# RustAudio/vst-rs

VST 2.4 API implementation in rust. Create plugins or hosts. Previously rust-vst on the RustDSP group.

Repository: https://github.com/RustAudio/vst-rs
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/vst-rs
Language: Rust
License: MIT
License Family: permissive
Topics: vsts, vst-plugin, audio-plugin, vst, dsp, rust
Archived: true
Last push: 2023-06-10T11:48:20+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 10/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-02T17:46:02.011165+00:00)
- activity 0, release rhythm 8, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 3307, "days_push": 1180, "days_rel": null, "gap_med": null, "n_releases_24m": 0}
- flags: archived
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 1061, forks 93 (observed 2026-08-28T04:03:25.867398+00:00)

## What it is
A Rust library implementing the VST 2.4 API for creating audio plugins and hosts. It is now deprecated and unmaintained since VST 2 has been officially discontinued by Steinberg.

## Use cases
- write a VST2 audio effect plugin in Rust
- build a VST plugin host in Rust
- implement digital signal processing as an audio plugin
- port legacy VST2 plugin code to Rust
- create a synthesizer plugin for a DAW

## When to choose
- you must maintain or build against the legacy VST 2.4 API specifically
- you are working with an old DAW or codebase that only supports VST2 plugins

## When to avoid
- starting a new audio plugin project - use NIH-plug, baseplug, vst3-sys, or clap-sys instead
- you need to distribute plugins commercially - VST2 licensing is no longer available
- you need an actively maintained library with full API coverage

## Facets
- artifact type: library
- maturity: abandoned
- function: audio-processing, sdk, plugin-system
- domain: developer-tools, cross-platform
- platform: rust, cross-platform
- tags: vst2, dsp, audio-plugins, deprecated, plugin-host, audio

## Member repositories
- RustAudio/vst-rs (main) score 10

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:25.867398+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 2026-08-30T06:56:48.510401+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/RustAudio/vst-rs (fetched 2026-08-28T04:03:25.867398+00:00, sha f7a81fbdca91)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.