[Track 4]: deadwax

Web app
Web app
Logo

Inspiration

We came into the "DIY Software" track as music fans, not producers. But after researching creator communities, one frustration kept surfacing; musicians are still collaborating through ZIP files and renamed folders, with no real version control. That gap felt familiar. We know GitHub. We know what good versioning looks like. So we built it for music.

What it does

Through this GitHub-inspired collaboration platform built for music collaboration, creators upload individual stems, drums, vocals, bass, into a shared workspace. From there they can manage project versions, commit changes, leave notes, create branches, and merge updates, all without touching a single line of code. Teams can collaborate seamlessly across different tools, and when a project is ready, artists can choose to open-source it, inviting fans and collaborators to remix, explore, and engage with the work at a deeper level.

How we built it

deadwax is built on React 18 and Vite, with React Router for navigation and Wavesurfer.js handling in-browser waveform rendering and audio playback. On the backend, Supabase powers everything from PostgreSQL, row-level security, magic link and Google OAuth authentication, to file storage for stems and project assets, with deployment on Vercel and Netlify.

The design was built using Bebas Neue and IBM Plex Mono, with components visuals created in Adobe Illustrator.

Challenges we ran into

Our biggest technical hurdles were audio-related. Wavesurfer.js wasn't built to stack multiple waveforms simultaneously, and inconsistent file types across different DAW exports created compatibility issues we hadn't anticipated. We also faced conceptual challenges. Every design decision forced us to ask whether we were building for producers or just disguising a developer tool. Stripping out Git language, rethinking every interaction, and designing with creators genuinely in mind.

Accomplishments that we're proud of

More than anything, we're proud of how we worked together. We divided tasks by strength, stayed aligned as a team, and made sure every member had a hand in the process. We also had to make hard calls, cutting features we believed in to prioritize a product that actually works and ships. Doing all of it while learning how to use many new tools is something we're all very proud of.

What we learned

On the technical side, we learned how to use Supabase, Wavesurfer.js, and a fully custom design system. Moreover, we had to learn about the producer world, their workflows, their frustrations, and what it actually takes to build something creators would adopt.

What's next for deadwax

Moving forward, we want to work on direct DAW integration. Right now creators interact with their projects through stems and file uploads, but the real vision is a plugin that lives inside Ableton, FL Studio, and Logic Pro, letting producers commit changes, create branches, and sync with collaborators without having to leaving their environment.