# Tuva - Full Product Reference > Canonical product reference for LLMs. Tuva is a native desktop sample manager for music producers, developed by Tuva AB (Sweden). This file consolidates product information, positioning, features, pricing, release history, and frequently asked questions in a single markdown document. Last Updated: 2026-07-27 Canonical URL: https://tuva.app/llms-full.txt --- ## What Tuva Is Tuva is a native desktop application that helps music producers organize, search, and discover sounds across their existing sample libraries. It runs on macOS and Windows, operates fully offline, and uses a proprietary on-device machine learning model (sample-net-v1) to automatically classify audio files across more than 66 tags directly on the user's machine. Tuva is not a sample marketplace. Producers point Tuva at the sample folders they already own - free packs, purchased packs, personal recordings, project files - and Tuva makes them instantly searchable. --- ## Key Value Propositions 1. One-time purchase for the desktop app. EUR 25, pay once. Free updates to the desktop app are included. 2. Local-first. Files stay on the user's machine by default. Works offline, no account required to use the app. 3. Automatic classification. On-device ML tags samples by type, character, and tempo without manual labeling. 4. Similar-sound discovery. Right-click any sample to find acoustically similar sounds across the entire library. 5. Native performance. Not an Electron wrapper - built for speed with large libraries (tested with 200,000+ files). 6. Respects existing structure. Tuva reads the folders producers already have; it does not force migration or re-import. --- ## Who It Is For - Independent music producers and bedroom studios - Engineers managing growing personal sample collections - Sound designers working with large effect libraries - Producers frustrated with subscription sample services (Splice, Loopcloud) who want to use the packs they already own --- ## How It Works 1. Add folders. Point Tuva at any directory - Splice downloads, purchased packs, personal recordings. 2. Automatic classification. Tuva's ML model scans each audio file, assigns tags (kick, snare, pad, vocal, etc.), detects tempo, and identifies loops vs one-shots. 3. Search and discover. Filter by tag, tempo, folder, or file type. Use similar-sound search to find acoustic matches. Save results as Collections. 4. Use in a DAW. Drag and drop samples directly into Ableton, FL Studio, Logic, or any other DAW. --- ## Complete Feature List ### Classification and Audio Intelligence - 66+ automatic tags across categories: drums, melodic, vocals, effects, type - Drum tags: clap, snap, crash, cymbal, hihat (closed/open), kick, percussion, ride, rimshot, shaker, snare, tom - Melodic tags: arp, bass, bell, brass, chord, guitar, keys, lead, melody, organ, pad, piano, pluck, strings, wind - Vocal tags: choir, female vocal, male vocal, vocal - Effect tags: ambience, downlifter, foley, fx, impact, glitch, noise, riser, reverse, sweep, texture, transition - Type tags: one-shot, loop - Automatic tempo detection and tagging - Similar-sound discovery (right-click -> find similar) - "Best match" sort when filtering by tags ### File Management - MIDI file support (browse, preview, organize) with automatic key detection - DAW project file support: Ableton Live (.als), FL Studio (.flp), Reaper (.rpp), Cubase (.cpr), Logic (.logicx). Browse and organize project files alongside samples. - Project timeline preview for Ableton, FL Studio and Logic project files (preview without opening the DAW) - Automatic duration and tempo detection from Ableton, FL Studio, and Cubase projects - Sample-to-project drill-through (select a sample to see which projects reference it) - Extract embedded MIDI from project files and save as standalone .mid files - Editable tags - users can override automatic classification on any file - Custom collection icons - choose from a set of ready-made icons per collection - File type filtering (audio formats, MIDI, project files) - Folder tag distribution - visualize what a folder contains at a glance - Folder browsing with nested subfolder support - Multi-folder selection and bulk actions - Automatic sync when folder contents change - Sort by length, name, random, most used, recent, or best match ### Interface and Workflow - Browser-style tab bar (multiple views open simultaneously) - Customizable left bar with multiple layouts per workflow - Pinned items (collections, folders, any history view) - Collections and collection groups - History view showing all samples used - Recent searches in left sidebar - Custom keybindings for navigation and utility actions - Infinite scroll - Scroll position preserved between views ### Platform - Native macOS app - Native Windows app - Fully offline (no account required) - Optional launch-on-boot and menu-bar mode - In-app announcements for new releases and updates - Regular updates on a weekly to biweekly cadence ### Integrations - Drag-and-drop into any DAW (Ableton, FL Studio, Logic, Cubase, Studio One, Reaper, Bitwig, etc.) - Reads native project files for Ableton, FL Studio, Reaper, Cubase, Logic - Audio file formats: WAV, AIFF, MP3, FLAC, OGG - MIDI file support (read, organize, extract from project files) --- ## Pricing - EUR 25 one-time purchase - One-time license for the desktop app, with free updates included - No subscription or recurring fees for the desktop app - No per-device limits for the licensed user Buy at: https://tuva.app/buy --- ## Version History ## Tuva 1.5.1 - August 7, 2026 - Classification status - Classification progress is now shown & pausable per folder when imported. - File scanning improvement - Adding folders to Tuva is now substantially faster on macOS. - Cloud file handling - Improved handling & detection of cloud-stored files. ### Tuva 1.5.0 - July 27, 2026 - New project view: redesigned to make information easier to grasp, with the ability to preview any clip directly in the timeline and listen to items without opening the DAW - Add referenced files directly from the project view for files that are referenced in a project but not yet tracked in Tuva - New keyboard shortcut for moving files to the trash - New color themes - Major improvements to Cubase project file parsing - Smoother tab handling - Better memory handling during classification, reducing crashes ### Tuva 1.4.7 - July 17, 2026 - Settings and account panel reworked to fit seamlessly into the left bar - New home tab layout, making it quicker to search for exactly the samples you want - Hard reset action under settings: clears the app's database and all settings, returning it to factory settings - a last-resort option for cases where loading files goes wrong - Folder-view search now matches file-view search, e.g. searching "3s" filters for samples shorter or longer than 3 seconds - Smoother navigation in the search drop-down menu ### Tuva 1.4.6 - June 29, 2026 - Project MIDI browsing: browse MIDI patterns from within projects alongside standalone MIDI files - Pinned tabs: pin any search by right-clicking its tab - Session state persistence: tabs and app state persist between sessions by default (can be disabled) - External drive handling: libraries on disconnected external drives are labeled "disconnected" instead of removed, and reappear when reconnected - Bug fixes for project MIDI data interactions and general UI/UX polish ### Tuva 1.4.5 - June 14, 2026 - Classification panel updates more frequently to show progress and status - Further improvements to Logic (.logicx) project file parsing - Bug fixes for database read/write reliability, audio decoding crashes, and classification memory usage ### Tuva 1.4.4 - May 24, 2026 - Duration filter: filter files by duration in addition to sorting - Folder sorting: sort folders by name, time added, or file count - Bug fixes for classification crashes and UI bugs that caused the app to close ### Tuva 1.4.3 - May 8, 2026 - Audio normalization: enabled by default, can be disabled in settings - Dock bar interactions: new right-click shortcuts (e.g. open samples view or project view) - Move files to trash directly from Tuva - Improved Logic (.logicx) timeline parsing accuracy - Bug fixes for the overlay app and folder refresh ### Tuva 1.4.2 - May 1, 2026 - Editable tags: override automatic classification on any file - Custom collection icons: choose from a set of ready-made icons per collection - Improved Logic (.logicx) project file parsing: timeline and MIDI information - Performance optimizations for project file loading (only re-parse on change) - Onboarding: identify common locations on the user's machine for projects and samples - New keybinds for opening tabs scoped to samples, projects, or MIDI files ### Tuva 1.4.1 - April 17, 2026 - Utility keybinds: hotkey for refreshing folders to sync Tuva with actual files - Navigation keybinds: hotkeys for similar sounds, folder browsing, and more - Performance optimizations for similar-sound scaling - Bug fixes for database read/write and UI toggles ### Tuva 1.4.0 - April 10, 2026 - Tabs: open multiple tabs for parallel searches - Customizable left bar with multiple layouts per workflow - Pinned items: pin collections, folders, or any view - Enhanced folder view with tree-view hierarchy - Loading progress indicator for library scans ### Tuva 1.3.6 to 1.3.12 - February to April 2026 - DAW project file support (1.3.7): browse and organize Ableton, FL Studio, Cubase, Logic, and Reaper project files. Auto-detects duration and tempo for Ableton, FL Studio, and Cubase. - Project file previews and sample-to-project drill-through (1.3.8) - Project timeline preview for Ableton and FL Studio (1.3.9) - Automatic key detection for MIDI files; key as a filter option (1.3.9) - Save embedded project MIDI as standalone files (1.3.9) - Launch-on-boot and menu-bar mode settings (1.3.10) - In-app announcements (1.3.10) - AIFF audio format support; preview Logic project files (1.3.11) - Classification CPU-usage optimizations during folder loading (1.3.12) ### Tuva 1.3.5 - February 20, 2026 - MIDI file support: browse, play, organize MIDI alongside audio - File type filtering (audio formats and MIDI) ### Tuva 1.3.4 - February 13, 2026 - History view: tracks all samples used - Recent searches in sidebar - Subfolder filtering in search ### Tuva 1.3.3 - February 6, 2026 - Similar sounds history: navigate back through explored sounds - Custom keybinds - Redesigned onboarding - Cloud file handling improvements (iCloud/Dropbox unsynced files ignored) ### Tuva 1.3.2 - January 23, 2026 - Tag recommendations based on search history ### Tuva 1.3.1 - January 16, 2026 - Tempo tagging: automatic BPM detection and tags - Similar sound discovery: right-click to find acoustically similar samples - Improved folder loading reliability for large libraries ### Tuva 1.3.0 - January 9, 2026 - Improved classification precision - Expanded to 66 classification tags - In-app feedback form ### Tuva 1.2.x - October to December 2025 - Windows release (1.2.0) - Folder tag distribution - Folder browsing with nested folders (1.2.1) - Interface overhaul with redesigned search - Infinite scroll (1.2.2) ### Tuva 1.1.x - July to September 2025 - Classification engine launch (1.1.0) with 48 initial tags - Pause classification (1.1.1) - Redesigned search and sorting (1.1.2) - Collection groups (1.1.3) ### Tuva 1.0.x - June to July 2025 - Initial release - Sorting options - Drag-and-drop collection reordering Full release notes: https://tuva.app/releases --- ## Brand Positioning Anti-subscription. The music production software market is dominated by subscription models (Splice, Loopcloud, Native Instruments' Komplete). Tuva is explicitly positioned against this for its desktop app: producers own their license, own their samples, and pay once for the app. Local-first. No lock-in: if Tuva were discontinued tomorrow, users would still have all their files exactly where they left them. Classification happens entirely on-device. Focused scope. Tuva does sample management well, rather than trying to be a marketplace, a DAW, or a plugin host. Workflow respect. Tuva reads the folder structure producers already use. It does not force migration into a proprietary library format. --- ## Technical Details - Platforms: macOS (native), Windows (native) - Classification model: sample-net-v1, trained on 200,000+ annotated audio files across 66+ classification categories - Privacy: classification runs on-device by default, and no audio, metadata, or classifications are required to leave the user's machine to use the app - Performance: tested with libraries up to 200,000+ files - Offline: full functionality without internet after initial license verification --- ## Company Tuva AB is a Swedish software company focused on tools for music producers. Small team, weekly-to-biweekly release cadence, independent (no VC-backed consolidation pressure). --- ## Frequently Asked Questions ### Does Tuva work offline? Yes. Tuva's classification engine runs entirely on-device using a local machine learning model, so no internet connection is required to tag, search, or discover samples. An internet connection is only needed once at the initial license verification. After that, the app is fully functional offline, including during flights, in studios without network access, and on air-gapped machines. ### Do I need to re-import my samples? No. Tuva reads the existing folders on disk and indexes them in place. It does not move, copy, rename, or rewrite any files. The original folder structure is preserved exactly as it is, which means users can continue using their files with other tools (Finder, File Explorer, other sample managers) without conflict. If a file is added, removed, or modified externally, Tuva's sync system detects the change automatically. ### What audio file formats does Tuva support? Tuva supports the common audio formats used in music production: WAV, AIFF, MP3, FLAC, and OGG. MIDI files are also fully supported and can be browsed, previewed, organized, and extracted from project files. In addition, Tuva reads native DAW project files for Ableton Live (.als), FL Studio (.flp), Reaper (.rpp), Cubase (.cpr), and Logic (.logicx) - making projects browsable alongside the rest of the library. ### Does Tuva replace Splice? Tuva is not a Splice replacement in the sense of offering a sample marketplace - Tuva does not sell samples. Instead, Tuva is the organizational layer on top of sample libraries producers already own, whether purchased from Splice, Loopcloud, Native Instruments, independent pack stores, or recorded personally. Many users run Tuva alongside Splice: Splice for new sample discovery, Tuva for managing everything accumulated over time. ### Is there a DAW plugin or VST? No. Tuva is a standalone desktop application, not a VST, AU, or AAX plugin. Samples are dragged and dropped from Tuva directly into any DAW (Ableton Live, FL Studio, Logic Pro, Cubase, Studio One, Reaper, Bitwig, etc.) using standard OS-level drag-and-drop. A DAW plugin is under consideration for future releases but is not currently on the public roadmap. ### Does Tuva upload my samples anywhere? By default, no. Audio files, metadata, classifications, and search indices are stored on the user's local machine, and classification runs on-device without contacting a cloud service. Tuva does not track what samples are opened or played. The only network traffic today is license verification at first launch and occasional checks for app updates. ### What happens to my license if I change computers? The license is tied to the user account, not to a specific machine. Users can install Tuva on their own computers (for example, a laptop and a studio desktop) without additional charges. There is no strict per-device limit for the individual licensed user. If a computer is replaced or reformatted, simply sign in again and the license is restored. ### Is there a free trial? Yes. A trial version is available for download at https://tuva.app/download. The trial lets producers load their library and experience classification, search, collections, and similar-sound discovery before committing to the EUR 25 purchase. No credit card is required to start the trial. ### What does Tuva cost? Tuva costs EUR 25 as a one-time purchase. The license grants ongoing access to the desktop app plus its future updates at no additional cost - there is no annual renewal and no paid upgrade between versions. This pricing is deliberately positioned against the subscription model of Splice and similar services. ### Which operating systems does Tuva support? Tuva runs natively on macOS and Windows. Both builds are native applications (not Electron wrappers), which delivers notably better performance and lower memory usage than web-based alternatives. The macOS build supports Apple Silicon (M1/M2/M3) and Intel Macs. A Linux build is not currently available. ### How large a sample library can Tuva handle? Tuva has been tested with libraries of over 200,000 files. Performance scales with library size, and the team continues to optimize for very large collections - recent releases (1.4.x) addressed specific scaling issues with similar-sound search on libraries above 200k files. Most users have libraries well below this threshold and experience snappy performance. If performance issues arise on very large libraries, the team actively investigates these cases. ### Is there an API or command-line interface? No. Tuva is a standalone GUI application without a public API, CLI, or scripting interface at this time. Automation, bulk operations, and headless workflows are not currently supported. This may change in future versions depending on user demand. ### How accurate is the automatic classification? Tuva's classification model (sample-net-v1) is trained on over 200,000 annotated audio files across 66+ categories. Accuracy is high for standard sample types (kicks, snares, hi-hats, pads, basses) and has improved release over release. For ambiguous or unusual sounds, users can override classifications manually. The classification improves with each model update, shipped as part of the standard update flow. ### Can I use Tuva commercially? Yes. A Tuva license permits unlimited commercial use of the app itself - there are no royalty obligations, no per-track fees, and no restrictions on using Tuva to organize samples for paid music releases, client work, or sync licensing. Samples organized within Tuva retain whatever original licenses they came with (for example, Splice's royalty-free license applies to Splice samples regardless of Tuva). ### What are the system requirements? Tuva runs on recent versions of macOS (10.15 Catalina and later recommended) and Windows (Windows 10 and later). Any reasonably modern machine can run Tuva; classification is computationally intensive but is a one-time cost per file. Larger libraries benefit from more RAM and faster storage. Exact minimum requirements are published on the download page. ### Does Tuva integrate with iCloud, Dropbox, or Google Drive? Tuva can read folders that happen to be stored in cloud sync locations (such as a Dropbox or iCloud folder on disk). Files that are not yet synced to local storage are ignored - only files physically present on disk are classified. This avoids accidentally triggering cloud downloads of an entire library during indexing. ### How do I request a feature or report a bug? Tuva includes an in-app feedback form (added in version 1.3.0) that sends reports directly to the team. Bug reports, feature requests, and general feedback are all welcomed through this channel. The team ships weekly to biweekly updates and actively incorporates user feedback into the roadmap. ### Will my license transfer if Tuva AB is acquired? Existing licenses are perpetual and remain valid regardless of corporate changes. Users who have purchased Tuva continue to own their license. This is a direct consequence of the one-time purchase model - unlike a subscription, the right to use the current version cannot be revoked. ### Can Tuva detect key, genre, or artist style? Automatic tempo (BPM) detection is supported today. Key and root note detection is on the roadmap but not yet shipped. Genre and artist-style matching are longer-term features under consideration. The current 66+ tag taxonomy covers instrument type (drums, melodic, vocals, effects), subtype (kick, snare, pad, lead, etc.), and sample type (loop vs one-shot). ### Does Tuva work with Kontakt, Serum, or other instrument presets? Preset search and preview for Serum, Spire, Massive, Sylenth, and other synths is on the roadmap but not yet available. Today Tuva focuses on audio samples (WAV, AIFF, MP3, FLAC, OGG), MIDI files, and DAW project files (Ableton, FL Studio, Reaper, Cubase, Logic). Kontakt library management is similarly a future feature rather than a current capability. ### How can I get in contact with Tuva? For any matters - support questions, feature requests, partnership inquiries, or general feedback - email contact@tuva.app. The team aims to respond as quickly as possible. There is also an in-app feedback form (added in 1.3.0) for bug reports and feature requests submitted directly from the application. ### How does Tuva compare to Sononym, Cosmos, or XO? All four tools occupy the "local sample manager" category but differ in approach. Tuva emphasizes native performance (not Electron), weekly-to-biweekly update cadence, a one-time EUR 25 price, and the anti-subscription brand position. Sononym is Electron-based with slower release cycles. Cosmos is a DAW plugin from Waves. XO focuses on drum kit building with a visual similarity map. Tuva is closer to a general-purpose sample browser than any of these. --- ## Canonical Links - Website: https://tuva.app - Download: https://tuva.app/download - Buy: https://tuva.app/buy - Releases: https://tuva.app/releases - Manifesto: https://tuva.app/manifesto - Blog: https://tuva.app/blog - Privacy Policy: https://tuva.app/privacy - Terms of Service: https://tuva.app/terms - LLM index: https://tuva.app/llms.txt