ACE-Step DAW

Looking for a full-featured, production-ready experience? Try ACE Studio — our professional AI music creation platform.

A browser-based Digital Audio Workstation powered by ACE-Step 1.5 for AI music generation. Tracks are generated sequentially in a "LEGO-style" pipeline — each new instrument layer is musically aware of everything generated before it.

Features

AI Music Generation

• LEGO Pipeline — Sequential generation with cumulative context (drums → bass → guitar → vocals)
• Cover Generation — AI-powered cover creation from existing audio
• Repaint/Edit — Selective regeneration of specific time ranges
• Vocal2BGM — Generate accompaniment from vocal tracks
• Audio Analysis — AI-powered BPM, key, and genre detection
• 16 Generation Presets — Pop, Rock, Jazz, Electronic, Hip-Hop, Classical, Lo-Fi, Ambient
• Model Selector — Choose DiT and LM models, LoRA support

DAW Capabilities

• Multi-Track Timeline — Arrangement view with clip-based editing
• 4 Track Types — Stems (AI-generated), Sample (imported audio), Sequencer (step-based drums), Piano Roll (MIDI)
• Piano Roll Editor — Canvas-based MIDI note editor with explicit tool modes, velocity lane, slide notes, and grid snap
• Step Sequencer — FL Studio-inspired drum pattern editor with beat pads
• Effect Chain — 6 built-in effects (EQ3, Compressor, Reverb, Delay, Distortion, Filter) with per-effect UI
• Mixer Panel — Per-track volume, pan, mute, solo, channel strips
• 6 Synth Presets — Piano, Strings, Pad, Lead, Bass, Organ (Tone.js)
• 16 Drum Sounds — Synthesized kicks, snares, hi-hats, claps, toms, cymbals (4 kit presets)
• Loop Browser — 15 built-in synthesized loops with search, filter, and drag-to-timeline
• Recording Engine — Microphone input, real-time waveform, count-in, input level metering
• Automation — Breakpoint envelopes with interpolation for volume and pan
• Smart Controls — Per-track parameter panels
• Project Persistence — Save/load projects via IndexedDB
• WAV Export — Bounce mix to stereo WAV file
• Keyboard Shortcuts — Comprehensive shortcut system

Requirements

• Node.js 18+
• ACE-Step 1.5 API server running on localhost:8001 (default), or use cloud API

Quick Start

npm install
npm run dev

Opens at http://localhost:5174. The dev server proxies /api requests to the ACE-Step 1.5 backend at localhost:8001.

Using Cloud API

To use the ACE-Step cloud API instead of a local server, configure the backend URL in Settings → API URL: https://api.acemusic.ai

Production Build

npm run build
npm run preview

Tech Stack

• React 19 + TypeScript + Vite
• Tailwind CSS v4
• Zustand (state management)
• Tone.js (synth engine, effects, drum synthesis)
• Web Audio API (playback, recording, rendering)
• IndexedDB via idb-keyval (audio blob storage)

Project Structure

src/
  components/
    assets/          # Loop browser, assets panel
    controls/        # Smart controls panel
    dialogs/         # New project, settings, export, instrument picker
    generation/      # AI generation panels (cover, repaint, vocal2bgm, analysis)
    layout/          # App shell, toolbar, status bar
    mixer/           # Mixer panel, effect chain
    pianoroll/       # Piano roll MIDI editor
    sequencer/       # Step sequencer, beat pads
    timeline/        # Timeline view, track lanes, clip blocks
    tracks/          # Track list, track headers
    transport/       # Transport bar, tempo/time display
    ui/              # Shared UI components (knob, fader, slider)
  constants/         # Defaults, track definitions, generation presets
  engine/            # Audio engine, synth/effects/drum/recording/automation engines
  hooks/             # React hooks (audio, transport, keyboard shortcuts)
  services/          # ACE-Step API, generation pipeline, project storage
  store/             # Zustand stores (project, transport, UI, generation)
  types/             # TypeScript interfaces (API, project, audio)
  utils/             # WAV encoding, waveform peaks, color, time helpers

Development

See AGENTS.md for the complete development workflow, rules, and required skills.

See docs/dev-process.md for competitive research index and system test checklists.

For story-driven QA planning and release runlists:

npm run qa:runlist
npm run qa:runlist -- --status=release-critical,core-regression
npm run qa:validate

Keyboard Shortcuts

Key	Action
Space	Play / Pause
Enter	Stop (return to start)
R	Toggle recording
L	Toggle loop
K	Toggle metronome
N	Toggle snap to grid
Z	Zoom to fit project
Home / End	Seek to start / end
← / →	Nudge playhead ±5s
X	Toggle mixer
B	Toggle smart controls
O	Toggle loop browser
Y	Toggle library
E	Edit selected clip
S	Split clip at playhead
Q	Quantize selected notes
Delete	Delete selected clip/notes
Cmd+Z / Cmd+Shift+Z	Undo / Redo
Cmd+A	Select all clips
Cmd+D	Duplicate clip
Cmd+Scroll	Zoom timeline
Cmd+Shift+I	Add track
Cmd+Shift+E	Export WAV
?	Keyboard shortcuts dialog

Development Stats

Metric	Value
Source code	~24,000 LOC
Unit tests	94
E2E tests	21
Test suites	18
Components	60+
Keyboard shortcuts	25+
CI pipeline	type-check → unit-test → build → e2e-test → Copilot review

Architecture

Frontend (React 19 + TypeScript)
├── Store (Zustand) — projectStore, transportStore, uiStore, generationStore
├── Engine (Web Audio + Tone.js) — AudioEngine, SynthEngine, DrumEngine, EffectsEngine
├── Components — Timeline, Mixer, PianoRoll, Sequencer, EffectChain
├── Hooks — useTransport, useRecording, useEffectsSync, useKeyboardShortcuts
└── Utils — dragMath, chords, dawStateSummary, time, wav, waveformPeaks

Agent-friendly: Every feature accessible via window.__store.getState().actionName() and window.__dawSummary().

License

MIT

ACE Studio

ACE-Step DAW is an open-source project. For professional music production with higher quality models, real-time collaboration, and a polished workflow, visit ACE Studio.