Installing plugins on a new Mac is exciting…
Installing 100+ plugin installers isn't.
Plugin Batch Installer is a simple drag-and-drop utility that installs large collections of individual plugin installers for you. Drop a folder onto the app, enter your administrator password once, and let it take care of the repetitive clicking while you go and make a coffee.
It grew out of rebuilding my own studio Macs over the years, and has been tested against over 150 real-world installers from companies like NeuralDSP, Analog Obsession, accusonus, legacy Plugin Alliance installers, and many others.
Plugin Batch Installer is designed for individual plugin installers.
Examples include installers supplied as:
.pkg.mpkg.zip.dmg
If you've downloaded a folder full of installers and you're thinking…
"I really don't want to click through every single one of these…"
…that's exactly why this app exists.
This utility does not replace vendor download managers.
If a company requires its own installer application, continue using it as normal.
Examples include:
- Waves Central
- Plugin Alliance Installation Manager
- Softube Central
- Native Access
- Universal Audio Connect
- Arturia Software Center
- iZotope Product Portal
- Slate Digital Connect
- IK Product Manager
- Spitfire Audio
- EastWest Installation Center
- Toontrack Product Manager
- Steinberg Download Assistant
These applications manage downloads, licensing, updates and installation themselves.
Plugin Batch Installer performs silent installations using each installer's default settings.
That means:
- License agreement windows are not shown.
- By using this application, you agree to the license agreements of the software you choose to install.
- Older installers signed with expired certificates are automatically retried with macOS's untrusted-signature override — these are clearly marked in the summary and in the log.
- This utility does not activate any software.
- You must still own valid licenses and activate your plugins normally after installation.
Only install software that you legally own.
No Xcode needed — just macOS. Download or clone this repository, then in Terminal:
cd plugin-batch-installer-gui
chmod +x build_app.sh
./build_app.shThat's it. Plugin Batch Installer.app appears in the same folder, ready to use — move it to /Applications if you like. The build uses only tools already on your Mac.
Want to customise it? The list of standalone apps that get copied straight to /Applications (instead of the Manual Install folder) lives at the top of installer_core.sh — look for STANDALONE_APPS.
It's easy.
- Download your plugin installers.
- Put them all into one folder (or drag individual installers).
- Drag the folder onto Plugin Batch Installer.
- Enter your administrator password.
- Go and make a coffee. ☕
When it's finished you'll see a summary showing:
- ✓ Successfully installed
- ⏳ Items moved to Manual Install
- ✗ Corrupted downloads
- ⚠ Failed installations
A detailed installation log is also available if you need it.
Plugin Batch Installer will:
- Install
.pkgand.mpkginstallers. - Open
.dmgfiles automatically. - Extract
.ziparchives. - Process nested archives where possible.
- Detect corrupted ZIP downloads before installation.
- Copy supported standalone applications directly into /Applications.
- Move installers that require user interaction into a Manual Install folder so nothing gets lost.
The goal is simple:
Install everything that can be automated… and neatly organise everything that can't.
Because this is an unsigned utility, macOS may ask for permission to:
- Open the application
- Allow Automation (Terminal)
- Access your Downloads folder
These are normal macOS security prompts.
Drag the app to the Trash. That's it.
No daemons, no leftovers, no uninstaller needed. (The installation log lives at ~/Library/Logs/plugin_install_log.txt if you'd like to delete that too.)
Every audio engineer knows that Migration Assistant and professional audio software don't always get along.
A clean installation is usually the safest way to move to a new Mac…
…but that often means clicking through dozens (or even hundreds) of plugin installers one at a time.
After rebuilding enough studio computers, I finally got tired of doing the same job over and over again.
So I wrote the tool I wished already existed.
- Intel Macs
- Apple Silicon Macs
- macOS High Sierra and newer
No Xcode. No additional software. Just macOS.
If this utility saved you an afternoon of clicking through installers and made rebuilding your studio a little less painful, you can buy me a coffee.
☕ https://buymeacoffee.com/buddhaburger
MIT License