openDAW is a next-generation web-based Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) designed to democratize music production and to resurface the process of making music by making high-quality creation tools accessible to everyone, with a strong focus on education and data-privacy. Please consider supporting this project on Patreon or ko-fi.
We are committed to transparency and community-driven development.
The source code for openDAW is available under GPL3 (links below).
openDAW stands for radical simplicity and respect.
- No SignUp
- No Tracking
- No Cookie Banners
- No User Profiling
- No Terms & Conditions
- No Ads
- No Paywalls
- No Data Mining
To everyone who has contributed feedback, reported bugs, suggested improvements, or helped spread the word — thank you! Your support is shaping openDAW into something truly powerful!
Thank you @ccswdavidson, @Chaosmeister, @jeffreylouden, @solsos, @TheRealSyler, @Trinitou, and @xnstad for testing the repositories and identifying issues during the installation of openDAW!
Special shout-out to the biggest bug hunters: kanaris and BeatMax Prediction. Your relentless attention to detail made a huge difference!
Huge thanks to our ambassadors, whose dedication and outreach amplify our mission!
- Polarity
- kanaris
- Stephen Tai
- Thad Guidry
- Pathfinder
- One Sound Every Day (santino)
- Cal Lycus
- Jetdarc
- Truls Enstad
- p07a
- Ynot Etluhcs
- Mats Gisselson
- Dado
- centomila
- Ola
- SKYENCE
- BeatMax_Prediction
- Kim T
- Nyenoidz
- Bruce Hunter
- Steve Meiers
- 4ohm
- Yito
- Shawn Lukas
- Tommes
- David Thompson
- Harry Gillich
- OxVolt
- Wojciech Miłkowski
- Client
- skyboundzoo
- lokomotywa ($2.47)
openDAW tries to avoid external libraries and frameworks. Following is a list of the external libraries we currently use in the web studio:
- jszip (for openDAW project bundle file)
- markdown-it + markdown-it-table (for help pages)
Before starting, ensure you have the following installed on your system:
- Git is required for cloning the repository and managing submodules.
- mkcert is required to create a certificate for developing with https protocol.
- Node.js version >= 23. This is necessary for running the development server and installing dependencies.
- Sass While Sass is handled internally during the development process, you will need to ensure you have the binaries available in your environment if used outside the build system.
- TypeScript
- OpenSSL For generating local development certificates (), OpenSSL needs to be installed on your system. Most Linux/macOS systems have OpenSSL pre-installed.
git clone https://github.com/andremichelle/opendaw.git && cd opendaw
npm run cert(only for the very first time)npm run clean(to revert to clean slate, removes allnode_modulesanddistfolders)npm install(for the first time and afternpm run clean)npm run build(for the first time and afternpm run clean)npm run dev:studio|npm run dev:headless(start dev server)- Navigate to https://localhost:8080 (port is important > cors sample api)
Watch Polarity's Video "there's a new FREE DAW in town"
We welcome contributions from developers, musicians, educators, and enthusiasts. To learn more about how you can participate, visit our Contribute page.
- Offline desktop build (e.g., via Tauri) or a standalone installable PWA — offer offline capability.
- Cloud-agnostic project storage — a facade layer that lets users plug in different cloud services (e.g., Drive, S3, Dropbox) for projects and sample libraries.
- Live remote collaboration — real-time session sharing and sync so multiple users can edit the same project concurrently.
- AI manual assistant — an embedded agent that answers context-aware questions and guides users through features as they work.
- AI-powered stem splitting — integrated source-separation to extract vocals, drums, and other stems directly inside the DAW.
- Import and Export - Contribute every possible file format IO
- opendaw.studio (prototype)
- opendaw.org (website)
- openDAW on Discord
- openDAW SDK
- openDAW on Patreon
- openDAW on ko-fi
openDAW is available under two alternative license terms:
| Option | When to choose it | Obligations |
|---|---|---|
| A. GPL v3 (or later) | You are happy for the entire work that includes openDAW to be released under GPL-compatible open-source terms. | – Must distribute complete corresponding source code under GPL. – Must keep copyright & licence notices. – May run openDAW privately in any software, open or closed (§0). |
| B. Commercial Licence | You wish to incorporate openDAW into closed-source or otherwise licence-incompatible software. | – Pay the agreed fee. – No copyleft requirement for your own source code. – Other terms as per the signed agreement. |
How to obtain the Commercial License
andre.michelle@opendaw.orgwith your company name, product description, and expected distribution volume.
If you redistribute openDAW or a derivative work without a commercial license, the GPL v3 terms apply automatically.
GPL v3 © 2025 André Michelle