Install
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.
System requirements
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 clip arranger, audio and MIDI editing, instruments, effects, hosting, the video editor, and export. DonutStudio Pro adds sampling and spectral tools, vocal synthesis (DiffSinger, UTAU, WORLD beta), and the score-reactive Media Machine.