DAW Plugins

DAW Plugins

Prism includes one analyzer plugin for each of its seven audio scopes. Insert one on a DAW track, bus, or master channel to inspect that signal with the same visual language as the desktop rack.

The plugins are analyzers: audio passes through untouched. Prism performs no sound-changing DSP and makes no allocations on the real-time audio thread.

Included plugins

• Prism Spectrum
• Prism Oscilloscope
• Prism Vectorscope
• Prism Spectrogram
• Prism VU Meter
• Prism Loudness Meter
• Prism Waveform

VST3 is available on Windows, macOS, and Linux. Audio Unit (AU) is available on macOS.

The plugins have been tested with Ableton Live, FL Studio, and Reaper. Other standards-compliant hosts may work, but this is not an exhaustive compatibility claim.

For each analyzer's controls and interpretation, see Spectrum and Spectrogram, Oscilloscope and Waveform, Vectorscope, and Level and Loudness Meters.

Installing

The full Prism installer packages install the plugins alongside the desktop application.

macOS

The PKG installs both formats into the normal Audio Unit and VST3 locations. Close and reopen the DAW, then rescan if needed.

Typical locations are:

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3

User-local manual builds can instead appear under the corresponding folders in ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins.

Windows

The normal installer's Install Prism VST3 plugins (recommended) checkbox is selected by default. Leave it selected to place the bundles where supported DAWs can scan them. The usual system location is:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3

A portable Prism executable does not provide the installer's plugin placement. If manually installing a build, many hosts also accept:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\Common\VST3

Linux

DEB and RPM packages install all seven VST3 bundles under:

/usr/lib/vst3

The tar.gz release includes resources/plugins/install-vst3.sh, which installs to $HOME/.vst3 by default or /usr/lib/vst3 with --system. AppImage is desktop-only and does not contain installable plugins.

Common Linux scan paths are $HOME/.vst3, /usr/lib/vst3, and /usr/local/lib/vst3.

Using a plugin

1. Insert the relevant Prism … plugin on the track or bus you want to inspect.
2. Start DAW playback or input monitoring.
3. Resize the plugin window to give the scope an appropriate shape.
4. Select the gear button to reveal settings.
5. Configure the scope using the matching desktop controls.

Opening settings adds room for the controls without shrinking the existing analyzer viewport. Close the settings area when a compact meter is preferable.

Settings and theme precedence

Every plugin instance stores its settings in the DAW project.

When an instance has a saved per-instance value, that value wins. Otherwise it begins with the corresponding setting from the active Prism desktop profile, then falls back to the built-in default when no usable profile value exists.

In short:

per-instance override → active desktop profile → built-in default

The theme is different: plugin windows always follow the theme currently selected in the Prism desktop app. Theme selection is not frozen into individual instances.

This means reopening an old project restores its analyzer configuration while allowing the whole Prism interface to adopt a newer theme.

Desktop capture versus plugin audio

The desktop application captures an operating-system output or input device. A plugin analyzes only the signal routed through that DAW insert.

• Changing desktop Audio Source does not change plugin input.
• Desktop Input Trim does not change plugin input.
• Rolling Capture records the desktop capture source, not a DAW plugin insert.
• Bypassing, muting, freezing, or changing routing in the DAW can change whether the plugin receives frames according to host behavior.

Rescanning and missing plugins

If a DAW cannot find the plugins:

1. Confirm the package type installed plugins; AppImage and portable packages may not.
2. Confirm the seven plugin bundles exist in a path the DAW scans.
3. Add that path in the DAW's plugin preferences if necessary.
4. Run a full rescan and restart the host.
5. On macOS, confirm the DAW is scanning the intended AU or VST3 format.

Do not copy only files from inside a .vst3 or .component bundle. Copy the complete bundle directory.

Blank or unavailable interface

On Windows, the plugin interface requires the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime. Modern Windows 10 and 11 installations usually already have it. If Prism displays a WebView2-specific fallback message, install or repair the Evergreen WebView2 Runtime, then restart the DAW.

On Linux, the host environment needs compatible WebKit GUI support. A plugin found by the scanner but unable to open its editor can be a host sandbox, WebKit dependency, display-session, or graphics problem. Test the same format in another supported host before moving bundles repeatedly.

Performance

Large FFTs, high-detail Spectrogram modes, and many open plugin editors increase analysis and drawing work. Closing a plugin editor can reduce graphical work while leaving the inserted pass-through analyzer instance in the project.

If playback is stable but plugin animation is slow, reduce expensive display settings or close unused editors. If playback itself becomes unstable, check the DAW's buffer, project load, and routing before assuming the visual frame rate is the cause.