RushDAW 🎛️

A web-based DAW, inspired by BandLab, for writing songs, mixing, recording, and mastering. It's a Python package: the Python side runs a small local server, and the studio runs in your browser using the Web Audio API.

Installation

python3 -m pip install .          # from the source folder
# or, once it's on PyPI:
python3 -m pip install rushdaw

Start it:

rushdaw                 # opens http://localhost:8765 in your browser
rushdaw --port 9000 --no-browser
python3 -m rushdaw      # alternative

If port 8765 is busy: when RushDAW is already running there, rushdaw just opens it in the browser; when another program uses it, the next free port (8766, 8767, …) is used. With an explicit --port, a busy port gives a clear error instead.

ffmpeg is installed automatically through the imageio-ffmpeg dependency, so you don't need to install it yourself to export MP3/MP4.

Features

Keyboard shortcuts

Space play/stop · Ctrl/Cmd+C / X / V copy / cut / paste the selected clip, track (layer) or drum part · R record · Home/Enter back to start · S split · Ctrl/Cmd+D duplicate · Delete remove clip · M metronome toggle · Shift + drag on the ruler sets the loop region · double-click a Drum/Synth lane to add a pattern region.

MIDI regions are linear, not loops. Each MIDI region (drum, guitar, bass, synth) stores its own pads/notes for its whole length: a pad sounds exactly where it is placed and nothing repeats, so deleting one pad deletes only that pad. Extending a region (drag its right edge, Length in the Editor, or right-click → Extend by 1 empty bar) adds empty bars; shortening cuts the end. Copy/paste, Ctrl/Cmd+D duplicate and S split create independent copies. The Editor shows the whole region with bar numbers (B1, B2, …), Region n/m · bar x with ◀ ▶, + Empty bar, ⧉ Duplicate region and Apply to all regions. Older projects are converted automatically (looping regions are written out once, so they sound the same).

Right-click menus. Right-click an empty spot of a lane: MIDI tracks → Add empty bar / 2 / 4 bars here, Add copy of the selected region here, Paste here; audio tracks → Add audio here (import file)…, Record here, Paste here. Right-click a region/clip → edit, extend / shorten by a bar, duplicate, split at playhead, delete. Double-clicking an empty spot of a MIDI lane also adds an empty bar.

Data storage

All data stays on your computer in ~/.rushdaw/ (change with rushdaw --home PATH or RUSHDAW_HOME):

~/.rushdaw/
├── db.sql                          # SQLite – important metadata only
└── file/
    └── <project_id>/
        ├── rev-0001.rushdaw        # full project snapshot (tracks, notes, FX, embedded audio)
        ├── rev-0002.rushdaw
        └── ...

• db.sql table projects: id, name, bpm, time signature, created/updated time, latest revision, deleted time (soft delete).
• db.sql table revisions: project, revision number, note, file name, size, SHA-256, track count, time.
• Project content (including audio) is not stored in the database. It lives in the .rushdaw files, written atomically.
• Deleting a project only moves it to the Trash. Its files and history stay on disk.

MCP (edit projects from an AI agent)

RushDAW includes an MCP server (Model Context Protocol) so AI assistants and agents can read and edit projects, tracks (layers), drum pads, notes and effects. The transport is HTTP + SSE only.

The API key is optional. Without --api-key MCP is off and the DAW works normally. To turn MCP on, start with a key (or set RUSHDAW_API_KEY):

rushdaw --api-key "my-secret-key"
# MCP:  http://localhost:8765/sse  (HTTP+SSE transport, header 'Authorization: Bearer <api key>')

• GET /sse opens the event stream. The first event, endpoint, gives the URL to post to: /messages?session_id=....
• POST /messages?session_id=... takes JSON-RPC messages and answers 202 Accepted. The responses arrive as message events on the SSE stream.
• Both endpoints require Authorization: Bearer <api key> (otherwise 401).

Example client config:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "rushdaw": {
      "type": "sse",
      "url": "http://localhost:8765/sse",
      "headers": { "Authorization": "Bearer my-secret-key" }
    }
  }
}

Every MCP edit is saved as a new revision (MCP: … in History), so it can always be restored. An editor open in the browser reloads automatically when MCP changes the project. If you have unsaved changes, it shows a warning instead.

Uploading to PyPI

python3 -m pip install build twine
python3 -m build                 # creates dist/rushdaw-0.1.0.tar.gz and .whl
python3 -m twine check dist/*
python3 -m twine upload dist/*   # requires a PyPI API token

Bump version in pyproject.toml and src/rushdaw/__init__.py for every release. If the name rushdaw is already taken on PyPI, change name in pyproject.toml.

Development

python3 -m pip install -e .
python3 -m unittest discover -s tests

Architecture

• src/rushdaw/server.py – standard-library HTTP server (static UI + /api/export, /api/info)
• src/rushdaw/export.py – converts the WAV mixdown to other formats with ffmpeg
• src/rushdaw/storage.py – SQLite metadata + .rushdaw revision files
• src/rushdaw/model.py – server-side project model (mirrors the web UI data)
• src/rushdaw/mcp.py – MCP tools + JSON-RPC (served over HTTP+SSE by server.py, bearer auth)
• src/rushdaw/static/ – the DAW UI (HTML/CSS/JS, Web Audio engine, offline rendering for export)

Third-party sounds

The guitar and bass recordings in src/rushdaw/static/samples/ come from the FluidR3_GM SoundFont by Frank Wen (MP3 renders from midi-js-soundfonts), licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 3.0. See src/rushdaw/static/samples/NOTICE.txt.

Vocal MIDI (voice: "hooo" / "haaa")

Click + Vocal MIDI to add a sung-voice layer played from the piano roll. Drag across pads to make one long, sustained note (same as guitar/bass).

• Presets: Choir Aah (default), Choir Ooh, Choir Ohh, Solo Hoo, Solo Haa (engine voice, formant synthesis).
• Editor controls: Vowel (Aah / Eeh / Iih / Ohh / Ooh), Voices (1 = solo, 2-6 = choir), Breath, Vibrato, Attack, Decay, Sustain, Release.
• New track starts with the "Choir Space" effect chain (EQ, Chorus, Reverb), visible and editable in the Effects tab.
• New effect Vocal Formant (vowel a/e/i/o/u, formant shift, mix) turns any layer into an "aah"/"ooh" sound.
• MCP: add_track type=vocal, set_synth with engine: voice, vowel, voices, breath, vibrato; add_effect type=formant.

Natural drums: recorded kit, velocity and feel

• Drum tracks play a recorded acoustic kit (MuldjordKit, CC-BY 4.0): 3 velocity layers x 3 different hits per part, so repeated hits never sound identical. Editor → Kit: Acoustic (recorded) (default) or Synth kit. Tune / Decay / Volume per part still work.
• Velocity per pad and note: choose the velocity for new pads (Accent 100%, Normal 80%, Soft 60%, Ghost 30%); right-click or Alt+click a pad/note to cycle it. Softer pads are drawn dimmer and play a softer recording (ghost notes, accents).
• Feel per layer: Humanize (random timing in ms; drums add a drummer feel: snare slightly behind, hats slightly ahead), Swing, Push / lay back. New drum tracks start with Humanize 6 ms.
• MCP: set_drum_pads velocity (1-127), pattern strings x = 100%, o = soft, g = ghost, set_notes note velocity, update_track humanize_ms / swing / push_ms.