Autokit

A sample-based drum machine plugin that scans your library, classifies oneshots by type (kick, snare, hihat, etc.) using spectral analysis, and plots them on an interactive 2D map. Assign samples to pads, sequence with a Digitakt-style step sequencer, and randomize kits with dice.

Formats: VST3, CLAP, Standalone Platforms: Linux, macOS, Windows License: GPL-3.0-or-later

Quick start

Download the latest build for your platform from the Releases page, extract, and run the installer:

# Linux / macOS
./install.sh

# Windows (run as Administrator)
install.bat

Rescan plugins in your DAW. Autokit appears as REXIST / Autokit.

Place your oneshot samples (WAV, FLAC, OGG) in ~/Music/Samples. Autokit scans this folder on first launch and caches the results.

Download

Each archive contains the standalone binary, plugin library, and install script.

Verify download

Each release includes SHA256SUMS.txt:

# Linux / macOS
sha256sum -c SHA256SUMS.txt

# Windows (PowerShell)
Get-Content SHA256SUMS.txt | ForEach-Object {
  $hash, $file = $_ -split '\s+'; $actual = (Get-FileHash $file -Algorithm SHA256).Hash.ToLower()
  if ($actual -eq $hash) { "$file OK" } else { "$file FAILED" }
}

You can also upload binaries to VirusTotal to scan before running.

macOS setup

The binaries are not codesigned or notarized, so macOS will block them on first launch. Here's how to get running:

1. Extract the archive

Double-click the .tar.gz file in Finder — it extracts automatically. Or in Terminal:

tar xzf autokit-macos-arm64.tar.gz
cd autokit-macos-arm64

2. Remove the quarantine flag

macOS marks downloaded files as untrusted. Remove that flag from everything in the folder:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine .

3. Run the standalone

Use the included launch script — it configures the audio buffer size for macOS compatibility:

./autokit-macos.sh

If macOS still blocks it, go to System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down, and click Open Anyway next to the Autokit warning. You only need to do this once.

4. Install plugins for your DAW

Copy the plugin bundles to the standard macOS locations:

cp -r autokit.vst3 ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/
cp -r autokit.clap ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/CLAP/

Then rescan plugins in your DAW.

Note: The standalone uses --period-size 4096 via the launch script to work around a CoreAudio buffer size issue (nih-plug#266). This adds slight latency in standalone mode. VST3/CLAP in DAWs are unaffected.

Audio Unit (AU) is not supported. Most macOS DAWs (Ableton, Bitwig, REAPER, Renoise) support VST3 or CLAP. Logic Pro is AU-only and will not see Autokit.

Windows setup

The binaries are not code-signed, so Windows Defender SmartScreen will block them on first run. This is expected — signing certificates cost money and Autokit is a free, open-source project. The binary is safe: you can verify it against the SHA256 checksums in the release and scan it on VirusTotal before running.

Getting past SmartScreen

When you double-click autokit-standalone.exe and see "Windows protected your PC":

1. Click More info
2. Click Run anyway

That's it — you only need to do this once. Windows remembers the exception.

For the VST3/CLAP plugin, your DAW may show the same prompt when it first loads the plugin. Click through the same way.

Why it's safe

• Source code is fully public at github.com/Hornfisk/autokit
• Releases are built by GitHub Actions from that source — the workflow is in .github/workflows/
• SHA256 checksums are published with every release so you can verify the file you downloaded matches exactly what CI produced
• No network access, no telemetry, no installer that touches system paths beyond the standard VST3/CLAP plugin directories

Why Defender flags it

SmartScreen uses a reputation system. New or low-download executables from unknown publishers get flagged regardless of content. The warning goes away over time as more users run it. Code-signing would suppress it immediately but requires a paid EV certificate.

Features

• Sample analysis — recursive library scan with spectral classification (fingerprint-based). Results are cached for fast startup.
• 8-pad drum kit — kick x2, snare, hihat, clap, perc, cymbal, tom. Per-pad volume, pan, pitch, decay, and start/end trim. Ships with a default sample kit for immediate playback on first launch.
• Sample loading — per-pad browse button, OS drag-and-drop onto pads, and sample map click-to-assign.
• 2D sample map — scatter plot with category-anchored clusters, zoom/pan, hover to preview, click to assign. Search filter dims non-matching dots.
• Step sequencer — 16-step, 8-track grid with per-step velocity, probability, pan/pitch p-locks, and conditional trigs (1:2, 1:4, Fill, etc.). 16 patterns, swing, FILL mode, DICE randomization. Solo and mute per track, velocity drag-painting. Copy/paste individual steps.
• 4-bus FX — per-lane reverb/delay sends and DJ-style filter toggle. Per-step FX parameter locks. Per-pattern FX state with capture-on-switch.
• Master bus — RMS compressor, tanh saturator, brickwall limiter (CMP/DRV/LIM toolbar knobs).
• Host transport sync — sequencer locks to host position every buffer with no drift. Missed steps are caught up in order. Also runs standalone with internal transport.
• MIDI echo detection — automatically suppresses doubled playback when the host routes sequencer output back as input.
• DAW state persistence — kit and pattern state saved with the DAW session and restored on project load.
• Undo/redo — 64-deep snapshot history covering kit and sequencer state.
• Presets — save/load JSON presets. MIDI pattern export.

Usage

Keyboard shortcuts

Views

• PADS — pad list with waveforms, per-pad volume/pan/pitch/decay knobs, dice and lock buttons
• MAP — 2D scatter plot of the sample library, click to preview and assign samples to pads
• SEQ — step sequencer grid with pattern bank, per-step parameters, conditional trigs

Sequencer

• Left-click a cell to toggle a step. Drag to paint.
• Right-click an active step to edit parameters (velocity, pan, pitch, probability, condition).
• PLAY/STOP or Space to start/stop.
• FILL (hold) activates Fill-conditioned steps.
• DICE randomizes the pattern (respects track locks).
• Pattern bank (01-16) along the top. Click to switch (queues at next bar boundary).

Building from source

Prerequisites

Rust (stable, 1.75+):

curl --proto '=https' --tlsv1.2 -sSf https://sh.rustup.rs | sh

System dependencies — a helper script detects your distro and installs everything:

python3 setup-deps.py

sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential pkg-config cmake \
    libx11-dev libx11-xcb-dev libxcb1-dev libxcb-icccm4-dev libxcb-keysyms1-dev \
    libxcursor-dev libxkbcommon-dev libgl-dev libasound2-dev libjack-dev

sudo pacman -S --needed base-devel pkg-config cmake \
    libx11 libxcb xcb-util xcb-util-wm xcb-util-keysyms \
    libxcursor libxkbcommon mesa alsa-lib jack2

macOS and Windows require no additional system dependencies.

Build

git clone https://github.com/Hornfisk/autokit.git
cd autokit
cargo build --release

Output:

Install

Run ./install.sh (Linux/macOS) or install.bat (Windows) to copy plugins to standard paths:

Known limitations

• Sample library path defaults to ~/Music/Samples but can be changed via the setup dialog.
• No Audio Unit (AU) support (nih-plug limitation).
• Window is not dynamically resizable (egui-baseview limitation).

Dependencies

Built with nih-plug (plugin framework), egui (GUI), symphonia (audio decoding), and realfft (spectral analysis). See Cargo.toml for the full list.

License

GPL-3.0-or-later. See LICENSE for details.