Cardinal

Cardinal is an open-source virtual modular synthesizer plugin. It is based on VCV Rack but focuses on being a fully self-contained plugin version, available in AudioUnit, CLAP, LV2, VST2, and VST3 formats and as a standalone app for FreeBSD, Linux, macOS, Windows, and the Web.

It suits musicians and sound designers who want modular synthesis inside their digital audio workstation. Cardinal contains Rack, some third-party modules, and a few internal utilities in a single binary, and it does not load external modules or connect to the official Rack library. Main, Synth, FX, and Mini variants are provided to match different hosts and input and output needs.

Highlights

• Virtual modular synthesizer based on VCV Rack
• AudioUnit, CLAP, LV2, VST2, and VST3 plugin formats, plus a standalone app
• Self-contained, with Rack, third-party modules, and utilities in one binary
• Main, Synth, FX, and Mini plugin variants
• MIDI input and output support in every variant
• Official builds for Linux, macOS, and Windows