daw-schemas 0.1.0

JSON schemas for Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) file formats

DAW Schemas

A collection of JSON schemas for Digital Audio Workstation (DAW) file formats. Currently supports Ableton Live .als files, with a framework designed to be extended for other DAW formats.

Overview

This project provides:

• JSON schemas - Structural schemas describing the XML structure of DAW project files
• Schema generation tools - Analyze multiple DAW project files to extract their structure
• Reusable framework - Extensible architecture for analyzing other DAW formats

Ableton Live (.als) Support

Ableton Live project files (.als) are gzipped XML files. This project includes:

Schema Files

• daw_schemas/ableton_live/12/schema.json - Structural schema describing XML elements, attributes, and hierarchy for all .als files

Tools

Schema Generation

Generate schemas from your .als files:

After installation:

# Using the command-line tool
daw-generate-schema "/path/to/projects" --sample-size 30

# Or using Python module
python3 -m daw_schemas.ableton_live.generate_schema \
    "/path/to/projects/2025" "/path/to/projects/2026" \
    --sample-size 30 \
    --output 12/schema.json

Options:

• directories - One or more directories containing .als files
• --sample-size N - Number of files to analyze (default: 20)
• --output FILE - Output JSON file path (relative to script directory)
• --max-elements N - Maximum elements to analyze per file (default: 40000)

Schema Structure

Structural Schema Format

The schema describes the XML structure of .als files and includes:

{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "daw_format": "Ableton Live .als",
  "metadata": {
    "versions_analyzed": ["Ableton Live 12.3.2", ...],
    "total_element_types": 1798,
    "description": "Structural schema describing XML elements, attributes, and hierarchy for all .als files"
  },
  "root_structure": {
    "Ableton": {
      "required_attributes": ["Creator", "MajorVersion", ...],
      "children": ["LiveSet"]
    }
  },
  "key_sections": {
    "Tracks": {
      "attributes": [],
      "required_attributes": [],
      "children": ["AudioTrack", "MidiTrack", ...],
      "has_identifiers": false
    },
    ...
  },
  "track_structure": {
    "AudioTrack": {
      "attributes": ["Id", ...],
      "required_attributes": ["Id"],
      "children": ["DeviceChain", "Name", ...],
      "identifier_attributes": ["Id"]
    },
    ...
  },
  "element_catalog": {
    "ElementName": {
      "attributes": ["attr1", "attr2"],
      "required_attributes": ["attr1"],
      "parents": ["Parent1", "Parent2"],
      "children": ["Child1", "Child2"],
      "has_text": false,
      "is_identifier": true,
      "is_value": false,
      "is_key_element": true
    }
  }
}

The schema is structural - it describes what elements, attributes, and relationships can exist in any .als file, not specific to any particular file.

Extending for Other DAW Formats

The framework is designed to be extended. To add support for another DAW format:

1. Create a format-specific analyzer (similar to ALSComparisonSchemaGenerator in generate_schema.py)
2. Generate structural schemas describing the file format
3. Add format detection to identify file types

Example Structure

class DAWFormatAnalyzer:
    """Base class for DAW format analysis."""

    def analyze_file(self, file_path: Path) -> bool:
        """Analyze a single file."""
        pass

    def generate_schema(self) -> Dict[str, Any]:
        """Generate schema from analysis."""
        pass

class ALSFormatAnalyzer(DAWFormatAnalyzer):
    """Ableton Live .als analyzer."""
    pass

Version Compatibility

Schemas are organized by DAW version in directory structures:

• ableton_live/12/ - Schemas for Ableton Live 12
• ableton_live/11/ - Schemas for Ableton Live 11
• logic_pro/12/ - Schemas for Logic Pro 12 (when added)

The analysis tools:

• Track which versions were analyzed
• Identify version-specific elements
• Support multiple schema versions

When analyzing files from different DAW versions, the schema will include all element types found across versions. Each version directory contains schemas specific to that DAW version.

Requirements

• Python 3.7+
• Standard library only (no external dependencies)

Usage Examples

Generate Schema from Your Projects

# After installation - analyze projects from multiple directories
daw-generate-schema \
    "/Volumes/Music SSD/Music/Projects/2025" \
    "/Volumes/Music SSD/Music/Projects/2026" \
    --sample-size 30

# Or using Python module
python3 -m daw_schemas.ableton_live.generate_schema \
    "/Volumes/Music SSD/Music/Projects/2025" \
    "/Volumes/Music SSD/Music/Projects/2026" \
    --sample-size 30 \
    --output 12/schema.json

Access Schemas Programmatically

from pathlib import Path
import json
from daw_schemas import __file__ as package_file

# Load schema
schema_path = Path(package_file).parent / "ableton_live" / "12" / "schema.json"
with open(schema_path) as f:
    schema = json.load(f)

# Use schema for validation, analysis, etc.
print(f"Found {schema['metadata']['total_element_types']} element types")
print(f"Versions analyzed: {schema['metadata']['versions_analyzed']}")

File Structure

daw-schemas/
├── README.md                    # This file
├── docs/                         # Documentation
│   └── COMPARISON.md            # Comparison tool guide (temporary)
├── pyproject.toml               # Package configuration
└── daw_schemas/                 # Python package
    ├── __init__.py
    ├── daw_format_base.py       # Base framework for extending to other DAWs
    └── ableton_live/
        ├── __init__.py
        ├── generate_schema.py   # Schema generator
        └── 12/
            └── schema.json       # Structural schema for Live 12

Installation

# Install from PyPI (when published)
pip install daw-schemas

# Or install from source
pip install -e .

Notes

• .als files are gzipped XML, so they're automatically decompressed
• Large projects may take time to analyze
• The schema generation samples files to balance accuracy and performance
• Schemas describe the structure that all .als files follow, not specific to analyzed files

Future Enhancements

• Support for other DAW formats (Logic Pro, Pro Tools, etc.)
• Additional schema versions for different Ableton Live versions
• Schema validation tools
• Automated schema version detection