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Getting Started

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glenwrhodes edited this page Mar 30, 2026 · 1 revision

Getting Started

This guide walks you through downloading, installing, and making your first project in OpenDaw.

Download

Grab the latest release from the Releases page:

Download Platform Description
OpenDaw-vx.x.x-setup.exe Windows Installer with Start Menu shortcut and uninstaller
OpenDaw-vx.x.x-portable.zip Windows Portable build — unzip and run, no installation needed
OpenDaw-vx.x.x-mac.dmg macOS Disk image — open and drag to Applications
OpenDaw-vx.x.x-linux-x86_64.AppImage Linux AppImage — chmod +x and run, no installation needed

First Launch

  1. Launch OpenDaw. The window opens with 4 empty audio tracks, a transport bar at the top, track headers on the left, the timeline in the center, the mixer at the bottom, and the file browser / effects panel tabbed on the right.

  2. Set your tempo. In the transport bar, adjust the BPM spinner (default 120). Change the time signature with the two spinners next to it (default 4/4).

  3. Set your snap mode. Use the "Snap" dropdown in the transport bar to choose grid resolution: Beat (default), Bar, 1/2 Beat, 1/4 Beat, or Off.

Adding Audio to the Timeline

  1. In the Browser tab (right panel), navigate to a folder containing audio or MIDI files. Use the dropdown at the top for quick access to Desktop, Music, Documents, or Home.

  2. Drag an audio file (.wav, .mp3, .flac, .ogg, .aiff) or MIDI file (.mid, .midi) from the browser and drop it onto a track lane in the timeline. The clip will snap to the grid at the drop position.

  3. Audio clips display their waveform; MIDI clips display a note preview. You can drag any clip to reposition — it snaps horizontally to the grid and vertically to track lanes.

  4. To add more tracks, go to Edit > Add Audio Track (Ctrl+T) or Edit > Add MIDI Track (Ctrl+Shift+T).

Playback

  • Click Play (or press Space) to start playback from the current playhead position.
  • Click Stop to stop and return the playhead to the beginning.
  • Click on the time ruler (the bar/beat numbers at the top) to jump the playhead to that position (snapped to grid).
  • Click and drag on the ruler to scrub smoothly through the timeline.
  • Toggle Loop to loop playback over the current region.

Configure Audio

Go to Edit > Audio Settings to open the device configuration dialog:

  • Select audio driver type (WASAPI, ASIO, DirectSound)
  • Choose output device, sample rate, and buffer size
  • The dialog shows calculated latency in milliseconds
  • Settings persist across sessions

Saving Your Work

  • File > Save As (Ctrl+Shift+S) — save your project as a .tracktionedit file
  • File > Save (Ctrl+S) — save to the current file
  • File > Open (Ctrl+O) — load a previously saved project
  • File > New (Ctrl+N) — start a fresh empty project

OpenDaw also automatically saves your work periodically. If the application closes unexpectedly, a recovery dialog appears on next launch.

Next Steps

OpenDaw is free, open-source software licensed under GPLv3. Made with care for musicians and producers everywhere.

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