Free and open source
vibez is a free and open source DAW built around Perform, Arrange and Mix. Jam out a tune, polish the arrangement and finally focus on the mix.
Download v0.3.1 Watch it work View source Linux · macOS · Windows · GPL-3.0-or-later
vibez in use
Watch vibez at work.
This is a live techno session made with Sections, Track Mutes and Capture, followed by the final arrangement and mix.
Now playing Sections → Capture → Arrange
Sixteen pads, already under your fingers
Press 1234 / QWER / ASDF / ZXCV. Give it five minutes and the layout starts to disappear.
1 Sections
Make music in Sections.
Perform · Sections
A Section holds one musical idea. Put the drums, bass, chords and anything else that belongs together into it. The next Section might be a small variation or a different tune altogether.
- Sections F1Launch complete musical ideas from the grid. Quantized starts keep the changes in time.
- Track Mutes F2Bring parts in and out from the same pads. You can turn one loop into a full arrangement just by performing the mutes.
- Instrument F3The selected instrument is mapped to sixteen pads, with Full Level, 16 Levels and Note Repeat.
- FeelSwing is modelled on the MPC2000XL and can live at project, track or clip level.
Mix on a full console.
Mix
The Mix view is laid out like an analogue desk. Every channel has a four-band EQ, and there are buses, returns and sends. The master behaves like a normal channel too. The device rack follows the selected channel and hosts vibez instruments, VST3 plugins and CLAP plugins.
Play from your keyboard.
No extra hardware required
Your computer keyboard is laid out like sixteen pads. The three Perform modes use the same grid, so it becomes familiar quickly. After a while you stop looking at the keyboard and listen to what you are playing. MIDI controllers work too, but you do not need one to start.
Esc F1F2F3F4 F5F6F7F8 F9F10F11F12
` 1234 5678 90-= Bksp
Tab QWER TYUI OP [] \
Caps ASDF GHJK L;' Enter
Shift ZXCV BNM ,./ Shift
CtrlCmdAlt Space AltCmdMenuCtrl
The 16 pads Does something on its own Only with Ctrl, Cmd or Alt Unused
Open the full keyboard reference
Perform
F1Sections mode
F2Track Mutes mode
F3Instrument mode
F4Section Record on and off
F5Capture into Arrange
1QAZThe pads, four rows of four, rebindable
[]Previous and next pad bank
NNote Repeat while held, in Instrument mode. Reserved, so no pad can take it
ShiftShow the instrument target overlay while held
EscCancel a key rebind
Transport and view
SpacePlay and stop
CtrlLLoop the arrangement
Ctrl0Zoom to fit
Ctrl1 2Narrow and widen the shared grid
Ctrl3Triplet grid
Ctrl4Snap to grid
Ctrl5Adaptive grid
CtrlZUndo
CtrlShiftZRedo, or Ctrl Y
EscStop the audition, then cancel whatever is being edited
Arrange and clips
CtrlTAdd an audio track
CtrlShiftTAdd an instrument track for MIDI
Ctrl↑ ↓Move the selected track up and down
CtrlC X VCopy, cut and paste clips
CtrlDDuplicate the selected clip
CtrlESplit at the playhead
CtrlJJoin the selected clips
CtrlMCreate a clip from the time selection
CtrlShiftLLoop the selected clip
DelBkspDelete selected notes, otherwise selected clips
ShiftHold to add to the selection
Piano roll and Browser
BToggle draw mode
CtrlASelect every note in the clip
← →Nudge selected notes by one grid step
↑ ↓Transpose selected notes by a semitone
↑ ↓With no notes selected, moves through Browser results
EnterImport the selected Browser sample into the arrangement
Alt← →Make the Browser narrower and wider
On a Mac, press Cmd. Everywhere these tables say Ctrl, macOS uses Cmd instead. The app resolves a single command modifier per platform, so a shortcut never wants Cmd for one thing and Ctrl for another.
Why I built vibez.
Alexander Wanyoike
I produce electronic music and mainly use Linux. The way I work is quite simple. I jam a tune out, arrange it properly, then mix it down. I wanted a DAW built around that workflow.
A lot of Perform came from using my MPC2000XL. After a while the pads and sequences felt normal, so sequences became Sections in vibez. The Mix view came from working with analogue mixers and liking the layout of an SSL channel strip. I built vibez because I wanted to use it myself. It is open source because I want to share it with people who make music in a similar way.
vibez is in alpha.
Alpha · v0.3.1
vibez is free software, released under the GPL and developed in public. It is still alpha software. Project files can change between releases, and some common audio editing tools are not ready yet.
Today
Linux leads development. macOS and Windows build and pass CI on every change, but receive less hands-on testing.
Partial
MIDI input. Play notes into the selected instrument track from one port at a time. Full controller mapping is still to come.
Not yet
Some audio editing. Fades, crossfades, reverse, slicing and transient editing are not in this release.
Download v0.3.1
Released 26 August 2026
These builds are not code signed yet. macOS and Windows will warn you the first time you open vibez.
Linux
x86_64
Make the AppImage executable first:
chmod +x vibez-v0.3.1-linux-x86_64.AppImage
./vibez-v0.3.1-linux-x86_64.AppImage
macOS
Apple silicon and Intel
vibez is not notarised with Apple, so macOS will refuse to open it. After dragging it
to Applications, clear the quarantine flag:
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/vibez.app
You can also allow it under System Settings, then Privacy & Security, after the
first blocked attempt.
Windows
x86_64
The installer is unsigned, so SmartScreen will show a blue warning. Choose
More info, then Run anyway.
Or build it yourself
You need a stable Rust toolchain and, for the time stretcher's C++ build, a C++ compiler and libclang. On Linux, also install the audio and device headers.
sudo apt install libasound2-dev libudev-dev libdbus-1-dev
git clone https://github.com/alexanderwanyoike/vibez
cd vibez && cargo run --release
Then open assets/demo.vibez from the File menu to hear something
immediately.
In memory