# robbert-vdh/nih-plug

Rust VST3 and CLAP plugin framework and plugins - because everything is better when you do it yourself

Repository: https://github.com/robbert-vdh/nih-plug
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/nih-plug
Language: Rust
License: ISC
License Family: permissive
Topics: vst3, framework, plugin-framework, plugin, rust, clap, nih-plug
Last push: 2026-05-10T15:10:42+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 69/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 81, release rhythm 35, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 1682, "days_push": 115, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: no_releases
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2953, forks 314 (observed 2026-08-28T04:07:32.009380+00:00)

## What it is
NIH-plug is an API-agnostic audio plugin framework written in Rust for building VST3 and CLAP plugins, bundled with a small collection of example plugins. It provides a simple, low-magic plugin API with a cookiecutter template for quick starts.

## Use cases
- write a VST3 audio plugin in Rust
- build a CLAP effect or synth plugin
- create MIDI-triggered audio effects
- develop cross-platform DAW plugins
- experiment with DSP plugin APIs

## When to choose
- you want to write audio plugins in Rust targeting VST3 or CLAP
- you prefer a simple, low-ceremony plugin API
- you need cross-platform plugin builds for Linux, Windows, and macOS

## When to avoid
- you need the actively developed framework - the original is in maintenance mode and a community fork is recommended
- you need JUCE-style GUI tooling or other plugin formats like AU or AAX
- you are not working in Rust

## Facets
- artifact type: framework
- maturity: maintenance
- function: plugin-system, audio-processing, sdk
- domain: cross-platform, developer-tools
- platform: windows, rust
- tags: vst3, clap, audio-plugins, dsp, music-production, audio, linux, macos

## Member repositories
- robbert-vdh/nih-plug (main) score 69

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:32.009380+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-29T18:47:36.706379+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/robbert-vdh/nih-plug (fetched 2026-08-28T04:07:32.009380+00:00, sha ae9322c9900f)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.