Open Source Audio Editor
Audio work is destructive by nature - every edit, effect, and bounce can quietly degrade the take you can never re-record, so the format your project lives in matters as much as the tools that shape it. The open source editors and DAWs here keep your recordings, edits, and full session in formats you can open years later on hardware you own, so the master and every layer beneath it never depend on a license still being paid.
LosslessCut
Cross-platform FFmpeg GUI for fast, lossless cutting, trimming, and remixing of video and audio files
Audacity
Easy-to-use multi-track audio editor and recorder for Windows, macOS, and Linux
LMMS
Cross-platform digital audio workstation for composing, arranging, and mixing music
OpenShot Video Editor
Free and open-source video editor for Linux, Mac, and Windows with FFmpeg formats and timeline editing
Ardour
Digital audio workstation for recording, editing, and mixing multitrack audio
Bespoke Synth
Live-patchable software modular synth with VST/VST3/LV2 hosting and Python livecoding
Quod Libet
Cross-platform music library manager and player with flexible metadata editing and searching
Tenacity
Privacy-focused multi-track audio editor and recorder, built from Audacity