DAW stands for Digital Audio Workstation — it's the software you use to record, arrange, and produce music. If you're making a track, you're working inside a DAW.

Common DAWs include:

All of them do the same core things: record audio, sequence MIDI, arrange tracks, and export a finished file. They each have their own workflow and feel, so the best one is usually whichever one you (or your collaborators) already know.

If you're starting fresh, GarageBand is free on Mac and a solid place to begin. Logic Pro is a natural step up from there, also Mac-only. Ableton and FL Studio are the most popular choices for electronic and hip-hop production. Pro Tools is industry-standard for recording studios.

Some DAWs are bundled with MIDI keyboards or other types of hardware.

For learning resources by DAW, see Learning resources for common DAWs.

Arcade, Co-Producer, and Output's instrument plugins (PORTAL, THERMAL, MOVEMENT) all run as plugins inside your DAW. Arcade also has a standalone mode for browsing sounds, but to record and save what you make, you'll need to load it into your DAW as a plugin.

To load Arcade in your DAW, see How to load Arcade in common DAWs.