SoundCraft: a free, open-source Avid Pro Tools alternative

Looking for a free alternative to Avid Pro Tools? SoundCraft is one option. Its README describes it like this:

Recording, editing and mixing audio; an open-source, clean-room reimplementation of Avid Pro Tools, rebuilt in pure Rust.

It's made by the ArtCraft team, licensed MIT OR Apache-2.0, and published for macOS, Windows, Linux and FreeBSD, plus a web build. The latest version is v0.5.0.

What it does well

According to the README:

• A familiar workflow: an Edit window for arranging and editing, a Mix window for balancing, edit modes, tools, playlists, memory locations and AudioSuite processing.
• A complete DAW: multitrack editing, a full mixer with plugins, sends and automation, MIDI, recording and bouncing.
• Shortcuts from the README: Space play/stop, ⌘= Mix/Edit, F1–F4 edit modes, F5–F10 tools, ⌘E separate, ⌘D duplicate. Setup › Keyboard Shortcuts lists them all.
• Scriptable: every action can be run from the command line or by an AI agent.

How far along it is

The README calls SoundCraft pre-alpha: it covers 94% of the incumbent's menu items (measured), about 70% of its features by presence, and is roughly 40% of the way to replacing it for real work. Record, edit, mix and bounce work end to end.

What's still missing

The README says these are still missing:

• choosing an audio interface and buffer size
• recording MIDI from a controller
• session interchange (AAF/OMF)
• translations

The full, ranked list is in the project's docs/gaps.md.

Should you switch?

Try SoundCraft if you want a free, open-source digital audio workstation that feels familiar to Avid Pro Tools users, runs on Linux or in a browser, or can be scripted. For client work, test your own files first. The project describes itself as early-stage software.

• How to install SoundCraft
• More free alternatives: the Craft suite

Avid Pro Tools is a trademark of Avid. It is named here only to describe what SoundCraft is modeled on.