Arc Search

Describe a sound. Get the file.

Arc Search is a desktop search engine for your own sound library. It uses an on-device AI model that listens to your files and runs locally alongside your library. Describe what you need in plain language, or hand it a reference clip, and the right files come back ranked. See the whole workflow in action below.

The workflow

From a sound in your head to a file in your session.

01

Type it the way you'd say it.

Write the sound the way you would describe it to anyone, like "rain drumming on a tin roof" or "ominous". Arc Search will match the query both against how each file actually sounds and the words in its filename and metadata. Every result row shows how it matched, its library-relative path, and its properties. A blend control decides how much weight the sonic match and the keyword match each carry.

02

Or drop in a reference sound.

Drop any audio file on the search bar and the query becomes the sound itself: results are ranked purely by how similar they are to the reference, with no text involved. A temp asset from the cut, a sound from an old project, a file already in your library, or a result from a previous search all work as references for finding the whooshes, drones, impacts, and beds that live in the same sonic territory.

03

Search everything, or just one folder.

Arc Search indexes the folders you point it at and keeps your structure exactly as it is on disk. The library sidebar mirrors your folder tree, and your organization stays consistent. Click on a folder (or folders) to scope the search, and the query runs only against what lives there. Multiple library roots work the same way, so you can easily search between libraries stored on different drives.

04

Refine your search.

When a search lands close but not exact, lock it. The padlock holds the whole result set so your next query runs only inside it. Multiple search layers stack into a breadcrumb you can click back through. Search for "creature vocalizations", lock, then "large aggressive beast", and you are searching within each set rather than starting over. Randomize order reshuffles within bands of similar relevance, so strong matches stay near the top while different files lead each pass. An uppercase NOT excludes a concept, and toward the sonic end of the blend it excludes by how files sound.

05

Specify result properties.

Filters follow your requirements. Constrain sample rate with presets or a min and max, channel layout from mono to a specific channel count, and duration in seconds, then search as usual inside those bounds. Ask for a metallic impact with a long tail and get only 96 or 192 kHz stereo files under 30 seconds, with the active constraints pinned as chips above the search bar.

06

Audition it, then take the part you need.

Select a result and its full waveform opens right under the list, with transport, loop, volume, playback rate, and pitch controls. Mark the region you want, whether that is one take out of a long recording, or a passage from an ambient bed, and tune it before it reaches your session. Drag it out of the app and it lands as a new audio file. The original on disk is never touched.