Yadaw

A lightweight, cross-platform DAW built in Rust with egui, designed for sound design and audio prototyping.

Overview

YADAW is a minimal digital audio workstation that prioritizes portability and simplicity over feature bloat. It runs natively on desktop (Linux, macOS, Windows) and Android, with a small footprint under 20MB. Crashes less often compared to most other daws

Key Features

• Plugin Hosting: Supports CLAP and LV2 plugin formats (no VST)
• Audio Recording: Multi-track audio recording with arm/disarm workflow
• MIDI Editing: Piano roll editor for MIDI composition
• Automation: Look for automatable parameter indicators
• Mixing: Simple built-in mixer with level metering
• Project Management: Save/load project files
• Audio Export: WAV export (MP3/FLAC not yet supported)
• Audio/MIDI Import: Import existing audio files and MIDI data

Technical Details

• Language: Fully Rust
• UI Framework: egui (with winit, hence plugin ui might be difficult since it doesn't yet allow duplicate )
• Platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows, Android
• Architecture: Modular design with separation between audio engine, UI, and plugin hosting

Limitations

• No VST plugin support
• WAV-only export
• Android version is harder to use
• Windows builds require manual compilation (or might be paid in future)

Philosophy

YADAW follows a minimal approach—keeping the codebase lean to enable easier refactoring and maintenance. Advanced features may be implemented through a plugin system in the future rather than core additions.