A list of system tools useful in developing audio plugins and software.
- MrsWatson - Command-line audio plugin host with support for printing to the terminal from your DSP code.
- Carla - System-wide virtual audio and MIDI patching software, using Jack as the backend. Available as a standalone application or a VST/LV2 plugin.
- Jack - Cross-platform audio driver with support for system-wide patching.
- PipeWire - A modern alternative to Jack with more features (Linux only).
- Cadence - A suite of tools for configuring, monitoring, and controlling system-wide audio in Linux (includes Carla).
- Ardour - Open-source DAW with useful plugin analysis tools.
- Bertom EQ Curve Analyzer - Analyze the frequency and phase response of any plugin.
- pluginval - Cross-platform open-source plugin validation tool made by the company Tracktion.
- clap-validator - An open-source CLAP plugin validation tool.
- yabridge - Allows you to load VST2, VST3, and CLAP plugins made for Windows into Linux DAWs using Wine. Supports both 32 bit and 64 bit plugins, and even allows bridged plugins to communicate with each other.