What Is Element, the Modular Host by Kushview?

Updated

Element is an open-source modular plugin host from Kushview, the same shop behind a small line of audio plugins. Instead of forcing your plugins through a fixed channel strip, Element lets you patch the routing yourself to build custom effect chains and instrument racks. It runs VST3, AU, CLAP, and LV2 plugins, works standalone or as a plugin, and is available on Mac, Windows, and Linux. If you want a host where you decide the signal path rather than accept one, Element is built for that; if you just want to drop plugins into a conventional track layout, a standard DAW will be less work.

What Element actually is

Kushview describes Element as "an open-source modular host for building custom effect chains and instrument racks." Two parts of that description matter:

  • Modular host — it hosts your existing plugins rather than replacing them. You bring VST3, AU, CLAP, or LV2 plugins and arrange them.
  • No fixed signal path — the routing is not predetermined. You patch connections between nodes, so the order and branching of audio and MIDI are yours to define.

That makes Element closer to a patchbay or modular rack than to a traditional mixer-style host.

How it differs from a normal DAW or plugin host

Dimension Typical DAW / host Element
Signal path Fixed per-track chain User-patched routing
Primary use Recording, arranging, mixing Building custom chains and racks
Plugin formats Varies by product VST3, AU, CLAP, LV2
Runs as Usually a host only Standalone and as a plugin
Platforms Varies Mac, Windows, Linux
Source Usually closed Open source on GitHub

The practical difference: in a DAW you mostly decide which plugins go in a track and in what order. In Element you also decide how the nodes connect — splitting, merging, and re-routing as needed.

What you can build with it

Because routing is open, Element suits tasks where a linear chain is limiting:

  • Custom effect chains — series, parallel, or split paths that a single track insert cannot express.
  • Instrument racks — combine instruments and processors into a reusable, self-contained setup.
  • Cross-format setups — mix VST3, AU, CLAP, and LV2 plugins in one patch, subject to what your OS supports.
  • Standalone or in-DAW use — run it on its own, or load it as a plugin inside another host.

For example, if you want one source split into two parallel processing paths and then summed, that is a routing decision Element is designed to let you make directly.

Availability and licensing

Element is free and open-source on GitHub. Kushview also offers paid builds, which the site says fund continued development. So there are two ways to get it: build or download the open-source version, or buy a paid build to support the project. The site does not state pricing details here, so check the shop for current terms.

Who it is for

  • Choose Element if you want to design your own routing, work across multiple plugin formats, or need a host that runs on Linux as well as Mac and Windows.
  • Skip it if you mainly need timeline-based recording and arranging, or you prefer a fixed, predictable track layout with no patching to manage.

Kushview itself is a JUCE/C++ audio development shop with 15+ years of experience, and Element is one of its own products — alongside plugins like PulseDial (a DTMF synthesizer), Witch's Brew (a bitcrusher), Tone Generator, Smoothie, Roboverb, and a sale listing for Element. The same team also offers plugin development, CLAP migration, legacy plugin rescue, and white-label plugin hosting services.