diff --git a/engine/safety_limiter/Cargo.toml b/engine/safety_limiter/Cargo.toml
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..7698764a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/engine/safety_limiter/Cargo.toml
@@ -0,0 +1,12 @@
+[package]
+name = "safety_limiter"
+version = "0.1.0"
+authors = ["Casey Primozic <casey@cprimozic.net>"]
+edition = "2021"
+
+[lib]
+crate-type = ["cdylib", "rlib"]
+
+[dependencies]
+dsp = { path = "../dsp" }
+compressor = { path = "../compressor", default-features = false }
diff --git a/engine/safety_limiter/src/lib.rs b/engine/safety_limiter/src/lib.rs
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..ca0024dc
--- /dev/null
+++ b/engine/safety_limiter/src/lib.rs
@@ -0,0 +1,114 @@
+use std::ptr::addr_of_mut;
+
+use dsp::db_to_gain;
+
+static mut IO_BUFFER: [f32; dsp::FRAME_SIZE] = [0.0; dsp::FRAME_SIZE];
+
+const LOOKAHEAD_SAMPLE_COUNT: usize = 4;
+
+struct SafetyLimiterState {
+  pub lookahead_buffer: [f32; LOOKAHEAD_SAMPLE_COUNT],
+  pub envelope: f32,
+}
+
+impl SafetyLimiterState {
+  pub const fn new() -> Self {
+    Self {
+      lookahead_buffer: [0.0; LOOKAHEAD_SAMPLE_COUNT],
+      envelope: 0.0,
+    }
+  }
+}
+
+static mut STATE: SafetyLimiterState = SafetyLimiterState::new();
+
+const ATTACK_COEFFICIENT: f32 = 0.3;
+
+const RELEASE_COEFFICIENT: f32 = 0.05;
+
+const THRESHOLD: f32 = 10.;
+const RATIO: f32 = 40.;
+
+fn io_buf() -> &'static mut [f32; dsp::FRAME_SIZE] { unsafe { &mut *addr_of_mut!(IO_BUFFER) } }
+
+fn state() -> &'static mut SafetyLimiterState { unsafe { &mut *addr_of_mut!(STATE) } }
+
+fn detect_level_peakand_apply_envelope(envelope: &mut f32, sample: f32) -> f32 {
+  let abs_sample = sample.abs();
+  println!("abs_sample={abs_sample}, envelope={envelope}");
+  dsp::one_pole(
+    envelope,
+    abs_sample,
+    if abs_sample > *envelope {
+      ATTACK_COEFFICIENT
+    } else {
+      RELEASE_COEFFICIENT
+    },
+  )
+}
+
+fn compute_gain_to_apply(detected_level_db: f32) -> f32 {
+  let target_level_db = THRESHOLD + (detected_level_db - THRESHOLD) / RATIO;
+  let db_to_reduce = detected_level_db - target_level_db;
+  db_to_gain(-db_to_reduce)
+}
+
+fn process(envelope: &mut f32, sample: f32) -> f32 {
+  // some audio drivers behave badly when you send them `NaN` or `Infinity`...
+  if !sample.is_normal() {
+    return 0.;
+  }
+
+  // default to limiting with a very short attack and release
+  let detected_level_linear = detect_level_peakand_apply_envelope(envelope, sample);
+  dbg!(detected_level_linear);
+  let detected_level_db = dsp::gain_to_db(detected_level_linear);
+
+  if detected_level_db < THRESHOLD {
+    return sample;
+  }
+
+  let gain_to_apply = compute_gain_to_apply(detected_level_db);
+  println!("sample={sample}, gain_to_apply={gain_to_apply}");
+  let sample = sample * gain_to_apply;
+
+  // apply hard clipping as a last resort
+  dsp::clamp(-4., 4., sample)
+}
+
+#[no_mangle]
+pub extern "C" fn safety_limiter_process() {
+  let state = state();
+  let io_buf = io_buf();
+
+  for &sample in &state.lookahead_buffer {
+    process(&mut state.envelope, sample);
+  }
+
+  for &sample in &io_buf[..LOOKAHEAD_SAMPLE_COUNT] {
+    process(&mut state.envelope, sample);
+  }
+
+  state
+    .lookahead_buffer
+    .copy_from_slice(&io_buf[io_buf.len() - LOOKAHEAD_SAMPLE_COUNT..]);
+}
+
+#[test]
+fn coefficients() {
+  println!("100. to db: {}", dsp::gain_to_db(100.));
+
+  let mut envelope = 0.;
+  let signal = vec![
+    0., 0., 40., 40., 40., 40., 40., 40., 40., 40., 40., 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5,
+    0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5,
+    0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5, 0.5,
+  ];
+  let mut applied = vec![0.; signal.len()];
+
+  for i in 0..signal.len() {
+    applied[i] = process(&mut envelope, signal[i]);
+  }
+
+  println!("{applied:?}")
+}