# Start here

> Explore Maru's instruments, plugins, racks, agent-led Studio, Engine, PluginUI, music-theory computation, learning tools and research.

Canonical: https://maru.audio/docs/start-here
Documentation index: https://maru.audio/llms.txt

Maru Audio is an audio product company and applied research lab. We make
instruments, effects, modular tools and sound collections, build tools for
creating them, and collaborate with artists, developers and researchers on
new ways to make music.

Maru is a great foundation for building instruments, plugins and racks because
reusable sound components, expressive interfaces and agent-assisted development
work together in one editable project. Spend more of your effort on the musical
idea: compose existing DSP, customize the controls, connect modules and keep
refining the same source. Artists can direct the result; developers and teams
can extend it without rebuilding the surrounding integration for every tool.

## Three ways to build

There are three ways to build with Maru. They share the same module library,
sound building blocks and ways to share or sell the result, so you can start
with one and add another later.

| Build | Who it suits | Start with |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **In Studio** | Producers, sound designers and anyone who wants to describe the result | [Help Center: create a plugin with an agent](https://maru.audio/help/studio-quick-start.md), then [Studio workflow](https://maru.audio/docs/studio-workflow.md) for details |
| **With your AI assistant** | Vibe coders using Claude, ChatGPT, Claude Code, Codex or Cursor | [Connect your AI assistant](https://maru.audio/docs/mcp.md), then the [Quickstart](https://maru.audio/docs/quickstart.md) |
| **In code** | Plugin developers and teams | [Quickstart](https://maru.audio/docs/quickstart.md), [Audio SDK](https://maru.audio/docs/audio-sdk.md), [Choosing Maru](https://maru.audio/docs/choosing-maru.md) |

See examples of each on the [Build page](https://maru.audio/build).

## Explore Maru

**Play instruments and shape sound.** Explore our [module library](https://maru.audio/modules)
for synthesizers, physical-modeling instruments, samplers, effects, MIDI tools
and sequencers. Products include [Maru Sampler](https://maru.audio/products/sampler),
[Guitarabin](https://maru.audio/modules/guitarabin), [Sparklizer](https://maru.audio/modules/sparklizer) and
[Tetra Box](https://maru.audio/modules/tetra-box). Browser demos let you try sounds and controls
directly; each product page lists its available downloads and formats.

**Make instruments from your sounds.** Maru Sampler turns mapped recordings
into playable melodic instruments and drum kits. Explore banks, play with keys
or pads, and bring a bank into Studio to edit its samples, mapping and presets.
The [sampler bank guide](https://maru.audio/docs/sampler-banks.md) explains how to build your own.

**Create with an agent in Maru Studio.** Describe an instrument, effect, rack
or bank and direct an agent as it edits a real project. Web Studio works with
hosted projects; desktop Studio works with local folders. Developers can
inspect and extend the source, and the local workbench brings together live
audio, MIDI, controls and hot reload for a fast development loop. Ask an agent
to build a first version, revise its musical behavior or design a custom
interface around the module's parameters. Shared contracts give it a structured
project to work on, and the result remains editable. Start with the
[Studio workflow](https://maru.audio/docs/studio-workflow.md), [coding-agent guide](https://maru.audio/docs/working-with-coding-agents.md)
or [local quickstart](https://maru.audio/docs/quickstart.md).

**Compose and recompose racks.** Connect instruments, effects, sequencers and
MIDI tools from the same module library through their declared ports. A module
can become part of a larger musical setup, so existing tools become building
material for new ideas. Explore [racks](https://maru.audio/racks), then use the
[patch canvas](https://maru.audio/patch) to work on connections and module settings.

**Build on the cross-platform Maru Engine.** The Engine combines a typed audio
SDK, reusable DSP, compiler, runtime hosts and release tools. Its DSP library
includes more than 50 effect profiles across filters, EQ, dynamics, distortion,
delay, modulation and reverb, alongside synthesis and analysis building blocks.
One module project keeps sound, parameters, presets, assets and interface
together, reducing the separate implementations you need to maintain across
browser, native plugin and hardware destinations. Shared parameter and host
contracts connect controls, automation and presets, leaving more room to develop
the sound and interaction. Supported formats and target
qualification are recorded per product and release. Read
[How it works](https://maru.audio/docs/how-it-works.md), [DSP library](https://maru.audio/docs/dsp.md) and
[Check, build and export](https://maru.audio/docs/export.md).

**Design expressive plugin interfaces.** The shared UI kit and
[PluginUI](https://pluginui.com/) provide knobs, faders, keyboards, envelopes,
meters, scopes and musical visualizations. Compose a React/TSX face with these
controls and your own browser-safe libraries, including animation, video,
WebGL and Three.js. Shared bindings connect custom controls to the module's
parameters, so a distinctive design retains its musical behavior. The same face
can accompany a module in Studio, on the web and in supported plugin hosts. See
[Module UI](https://maru.audio/docs/ui.md) and the [UI kit gallery](https://maru.audio/ui-kit).

**Explore music theory and compute musical structures.** [Symbolic](https://maru.audio/symbolic)
connects musical concepts, notation, computation and visualization. Work with
notes, intervals, chords, scales, pitch-class sets and rhythms; explore
transformations and relationships for analysis, composition or new musical
interfaces. [Code Sequencer](https://maru.audio/modules/code-sequencer) turns editable musical code
into MIDI patterns, including chord progressions, melodies and basslines.
The [Symbolic library guide](https://maru.audio/docs/symbolic-library.md) explains package
availability, source setup and JavaScript/TypeScript examples.

**Learn, experiment and find musical material.** [Maru Learn](https://maru.audio/learn) combines
guides, recipes and interactive examples for understanding sound, synthesis,
effects and musical development. Explore [tools](https://maru.audio/tools) for focused musical
tasks and [sounds](https://maru.audio/sounds) for samples, instruments, kits, MIDI and presets.
The [apps directory](https://maru.audio/apps) also introduces native host integration previews.

**Build on modern technologies and research.** Browser-safe visual libraries
and specific third-party musical model integrations expand the kinds of
interfaces and musical tools you can explore. Model-based modules use the
runtime and model delivery available in their selected host; their product
guides describe requirements and availability. Our [research](https://maru.audio/research) spans
generative music and sound, coherent drum-kit generation, musical agents,
interaction and compatible audio systems. Artists and organizations can
[collaborate with Maru](https://maru.audio/collaborate) on signature products or focused research
and integration projects.

Maru is in private beta. Product pages and technical guides describe current
availability; research directions describe ongoing work. See
[Publishing](https://maru.audio/docs/publishing.md) for release preparation and
[Licensing](https://maru.audio/docs/licensing.md) for current ownership and commercial terms.

## Choose your path

Whichever way you build, explore what you can make:

| I want to… | Read |
| --- | --- |
| See everything available to build on, with entry points | [Capability map](https://maru.audio/docs/what-you-can-build.md) |
| Make an effect or instrument from existing pieces | [Effects, instruments and custom DSP](https://maru.audio/docs/effects-and-instruments.md) |
| Add generated sound to an instrument or app | [Generate audio](https://maru.audio/docs/generate-audio.md) |
| Set up licensing and distribution | [Sell and share](https://maru.audio/docs/sell-and-share.md); selling policy in [Sell your creations on Maru](https://maru.audio/help/selling-on-maru.md) |
| Integrate Maru into a DAW, service or existing plugin line | [Integration reference](https://maru.audio/docs/integrate-maru.md) |
| Connect modules into a rack | [Racks](https://maru.audio/racks), [patch canvas](https://maru.audio/patch) |
| Explore theory or compute musical structures | [Symbolic](https://maru.audio/symbolic), [Code Sequencer](https://maru.audio/modules/code-sequencer) |
| Learn about sound and musical tools | [Maru Learn](https://maru.audio/learn), [tools](https://maru.audio/tools) |
| Investigate hardware | [From module to hardware](https://maru.audio/docs/from-module-to-hardware.md) |

If you are choosing an authoring workflow, [Choosing Maru](https://maru.audio/docs/choosing-maru.md)
compares entry points and ways to evaluate them against your existing tools and
intended release.

Studio offers an agent-driven interaction: describe the result, listen and
direct changes without needing to write the code yourself. Developers can
inspect and extend the same source project. Product-grade releases in the beta
still need review, validation and a supported target.

The central SDK, reusable DSP, UI kit, web faces and project tools work
together, and all of them ship in one `maruaudio` package with the `maru` CLI.
Keep a module's source, presets, assets and interface in one project; import
shared capabilities through `maruaudio/...` entries. Read [How it works](https://maru.audio/docs/how-it-works.md)
for that structure. The Studio workflow guide above introduces the two editors.