sempal - sample manager tool

[Unhek]

https://portalsurfer.github.io/sempal/

sempal is a donationware tool I’m building with a clear primary goal
to quickly find the good parts in recorded jams and turn them into a usable sample library.

a secondary goal is to provide tools for organizing these samples and for quickly finding inspiring sounds when building tracks.

to support this, sempal includes features such as random navigation, similarity hints, a similarity map, and a reflex guided rating system with a trash cleanup workflow for low rated samples.
it also includes an aging system to surface samples you haven’t listened to in a while, or perhaps never at all.

the tool is still experimental and under heavy development. expect things to change often, and documentation may be incomplete or outdated. sempal is currently best suited for curious and adventurous users.

if it helps you find inspiration and make some good music, that’s a big win in my book.

## getting started

- press `?` to enable extended tooltips with contextual explanations
- press `ctrl + /` to show the list of hotkeys for the current context
- left mouse paints 'play selections', right mouse paints 'edit selections'
- use `ctrl + c` / `ctrl + v` to copy and paste sample selections directly into your daw (drag-and-drop also works, but copy-paste is usually faster)
- samples can be time-stretched to the current play bpm (samples must have a bpm tag for this)
- bpm snap is especially useful: hold `alt` and drag the play-selection edges to visually adjust bpm
- create play selections by dragging with the left mouse button
- use the left/right arrow keys to slide the selection
- press `enter` or drag the bottom handle into the browser to create new samples from the selection
- this works particularly well when combined with looping and bpm snap
- press `shift + f1` to submit bugs, issues, feature requests, or thoughts (requires a github account)
- includes several tools for editing samples directly in place

Screenshot 2026-01-19 004043.png