PluginVault

PluginVault is a beta macOS app for scanning and managing installed DAW plug-ins with a deliberately classic Macintosh System 7-style interface.

It scans common AU, VST, VST3, and AAX plug-in folders, lets you tag plug-ins using Finder tags, and can vault plug-ins by renaming their bundle directories with a .vaulted suffix. Most DAWs ignore the renamed bundles, which makes vaulting useful for temporarily removing plug-ins without deleting them.

Install

The easiest way to install PluginVault is to download the Mac disk image:

Download PluginVault v1.0 Beta 2 DMG

Then:

1. Double-click PluginVault-v1.0-beta.2.dmg.
2. A small installer window opens.
3. Drag PluginVault.app onto the Applications shortcut.
4. Open your /Applications folder.
5. Control-click PluginVault.app and choose Open.
6. Click Open again if macOS warns that the app is from an unidentified developer.

That Control-click step is only because this beta is development signed and not notarized yet.

Full Disk Access

PluginVault manages plug-in folders on disk, so macOS may block scans or vaulting until you grant Full Disk Access.

1. Open PluginVault.
2. Open PluginVault Settings.
3. Click Open Full Disk Access.
4. In System Settings, turn on PluginVault under Full Disk Access.
5. Quit and reopen PluginVault.
6. Click Scan.

All downloadable builds live on the PluginVault Releases page. If the DMG does not work for you, download PluginVault-v1.0-beta.2.zip, unzip it, and drag PluginVault.app into /Applications.

Beta Notes

This is an early beta intended for careful local use.

• Back up /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins and ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins before bulk vaulting.
• Vaulting changes plug-in bundle names on disk. Use Unvault All before deleting the app if you want every discovered plug-in restored.
• The app is intentionally unsandboxed so it can manage system and user plug-in folders.
• macOS may still require Full Disk Access before PluginVault can scan or rename every plug-in bundle.
• The current project deployment target is macOS 26.2.
• The beta package is development signed and not notarized.

Features

• Scans these default folders:
  • /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components
  • /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST
  • /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3
  • /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/AAX
  • ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components
  • ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST
  • ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3
• Shows active, vaulted, tagged, and collection filters in a compact classic sidebar.
• Syncs app tags with macOS Finder tags where permissions allow.
• Vaults untagged plug-ins in bulk.
• Restores all vaulted plug-ins in bulk.
• Builds custom collections from the in-window toolbar.
• Keeps the primary controls inside the app window instead of relying on the macOS menu bar.

Data

PluginVault stores its local database in:

~/Library/Application Support/PluginVault/database.json
~/Library/Application Support/PluginVault/collections.json

Appearance settings are stored in standard macOS user defaults for the app bundle identifier pluginvault.PluginVault.

Development

Build From Source

You need Xcode installed.

1. Clone the repository:

git clone https://github.com/water-bear86/PluginVault.git
cd PluginVault

2. Build from the command line:

xcodebuild -project PluginVault.xcodeproj -scheme PluginVault -configuration Debug build

3. Or open PluginVault.xcodeproj in Xcode and press Run.

UI Verification

Run the classic UI guard before shipping interface changes:

./script/verify_classic_ui.sh

Release Packaging

Build a Release app:

xcodebuild -project PluginVault.xcodeproj -scheme PluginVault -configuration Release -derivedDataPath /tmp/PluginVaultReleaseDerivedData build

Release packaging currently produces:

• PluginVault-v1.0-beta.2.dmg for drag-to-Applications installs.
• PluginVault-v1.0-beta.2.zip as a plain archived app fallback.

License

The source code is available under the MIT License. See LICENSE.

The PluginVault name, app icon, screenshots, marketing artwork, and other visual brand assets are not covered by the MIT License. See NOTICE.md.

┌──────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│              Plugin Vault                    │
│                                              │
│         Code by Angus Durrie, ©2026          │
│                                              │
│   If this software brought you joy,          │
│   productivity, or saved you from            │
│   plugin-management hell...                  │
│                                              │
│      feel free to send some internet         │
│              appreciation funds.             │
│                                              │
│   SOL:                                       │
│  4rfSpa3XECkdGRpcB7kgJH16fCCDqZ7CLbGmD6vEq4KM│
│                                              │
│        Support independent software.         │
└──────────────────────────────────────────────┘