Release Notes

What's new in SonikSearch — features, improvements, and fixes across every release.

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v2.3 AI-Powered Search & Performance
April 2026
New Features
  • AI-Powered Search — Search your library by describing what you’re looking for. Type “dark ambient pad” or “punchy kick” and find matching samples based on how they sound, not just metadata. Enabled by default for all users.
  • AAX Plugin (macOS) — Load SonikSearch directly in Pro Tools as an AAX plugin on macOS, with full transport and tempo sync.
  • DirectML GPU acceleration on Windows — Windows users with a compatible GPU now benefit from hardware-accelerated audio analysis, significantly reducing import times.
Improvements
  • Faster similar sounds queries across large libraries.
  • Improved similar sounds accuracy with a higher-quality audio analysis model.
  • Smarter timestretch defaults for standalone and plugin modes.
  • Faster analysis during import and when upgrading existing libraries.
  • Improved background task queuing for smoother multi-stage imports.
  • Smoother upgrade experience when migrating from older versions.
Fixes
  • Improved reliability when canceling or removing a Place.
  • Improved folder cache accuracy after import completes.
  • More accurate progress display when resuming an import or analysis.
  • Better handling of corrupted audio files during import.
  • Improved plugin stability when using timestretch in Cubase.
v2.2 Waveform Editing & Sound Map
March 2026
New Features
  • 3D Sound Map — Explore your sample library in an interactive 3D visualization. See how sounds relate to each other spatially, with a progress bar while the map loads and adjustable camera zoom.
  • Multi-place imports — Import samples from multiple folders at once with proper resume logic across all locations.
  • Free trial — Try SonikSearch with a free trial before purchasing, available in both standalone and plugin modes.
  • Folders in collections — Add entire folders to a collection instead of adding samples one by one.
  • Waveform selection — Click and drag on the waveform to select a region.
  • Fade in / fade out — Fade markers automatically snap to your selected region. Right-click the waveform to clear a selection.
  • Zero-crossing snapping — Selections and fade points snap to zero crossings for clean, click-free edits.
  • Half / double tempo buttons — Quickly halve or double the detected BPM with a single click.
  • Click-to-play — Click anywhere on the waveform to start playback from that point.
  • Sync button — New transport sync control for locking playback to your DAW.
  • Resizable plugin window — Resize the SonikSearch plugin to fit your screen layout in any DAW.
Improvements
  • Much faster application startup time.
  • Reduced initialization time with a real progress bar instead of an indeterminate spinner.
  • Autoplay is more reliable — selecting a sample no longer double-triggers playback.
  • Automatically detects incomplete analysis and resumes similar sounds processing.
  • Improved VST cursor speed and AU cursor playback positioning.
  • Checkboxes are now more visible throughout the UI.
  • Volume setting now persists across restarts.
  • Progress bar when refreshing a Place now shows real completion percentage.
  • Faster audio property analysis with more parallel workers.
  • Improved one-shot vs. loop detection using a refined scoring algorithm.
Fixes
  • Fixed similar sounds analysis progress display.
  • Fixed resume progress showing incorrect numbers.
  • Fixed import cancellation proceeding to later stages when canceled mid-import.
  • Fixed scrollbar resetting in the import dialog when the stage updates.
  • Fixed collapsible separator not being expandable after collapsing.
  • Fixed an issue with refreshing Places.
  • Fixed status bar display issues.
  • Stability improvement when closing the plugin.
  • Stability improvement when organizing samples (collections, tags) while a background import was saving.
  • Stability improvement when handling invalid MP3 files.
  • More robust shutdown code.
  • Fixed Ableton Link sync in standalone mode.
  • Fixed an issue where fades did not work correctly in plugin mode.
  • Fixed full-volume burst at the start of a fade-in on Windows.
  • Fixed dark-mode readability for the Places panel on Windows.
  • Fixed transport controls being cut off in certain window sizes.
  • Improved import restart logic so resuming an interrupted import is more reliable.
v2.1 Windows DAW Support & Stability
February – March 2026
New Features
  • Autoplay — Automatically audition samples as you browse through your library.
  • Volume slider in standalone mode, with your level saved between sessions.
  • Drag-and-drop from the Similar Sounds table — Drag similar results directly into your DAW or file manager, just like the main sample table.
  • Right-click context menu on Similar Sounds — Access the same actions available in the main sample table.
  • Reanalyze — New option in the Tools menu to re-run BPM, key, category, and audio analysis on your entire library.
  • Automatic diagnostics — Diagnostic reports are now generated automatically to help identify and fix issues faster.
Improvements
  • Significantly faster search and filter performance.
  • Import and analysis no longer slow down over time on large libraries.
  • Faster playback start and smoother waveform cursor in standalone mode.
  • Improved automatic categorization accuracy.
  • Smarter audio analysis that skips redundant processing, reducing import time.
  • Instant resume when restarting audio analysis after a pause.
  • More efficient BPM and key analysis with optimized per-sample processing.
  • Column dividers in the sample table are now draggable so you can resize columns.
  • Table colors now follow your OS theme for a more native look.
  • Version number now appears in the About section.
Fixes
  • Fixed VST3 compatibility with Cubase.
  • Fixed collections not being set or displayed correctly.
  • Fixed Windows VST3 display when reopening the plugin window.
  • Fixed arrow key navigation in the Windows VST3.
  • Fixed Similar Sounds in the Windows VST3.
  • Numerous stability improvements when closing the application during an active import.
  • Multiple Windows VST3 reliability fixes across DAWs.
v2.0 Find Similar Sounds
February 2026
New Features
  • Find Similar Sounds — Select any sample and instantly discover others in your library that sound like it. Fine-tune what "similar" means by adjusting the weight of nine audio characteristics: Brightness, Warmth, Crest Factor, Harmonicity, Attack, RMS, Duration, Timbre, and Pitch. Results update live as you drag the sliders.
  • Pitch-aware matching — Similarity search understands musical key relationships. It knows that C major and G major are closely related, and that C major and A minor are relative keys.
  • GPU-accelerated analysis — Advanced audio analysis is significantly faster on supported hardware.
  • Windows 11 support — SonikSearch is now available on Windows (x64 and ARM64) as a standalone app and VST3 plugin.
  • Plugin state persistence — Closing and reopening the VST3 or AU plugin window restores your session exactly where you left it.
  • Drag-and-drop export — Dragging a sample out of SonikSearch now exports the timestretched and transposed version if you have playback adjustments active.
Improvements
  • Faster import, analysis, and caching performance.
  • Analysis resumes automatically when you relaunch SonikSearch.
  • Import progress is now saved, so interrupted imports pick up where they left off.
  • Audio features are always computed during import, ensuring similarity search is available for every sample.
Fixes
  • Stability improvement when running multiple VST3 or AU plugin instances at the same time.
  • Fixed drag-and-drop across multiple monitors.
  • Added OpenGL fallback to software rendering for environments without GPU support (e.g., virtual machines).
  • Fixed sample characteristic columns not appearing after import.
  • Fixed an issue where removing a Place did not properly update the cache.