new features like fine-tune, chance and play-count. It also guides you through scales and harmonics.
A real-time visual creation tool using GLSL shaders that respond to audio and MIDI data from your project. Write fragment shaders with Shadertoy-compatible syntax, access audio spectrum and waveform data, and export your visuals as MP4 files in resolutions up to 4K.
Record audio and MIDI from multiple devices simultaneously. Arm individual tracks or hold Shift to arm multiple tracks at once. Choose from available audio inputs with optional mono recording, or capture MIDI from all connected controllers or specific devices with channel filtering. Enable input monitoring to hear your signal before and during recording. With loop mode and takes enabled, each iteration creates a new take on a separate track, letting you compare multiple performances. Step recording in the note editor allows precise MIDI entry without real-time performance. Perfect for solo artists and bands alike.
Build your own music applications on top of the openDAW SDK. Companies and developers gain access to battle-tested data structures for representing musical projects, a high-performance audio engine with low-latency playback and rendering, comprehensive project handling including save/load and undo/redo, a growing library of instruments and effects, MIDI processing utilities, audio file encoding and decoding, and much more. The SDK provides the foundation to create custom DAWs, specialized music tools, educational platforms, or entirely new musical experiences—without reinventing the wheel.
npm install @opendaw/studio-sdk
Write your own audio effects and MIDI processors in JavaScript — right inside openDAW. Werkstatt lets you code custom DSP with real-time audio I/O, while Spielwerk gives you a generator-based pipeline for transforming, filtering, and creating MIDI notes. Both feature a Monaco-powered editor, declarative parameter knobs, hot-reload, and built-in safety checks. From custom distortion to algorithmic arpeggiators — if you can code it, you can play it.
A classic subtractive synthesizer with dual oscillators, resonant low-pass filter, LFO, and ADSR envelope. Features unison voice stacking for thick pads, glide for smooth leads, and comprehensive modulation options. Ideal for warm analog-style pads, punchy basses, and evolving textures.
A sample-based drum machine and sampler with a grid of pads mapped to MIDI notes. Drag samples onto pads, trigger them via MIDI or mouse, and shape each sound with individual start/end points, attack/release, and exclusive groups. Perfect for drum kits, one-shot effects, and layered percussion.
A minimal sample playback instrument. Load any audio file and play it chromatically across the keyboard. The sample is pitch-shifted to match each played note. Ideal for quick chromatic sampling, simple melodic instruments, and sound design experimentation.
A sample-based instrument that plays Soundfont (.sf2) files. Load multi-sample instrument libraries and select from multiple presets. Ideal for realistic pianos, orchestral instruments, General MIDI playback, and classic hardware emulations.
A tape machine playback instrument that visualizes audio regions as a vintage reel-to-reel recorder. Place audio clips on the track and watch the reels spin during playback. Provides nostalgic visual feedback for audio playback.
Routes MIDI data to external hardware synthesizers, drum machines, or other MIDI-compatible devices. Send notes, control changes, and transport messages to connected hardware. Includes delay compensation and customizable CC parameters for automating external gear.
A 7-band parametric equalizer with real-time spectrum analysis. Features high-pass, low shelf, three bell filters, high shelf, and low-pass with configurable frequency, gain, and Q. Use for surgical frequency correction, tonal shaping, and removing unwanted content.
A dynamic range compressor with auto-adaptive features, lookahead, and sidechain support. Features program-dependent attack/release, 5ms lookahead for transparent limiting, and external sidechain for ducking effects. Use for controlling dynamics, glue compression, or sidechain pumping.
A noise gate with hysteresis, hold time, and sidechain support. Attenuates signals below a threshold to silence unwanted noise. Features dual-threshold system to prevent chattering, inverse mode for ducking effects, and external sidechain for creative gating.
A brickwall limiter with automatic makeup gain for loudness maximization. Prevents audio from exceeding 0 dB with optional lookahead for transparent peak control. Use for final mix limiting and peak control.
A high-quality plate reverb based on Jon Dattorro's classic algorithm. Features extensive diffusion control, modulated delay lines for chorus-like movement, and a smooth, dense reverb character. Ideal for lush vocals, cinematic spaces, and evolving ambient textures.
A lightweight algorithmic reverb based on the classic Freeverb design. Good for general-purpose room simulation with low CPU usage. Features room size, pre-delay, and damping controls for adding spatial ambience to any source.
A stereo delay with tempo sync, stereo pre-delay, crossfeed for ping-pong effects, LFO modulation, and filtering in the feedback loop. Create rhythmic echoes, ping-pong patterns, filtered dub delays, or chorus-like modulated effects.
A utility effect for adjusting volume, panning, stereo width, and channel manipulation. Features auto gain normalization, multiple panning modes, phase inversion, and channel swapping. Essential for gain staging and stereo positioning.
A tempo-synced tremolo effect with customizable waveshape and stereo phase control. Sculpt the modulation wave using slope and symmetry controls—from smooth sine curves to sharp rhythmic gates. Create classic tremolo, auto-pan, or sidechain-style pumping.
A bit crusher and sample rate reducer for lo-fi and distortion effects. Degrades audio quality by reducing bit depth and sample rate. Creates lo-fi, retro digital, and harsh distortion effects reminiscent of early samplers and video game consoles.
A wavefolding distortion effect with oversampling. When signals exceed a threshold, they fold back instead of clipping, creating complex harmonic content with a distinctive metallic, bell-like character. Use for harmonic enhancement, aggressive distortion, and West Coast synthesis timbres.
AI-powered amplifier and effects modeling using Neural Amp Modeler technology. Load NAM model files that capture the complete tonal character of real amplifiers, pedals, and analog gear. Ideal for guitar amp simulation, vintage tones, and realistic saturation.
A tempo-synced arpeggiator that cycles through held notes in various patterns. Hold any combination of notes and the arpeggiator plays them one at a time in the selected direction (up, down, or up-down). Control rate, octave range, note repetition, gate length, and velocity.
A MIDI note transposition effect with octave, semitone, and fine-tuning control. Transpose incoming notes by combining octave shifts, semitone offsets, and cent adjustments. Use for octave doubling, key changes, harmonies, or micro-tuning.
A groove/shuffle effect that applies swing timing to MIDI notes. Offbeat notes are pushed later in time, creating the characteristic swing feel found in jazz, funk, and electronic music. Use for adding shuffle to quantized drums or humanizing rigid sequences.
A MIDI effect for shaping note velocity. Works like a magnet that pulls velocities toward a target, with adjustable strength, humanization, and offset. Use for global crescendos, consistent dynamics, subtle humanization, or making layered instruments respond evenly.
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