WinHookAudio routes all PC audio through one DAW, the Master DAW, which works as the mixer and effects rack. It is an ASIO driver for Windows, written in C++.
sound cards, Windows apps, other DAWs, LAN -> WinHookAudio Master (ASIO) -> your DAW mixes -> back out
| Part | What it does |
|---|---|
| WinHookAudio Master (ASIO driver) | 512 inputs + 512 outputs for the Master DAW. Each slot is fed by a sound card, a Virtual Cable, a Bridge or the network. |
| HW devices | Every sound card Windows has, as outputs and inputs, with all their channels (a 16-channel interface gives 16), in WASAPI Exclusive mode (no Windows mixer, lowest latency) or, per device, Shared (other apps keep their sound) or Auto. A device opens only when a slot uses it; each is kept in time with the Master Clock. |
Virtual Cables (WinHookAudio.sys) |
16 cables that appear in Windows as sound devices (up to 8 channels each). Windows apps play into them or record from them. |
| WinHookAudio Bridge 1-4 (ASIO drivers) | Let other DAWs or ASIO apps send and receive a set of channels; up to 4 apps share one Bridge. |
| Network streams (WHAA) | Send and receive audio on the LAN over UDP 6980-6981, as PCM or Vorbis. |
| DAWs it works in | 64-bit and 32-bit DAWs on Windows 10/11 x64, and ARM64 and x64 DAWs on Windows 11 on ARM. One DAW uses the Master at a time; any number use the Bridges. The Virtual Cable driver is x64 only for now. |
| Control Panel | Opens from the DAW's ASIO settings: pick what feeds each slot, the Master Clock (44.1 to 192 kHz; the DAW's own rate menu also sets it), devices, cables and streams. Saved to %ProgramData%\WinHookAudio\routes.yml + settings.yml, with Export / Import. |
Status: early. It is tested on the developer's PC only (Windows 10 x64 with Bitwig Studio). Expect bugs; please report them in Issues.
The Virtual Cable driver (
WinHookAudio.sys) is experimental. It is a kernel driver: a bug in it can stop Windows with a blue screen. It has not yet run under Driver Verifier or a long soak test, and short audio dropouts still happen in stress tests. Use it on a PC where a crash is acceptable, or untick Virtual Cable in the installer.
The Control Panel (opens from the DAW's ASIO settings), with example routes:
| Inputs: what feeds each DAW input | Outputs: where each DAW output goes |
|---|---|
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| Network: LAN streams (PCM or Vorbis) | General: Master Clock, devices, buffers, Virtual Cables |
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Bitwig Studio and FL Studio running at the same time on one PC:
| Bitwig on WinHookAudio Master: the DAW sees the names set in the Control Panel | FL Studio on WinHookAudio Bridge 1: its outputs go to Master inputs 5/6 |
|---|---|
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Bitwig track fed from a Virtual Cable input (Virtual 2 L/2 R) |
Windows apps can play to the WinHookAudio Virtual Cable outputs |
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-
Download
WinHookAudio-Setup-<version>.exefrom Releases. -
Run it (admin rights needed) and choose the Virtual Cable driver on the Components page:
Choice When to pick it Signed driver (normal Windows) Shown only when the release has a Microsoft-signed driver. Works like any other driver. Not signed: test-signed driver Turns on Windows Test Mode and needs a restart. Secure Boot must be off (in the PC's UEFI settings). Windows shows "Test Mode" on the desktop. Neither (untick Virtual Cable) Only the ASIO drivers. Sound cards, Bridges and the network still work; Virtual Cables do not. -
In your DAW, choose the ASIO driver WinHookAudio Master, then open its Control Panel.
Uninstall from Windows Settings > Apps. It removes the drivers, the Virtual Cable device and the firewall rule. It turns Test Mode off again only if the installer turned it on.
More detail: docs/installing.md.
Needs Windows 10/11 x64, Visual Studio 2022 or newer with C++ (MSVC x64 and x86; for ARM64 also the ARM64 and ARM64EC build tools), CMake 3.24+, and for the Virtual Cable driver the Windows Driver Kit. The installer needs Inno Setup 6.3+.
scripts\Fetch-ThirdParty.ps1 # ImGui, libogg, libvorbis, r8brain (pinned) into third_party\
cmake -S . -B build -A x64
cmake --build build --config Release
ctest --test-dir build -C Release -E network # offline tests
cmake -S . -B build-x86 -A Win32 # optional: 32-bit DLLs for 32-bit DAWs (build the same way)
cmake -S . -B build-arm64 -A ARM64 # optional: ARM64 DLLs + ARM64X forwarders (Windows on ARM)
driver\build.cmd # WinHookAudio.sys, test-signed, into build\driver\
installer\build-installer.ps1 -Version 0.1.2 # build\installer\WinHookAudio-Setup-0.1.2.exeThe installer takes the 32-bit and ARM64 DLLs when those build folders have them.
GitHub Actions (build.yml) builds and tests every push (x64 and 32-bit
on Windows x64, ARM64 on Windows on ARM), and a
v* tag publishes the setup to GitHub Releases. That setup has no test-signed driver: it offers
the Virtual Cable only with a Microsoft-signed driver. The test-signed setup is built locally with
the steps above. Code signing is in docs/signing.md.
- Installing and Test Mode
- Code and driver signing
- Architecture and implementation plan
- Decisions (ADRs) and domain words
Free code signing provided by SignPath.io, certificate by SignPath Foundation (applied for; releases are not signed yet).
- Committers and reviewers: LogicCuteGuy
- Approvers: LogicCuteGuy
Only files built by GitHub Actions from this repository are signed: the setup, the ASIO drivers
and winhookaudio-devsetup.exe. The Virtual Cable kernel driver (WinHookAudio.sys) needs a
Microsoft signature instead (docs/signing.md).
This program will not transfer any information to other networked systems unless specifically requested by the user or the person installing or operating it.
WinHookAudio has no telemetry, no account and no update check. The only network feature is the
network streams: they send audio only to the IP addresses you enter in the Control Panel, and
receive audio on UDP ports 6980-6981 (the installer opens these in Windows Firewall). Settings stay
on your PC in %ProgramData%\WinHookAudio\.
WinHookAudio is made by LogicCuteGuy: design, ASIO drivers, Virtual Cable driver, Control Panel, installer.
MIT, Copyright (c) 2026 LogicCuteGuy. Third-party parts are listed in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md. ASIO is a trademark and software of Steinberg Media Technologies GmbH.
If WinHookAudio helps you, you can support it: GitHub Sponsors · Ko-fi · Donate