free-audio/clap

Health v2 · maintenance only

Flags: no_releases

Adoption not part of the score

2334 stars · 131 forks observed · 2026-08-28

What it is AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, 2026-08-30, confidence not recorded

CLAP (CLever Audio Plugin) is an open standard C API with a stable ABI that defines how Digital Audio Workstations (hosts) and audio plugins such as synthesizers and effects interoperate. This repository contains the official specification headers, extension definitions, and a minimal plugin template for implementing CLAP-compatible plugins and hosts.

Use cases

• build a synthesizer or audio effect plugin for DAWs
• add CLAP plugin hosting support to a digital audio workstation
• write a cross-DAW audio plugin with a stable binary ABI
• define custom host/plugin extensions for audio software
• migrate a JUCE project to also ship CLAP builds
• implement per-note modulation and automation in a plugin

When to choose

• you are developing an audio plugin or DAW and want an open, modern plugin standard
• you need per-note expression, better multithreading, or fast plugin scanning
• you want a liberally licensed (MIT) alternative to VST/AU

When to avoid

• you only need to target existing proprietary formats like VST3 or AU exclusively
• you are building non-audio desktop plugins
• you need a ready-made plugin rather than an API to implement one

Facets

library · maturity stable

audio-processing plugin-system sdk media developer-tools cross-platform cross-platform cpp c audio-plugin-api abi daw synthesizers audio-effects vst-alternative host-plugin audio

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markdown · JSON · MCP: product_card(name="free-audio/clap")