Open the DAW project viewer (also at daw.aden.space) and drop the project file: an FL Studio .flp, an Ableton Live .als, a REAPER .rpp, a .dawproject or a Studio One .song. It shows the tempo, key and meter, lists every track, plugin and sample, and plays the arrangement in your browser for every format except Studio One, with no DAW installed. Drop the whole project folder instead of the file alone to hear the samples too.

It is free, needs no account, and the project never leaves your browser.

Can you open an FLP or ALS file without FL Studio or Ableton?

Yes, to read it and hear a sketch of it. A project file is a description of the song: which tracks exist, which plugins sit on them, which samples and notes play when, and at what tempo. You do not need the DAW to read that description. You need the DAW to make the exact sound, because the plugins only run inside it.

That covers most of the reasons people search for this:

• A collaborator sent you a project in a DAW you do not own, and you want to know what is in it before you ask for stems.
• You want to know which plugins a project needs before you open it in your own DAW, so you can install them first instead of hitting a wall of missing-plugin warnings.
• You need the tempo of an old project to make a remix, an edit or a new version.
• You want the list of samples a beat uses, to check their licences or clear them before release.
• You no longer have the DAW you made the song in, or it no longer runs on your computer.

Which DAW projects can you open?

DAWproject is an open format that Studio One, Cubase and Bitwig can export. If a project comes from one of those, ask for a .dawproject and you can play it, not only read it. Pro Tools sessions are not on the list.

What can you see in a project without the DAW?

Once the project is read, its tempo, key and meter show beside its name. Details lists:

• every track or channel,
• the plugins, both third-party and the DAW's own stock ones,
• the samples it uses,
• the notes, clips and markers.

The key only shows when the DAW saved one in the project. FL Studio does not store a key, for example, so an .flp shows its tempo but no key. For those, export a bounce and run it through the Key finder.

Can you hear a project without the DAW?

Press Play and the arrangement plays in your browser. Click the ruler or a lane to jump there, zoom in and out, and solo lanes to hear one part on its own.

What you hear is a sketch, not the mix. Plugins only run in your DAW, so the notes a plugin would play are played by a stand-in sound instead. The i beside the time tells you what sounds different. A synth lead from Serum or a piano from Kontakt plays its real notes at the right time, but with a plain sound. Samples and audio clips are different: those are files, so they play as themselves once the viewer has them.

For the real sound of the song, ask for a bounce. The viewer is for seeing how it was built.

Why are the samples missing?

A project file does not contain your audio. It stores the path to each sample on the computer where the project was made, something like C:\Users\you\Splice\Samples\kick_01.wav. Copy the project file on its own to another computer, or drop it on the viewer alone, and those paths lead nowhere. The viewer still knows the samples' names, so they show in Details, but it has nothing to play.

The fix is to drop the folder, not the file:

1. In the DAW, gather every sample into the project folder (the steps for each DAW are below).
2. Drop the whole project folder on the viewer, or press Open a folder.
3. Already dropped the file alone? Press Add its folder to bring the samples in.

Each DAW has its own command to gather the samples first:

Samples that live outside the project folder, in a sample pack, a user library or your downloads, are the ones that go missing most often. The collect commands above copy them in. For how the other DAWs handle this, see how to version and back up a DAW project.

How to use the DAW project viewer

1. Open the DAW project viewer, at tools.aden.space/daw or daw.aden.space, or search "flp" or "project" in ⌘K. You do not need an account.
2. Drop the project file, or press Open a project. To hear the samples as well, drop the whole folder or press Open a folder.
3. Read the tempo, key and meter beside the project's name.
4. Open Details for the tracks, plugins, samples, notes, clips and markers.
5. Press Play to hear the arrangement. Click the ruler or a lane to jump, zoom, and solo the lanes you want to hear.
6. To keep the song, press Save to Aden. It opens a new track with the project's tempo and key, and takes the bounce named like the project from the folder ("Afterglow.wav" beside "Afterglow.flp"), or asks you to pick one.

After you save, everything you dropped lands in the new track's Project files, linked to that version, so moving clips and recording vocals over the project work there. Without an account, the song and the project wait in your browser while you sign up.

Your project is read and played in your browser and never leaves your device, unless you save the song to Aden.

You can also use it in ChatGPT or Claude as DAW project viewer by Aden (mcp.aden.space/daw-viewer).

What the viewer cannot do

• Run your plugins. No plugin runs in the browser, instrument or effect. The notes an instrument plugin would play use a stand-in sound.
• Play Studio One, Bitwig, Logic Pro or GarageBand projects. Studio One and Bitwig can export a DAWproject, which plays. For the others, a bounce is the way to hear the song.
• Edit in the viewer. Moving clips and recording vocals work once the project is in Aden.
• Find samples that were never collected. If a sample was not in the folder you dropped, the viewer has nothing to play for it.

FAQ

Can I open an FLP file without FL Studio?

Yes. Drop the .flp in a project viewer that reads FL Studio's format and you can see its tempo, channels, plugins, samples, notes and markers, and hear the arrangement with a stand-in sound for each plugin. You still need FL Studio, and the same plugins, to hear the exact sound or to keep working on the beat.

Why does the project play without its samples?

A project file stores where each sample was on the computer it was made on, not the audio itself. Drop the whole project folder, after collecting the samples into it in the DAW, and the samples play as the project uses them.

How do I see which plugins a project uses?

Drop the project in the DAW project viewer and open Details. It lists every plugin the project loads, third-party and stock, so you know what to install before you open it in your own DAW.

Is my project uploaded?

No. The project is read and played in your browser and never leaves your device. It is only uploaded if you choose to save the song to Aden.

Will it sound like it does in my DAW?

No. Samples and audio clips play as they are, but plugins only run inside the DAW, so the notes they would play use a simple stand-in sound. Use it to understand how the song is built, and ask for a bounce to hear how it really sounds.