Minimal Instruments has announced the releases of nagi, a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux that lets you design, audition and build VST3 and CLAP audio plugins by wiring nodes together.
Anyone who makes music has, at some point, thought “if only there were a plugin that did this.” But try to build one yourself and the requirements pile up fast — signal-processing theory, C++ or Rust, plugin SDKs, GUI code, a build environment for each operating system — and the idea tends to stop right there.
nagi is a desktop app from Minimal Instruments for designing audio plugins with no-code and AI. It takes you from the first patch to a plugin file your DAW can load, all in a single window.
Key Features
- Design audio plugins by wiring nodes — no code required.
- Write real Faust when you need precision (full Faust standard library).
- Instant preview: hear the patch before you compile.
- Interface designer: knobs, sliders, meters, spectrum and envelope displays, filmstrips, keyboards, preset browsers.
- On-device AI assistant that drafts Faust DSP or GUI layouts.
- Build native VST3 and CLAP binaries straight from the app.
- Windows, Linux and macOS; build locally or in an isolated container.
- Projects are plain files on disk — no account needed to build.
- Free to use; nagi Pro is buy-once (no subscription, no expiry, up to 3 computers).
Patch it — the node editor
Drag oscillators, filters, dynamics and effects onto the canvas, connect them, and you have a signal chain. Reverb, compressor, chorus, flanger, de-esser, formant filter, stereo imager and more ship as ready-made nodes, so a working chain is minutes away. Audio, MIDI and parameter ports sit on one canvas, and graphs are saved as JSON, so they diff and version cleanly in Git.
Write it — the Faust DSP editor
The graph is a starting point, not a ceiling. When you need finer control, open main.dsp and write the signal processing in real Faust, with the full Faust standard library, syntax highlighting and inline diagnostics. Parameters are addressed by path, like /Synth/Envelope/Decay, and build settings live in the project as build-config.json.
Hear it — instant preview
Press play and hear the result right away, with no compile step in between. In sound design, a short loop between making and listening is the biggest advantage you can have.
Show it — the interface designer
Knobs, sliders, meters, spectrum and envelope displays, filmstrip animations, keyboards and preset browsers. Lay out the panel your users will actually touch on a real canvas, with every control bound to a real parameter. Per-widget ranges and response curves, and image-based custom skins, are supported too.
Ask for it — an AI assistant that runs locally
Describe what you want — “a delay that feels like this,” “a panel for this synth” — and nagi drafts the Faust code or GUI layout for you. The model runs on your own computer, so your projects are never uploaded, and it keeps working offline.
Ship it — VST3 and CLAP builds
Build native plugins in both VST3 and CLAP formats from a single project, straight from the app, targeting Windows, Linux and macOS. Build locally with your own setup, or in an isolated container for reproducible output.
Your work stays yours
Projects are saved as ordinary files on your disk. There is no cloud lock-in, and you don’t need to create an account to build.
Pricing
Downloading, patching and building with nagi is free. nagi Pro is an optional one-time upgrade ($99.00 after beta phase) that unlocks extra capabilities — no subscription, no expiry. One licence covers up to three computers.
For Beta phase, nagi Pro license is free, which means after Beta phase, the license will be terminated.
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