Finish the song. Hand the busywork to an agent.

Features

Everything between an idea and a bounced master.

Switching

What moving over actually looks like.

No DAW reads another DAW’s project files, and Ondera does not pretend to. Here is what comes with you, what is better on this side, and what is not here yet, so you can decide with the facts.

Agent

Ask for the edit. Keep the undo.

The agent panel streams its reply while it works and shows one card per command it runs. It uses the model you already pay for: Codex or Claude Code from their CLIs, an Anthropic or OpenAI key, or any OpenAI-compatible endpoint, including a local one. Nothing leaves your machine unless you connect a provider.

• Slash commands for the common asks. /beat, /chords, /humanize, /mix, /arrange, /diagnose and more, or plain language.
• Undo from here. The Activity tab lists every change the agent made. Roll back to any point, or redo forward again.
• On a leash you hold. Permissions gate file access, transport, replacing the session, settings and quitting. Off means off, for the panel and for MCP clients alike.

Command layer

One command layer. Four clients. None of them privileged.

The desktop window, command-line tool, MCP server and built-in agent share 150 validated commands for sessions, transport, tracks, notes, plugins, presets, automation, settings, exports and the interface itself. Agent edits use the same undo history as manual edits. Native dialogs and plugin windows remain interface controls.

$ ondera-cli track.setMute --trackId bgv --muted false
ok  session 3f9c · undo #12

{
  "name": "track_setMute",
  "arguments": { "trackId": "bgv", "muted": false }
}

These examples reflect the browser preview’s store. Mute BGV above and watch the displayed values follow.

Themes

Three looks. Dark and light. Same instrument.

Pick the one you want to stare at for six hours. Every theme is computed, not painted: one neutral ramp in OKLCH, one accent, and text contrast that is tested on every surface in both modes. This page is wearing the same tokens as the app, so choose one and watch everything follow, the preview above included.

Material system

The same controls, re-lit by the theme.

Every control is built from a handful of material recipes: raised, pressed, lit, groove, well, knob, fader cap. A theme does not redraw them, it re-lights them. Skeuomorphic gives each one a specular edge, a darkening face, a contact line and a soft drop. Modern keeps only the line. Aero turns the face into a lens. Try the rack, then change the theme.

Architecture

API first. The window is just one client.

Ondera’s desktop window, CLI, MCP server and built-in agent share a Rust command registry and session store. Since 0.4 the window is a Tauri 2 shell with a React renderer in the system WebView; the session, undo history, plugins and the real-time audio callback stay in Rust, and no audio runs in JavaScript.

• Edits go through the store. The interface keeps hover and drag previews local. Persistent changes dispatch commands and participate in undo.
• One shared registry. CLI help, MCP tool schemas and the agent’s tool list come from the same command definitions. Compact queries inspect the arrangement without returning opaque plugin state.
• Agents on a leash. Permissions gate file operations, transport, replacing the session, settings and application control for the panel, MCP clients and --agent. Every agent edit can be undone from the Activity tab.
• Consistent materials. The desktop interface keeps its tokens and material recipes in one theme module. This site preserves the same palette and recipes.

Roadmap

Where it is, honestly.

1. 01
   Song workflowRecord audio and MIDI, arrange regions, edit notes, automate parameters, mix and export stereo WAV or track stems. Embedded-audio projects, MIDI interchange and recovery copies.
   0.2
2. 02
   Plugins34 stock plugins written on the Rust plugin SDK and loaded through the same frozen C ABI as third-party libraries. One command scaffolds a new plugin with a test bench; a plugin that panics is contained instead of taking the session down. Alongside them, plus external CLAP, VST3 and macOS Audio Units. Factory and user presets.
   0.3
3. 03
   Built-in agent, Settings, signed updatesA conversation with one card per tool call and an undo point on every edit. Codex CLI, Claude Code CLI, Anthropic or OpenAI keys or any compatible endpoint. Full CLI and MCP parity across the command registry. Ed25519-signed releases verified by the updater.
   0.3
4. 04
   Tauri interfaceThe window moves to Tauri 2 with a React renderer, keeping the same layout and materials. Real decoded waveforms, native dialogs, no Node at runtime. The engine, undo history and audio callback are unchanged Rust.
   0.4
5. 05
   Mixer, palette, faster editingA mixer with a live meter on every channel, a command palette, copy and paste, track duplication, transpose keys, audio files dropped from the file manager, and a streaming agent with slash commands, Rhythm Lab, takes and two themes.
   0.6
6. 06
   Recording, sound folders, a faster bridgeA count-in and a microphone meter, every plugin filed by sound with favourites and recents, ten new stock plugins, contained plugin panics and a plugin scaffold, AIFF export and surround import, 150 commands answered between frames, an agent that shows its work in plain words, and motion in every theme.
   0.7 · now
7. 07
   Next, and current limitsClip fades and gain, time stretching, comping, tempo changes and user buses are not built yet. No VST2 or AAX. External plugin editors are macOS-only. Windows and Linux windows are built and tested in CI but not yet checked by hand. Packages are ad-hoc signed, not notarized; Windows binaries are unsigned.
   next

FAQ

Fair questions.