Download the free microtonal DAW — DonutStudio
Download DonutStudio
DonutStudio is in open beta. Download the installer directly, unlock DonutStudio Free in the app, or enter an DonutStudio Pro license code.
Free · Windows, macOS & Linux
Install DonutStudio
DonutStudio runs standalone and inside your DAW as a free VST3/CLAP plugin. The v0.4.1 installers are smoke-tested on GitHub-hosted Windows, macOS, and Linux runners; Linux is the most-verified platform, with the Windows and macOS builds coming off the same CI.
Windows
Windows 10 (1909) or later, 64-bit. Run DonutStudio-Windows-Setup.exe, choose VST3, CLAP, standalone, and the optional Bitwig bridge (send-only, beta) in the wizard, then restart your DAW. Free starts on first launch with an email.
macOS
macOS 11 Big Sur or later. Extract DonutStudio-macOS.zip, open Terminal in that folder, then run chmod +x install-macos.sh && ./install-macos.sh. The script ad-hoc signs the bundles and clears quarantine; if macOS still warns, right-click DonutStudio and choose Open.
Linux
Self-extracting installer for modern desktop Linux. Run chmod +x DonutStudio-Linux-Installer.sh && ./DonutStudio-Linux-Installer.sh, or run install-linux.sh from the extracted portable zip. Installs VST3, CLAP, standalone, a desktop launcher, and optional soundfonts.
Audio I/O
Standalone supports ASIO, CoreAudio, JACK, ALSA, and PipeWire. Plugin mode uses your DAW's audio engine.
Plugin formats
VST3 and CLAP on every platform, plus the standalone app. Per-note tuning travels through the best channel your host supports: VST3 note expression, MPE pitch bend, and MTS-ESP, so DonutStudio can retune other plugins live across a session and receive tuning as an MTS-ESP client.
GPU acceleration
Vulkan / Metal renderer for the piano roll with a CPU fallback, so scroll and zoom stay smooth on thousand-note projects. The video editor is GPU-composited, so a capable GPU is recommended for video editing and export, and more so for the Pro Media Machine's shaders.
Project format
.arbit files round-trip every harmonic link, tuning root, pitch-bend and vibrato curve, pan, fade, expression lane, and per-note audio sample. DAWproject import/export preserves microtuning through frequency and pitch-bend data, and plain MIDI export keeps your tuning as MPE-style per-note pitch bend.
What you need
It depends on which side of DonutStudio you use. The DAW — MIDI, instruments, vocal synthesis, and audio — runs on modest hardware, while the GPU video editor asks for more, and the Pro Media Machine's shaders more still. RIFE realtime interpolation wants a Vulkan driver (Windows and Linux today; macOS in progress); without one, preview falls back to Frame Blend and exports stay full quality regardless.
| DAW / MIDI — Minimum | DAW — Recommended | Video Editor — Minimum | Video — Recommended | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| OS | Windows 10 64-bit · macOS 11 · Linux (glibc 2.35+, e.g. Ubuntu 22.04) | Latest Windows, macOS, or Linux | Windows 10 64-bit · macOS 11 · Linux (glibc 2.38+, e.g. Ubuntu 24.04) | Latest Windows, macOS, or Linux |
| CPU | 64-bit dual-core | Quad-core | 64-bit quad-core | 6-core or better |
| RAM | 4 GB | 8 GB (16 GB for DiffSinger / UTAU voices and large soundfonts) | 8 GB | 16 GB |
| GPU | Any — OpenGL 3.2 piano roll, CPU fallback otherwise | Any modern integrated or discrete GPU | OpenGL 3.3 (integrated is fine); without Vulkan, interpolation uses Frame Blend | Discrete GPU with a Vulkan driver (AMD, Intel, or NVIDIA) for RIFE Speed Warp; OpenGL 4.3 for the Pro Media Machine |
| Disk | ~500 MB | A few GB (voice packs and soundfonts can be several GB each) | ~1 GB plus media | SSD with room for media and exports |
Add audio transformation too
DonutStudio Free includes the full DAW + video editor + export. Pro adds the production layer (sampling + vocals + Media Machine).
Free · Windows, macOS & Linux