What Is SoundCraft? ArtCraft's Free Pro Tools Alternative (2026)

Short answer: SoundCraft is a free, open-source digital audio workstation for recording, editing and mixing audio, built by the ArtCraft team in Rust as a "clean-room reimplementation" of Avid Pro Tools. It is licensed under MIT or Apache-2.0, runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, FreeBSD and in the browser (WebAssembly), and is still pre-alpha: the project's own README says it covers about 94% of Pro Tools' menu items but is only roughly 40% of the way to replacing it for real work.

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SoundCraft is not made by, affiliated with or endorsed by Avid Technology. The README states that Avid and Pro Tools are Avid's trademarks. This page is an independent explainer, last updated October 20, 2026.

SoundCraft at a glance

Question	Answer (from the project README)
What is it?	Open-source audio workstation: recording, editing, mixing
Who makes it?	The ArtCraft team and SoundCraft contributors (copyright 2026)
Is it free?	The README describes the Crafting Apps, SoundCraft included, as "free, open-source creative tools"; it states no price
License	MIT or Apache-2.0, at your option
Status	Pre-alpha; about 94% of Pro Tools menu items, about 40% of the way to real-work replacement
Platforms	macOS (universal), Windows (x64, arm64, x86), Linux (AppImage, Flatpak, deb, rpm, tarball), FreeBSD (x86_64), web build
Built with	Rust and an egui interface; translations are missing

What can SoundCraft do?

The README lists multitrack editing, a mixer with plugins, sends and automation, MIDI editing, recording and bouncing, video tracks, surround and immersive audio, and score notation. It can host CLAP, VST3 and Audio Unit plugins. It can also be driven from the command line, with JSON control, and through MCP, the protocol AI agents use to talk to tools, so an AI assistant can in principle operate it.

How does it relate to ArtCraft?

ArtCraft is described in the README as an AI image and video studio. SoundCraft is one of its "Crafting Apps", a family of open-source tools that also includes PhotoCraft, VectorCraft and FilmCraft. The same team built the office clones covered in ArtCraft WordCraft, GridCraft & DeckCraft and the Adobe alternatives in ArtCraft apps.

How do I install SoundCraft?

Download a build for your system from the project's releases page on GitHub (the storytold/soundcraft repository), or build from source.
To build from source you need Rust 1.95 or later (the core workspace declares 1.90 as its minimum). Clone the repository and run cargo run --release -p soundcraft -- --demo to open the demo song.
On Linux, install the ALSA headers first: libasound2-dev on Debian or Ubuntu, alsa-lib-devel on Fedora.
For the web version, run trunk serve --release inside apps/soundcraft-web.

The README gives no release dates; version numbers appear only as a placeholder in file names. Check the releases page for the current build.

SoundCraft vs Pro Tools: which should you use?

	SoundCraft	Avid Pro Tools
Price	Free, open source	Paid; see Avid's site for current plans
Maturity	Pre-alpha	Industry-established
Plugin formats	CLAP, VST3, Audio Unit	Check Avid's documentation
Source code	Public (MIT or Apache-2.0)	Closed
AI control	MCP and JSON built in	Not documented by the SoundCraft project

For paid client work today, the README's own "about 40%" estimate says to keep Pro Tools or another mature DAW. SoundCraft is worth trying for hobby projects, testing, or if you want an open, scriptable audio workstation.

FAQ

Is SoundCraft free?

Yes, as far as the project states: the README calls the Crafting Apps "free, open-source creative tools" and licenses SoundCraft under MIT or Apache-2.0. It gives no price.

Is SoundCraft a real Pro Tools replacement?

Not yet. The README calls it pre-alpha and estimates it is roughly 40% of the way to replacing Pro Tools for real work.

Does SoundCraft run on Windows, Mac and Linux?

Yes. The README lists macOS (universal), Windows (x64, arm64, x86), Linux and FreeBSD builds, plus a WebAssembly web build.

Can SoundCraft use VST3 plugins?

Yes. It hosts CLAP, VST3 and Audio Unit plugins according to the README.

Is SoundCraft made by Avid?

No. It is made by the ArtCraft team and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Avid Technology.

Source: SoundCraft project README, github.com/storytold/soundcraft, read October 20, 2026.