v2.5.4 Beta — Plugin Detail Links & Loading Screen Refresh
NEWv2.5.4 Beta · Plugin Update Tracker & License Vault

Your plugin folder
is a mess.
PlugPane fixes it.

A purpose-built manager for VST3, AU, CLAP and AAX. Scan, tag, version and load every plugin you own. Works across every DAW, on every machine.

Name your own price on Gumroad!

Name your own price — recommended donation $4.99

2,000+ users·Indexed 2.1M plugins·Works with VST3, AU, CLAP and AAX
Questions? Reach out on X
PlugPane main plugin management interface
VST3AUCLAPAAXABLETON LIVELOGIC PROPRO TOOLSFL STUDIOBITWIGREAPERSTUDIO ONECUBASEVST3AUCLAPAAXABLETON LIVELOGIC PROPRO TOOLSFL STUDIOBITWIGREAPERSTUDIO ONECUBASE
2.1M+
Plugins indexed across users
2k+
Active users
2m 8s
Avg full library scan
Why PlugPane

Built for the chaos
of real sessions.

Six things every audio engineer wishes their DAW already did.

Universal scanner

One pass indexes VST3, AU, CLAP and AAX from every install path on your system. Catches sandboxed Audio Units that other tools miss.

Smart Tagging

Auto-classifies every plugin by category, character and use case. Override anything you disagree with — your library, your rules.

License vault

Keep track of all your plugin licenses with iLok integration and manual serial number storage. Never lose a license again.

Duplicate detection

Find duplicate plugins across your system. Save disk space and clean up redundant installations that can cause conflicts.

Database matching

Automatically matches your plugins against our 50K+ database to get pricing, descriptions, and shop URLs.

Enable/Disable

Quickly enable or disable plugins with a simple click. Perfect for troubleshooting DAW issues or organizing your workflow.

See PlugPane in action.

Hit play below to watch a brief, informal overview with the developer.

NEW IN v2.5.4 BetaJust shipped
Plugin Update Tracking

Stop flying
blind on updates.

PlugPane now checks your entire library against the latest releases and flags every plugin that has an update waiting. Sort by updates to get the full picture in one view — then decide what to do about it.

  • ✓Live Update Detection: One click surfaces every outdated plugin in your library
  • ✓Direct Downloads: Jump straight to the DMG, ZIP, or installer — no search required
  • ✓Per-Plugin Control: Toggle update tracking off for plugins you intentionally keep at an older version
  • ✓Sort by Updates: Everything that needs attention floats to the top automatically
PlugPane plugin update tracker showing available updates with orange badges
Organize Your Way

Color-coded tags
for instant recall.

Tag plugins by workflow stage (Mixing, Mastering, Writing) or by character like CPU Heavy, Legacy, or Go-To. Create custom tags that match how you actually think about your tools.

  • CPU Heavy: Flag resource-intensive plugins
  • Favorite: Your desert island plugins
  • Go-To: The ones you reach for first
  • Custom: Create unlimited tags
PlugPane smart tagging system with color-coded categories
Plugin Licenses

Every serial.
One secure vault.

Stop hunting through old emails every time you reinstall. PlugPane keeps every license key you own in one place — hidden behind a reveal toggle, exportable as a CSV backup, and never uploaded anywhere.

  • ✓iLok Integration: Auto-import directly from your iLok CSV export
  • ✓Serial Key Storage: Save any license key next to the plugin it belongs to
  • ✓Show / Hide Keys: Keys are masked by default — reveal individually or all at once
  • ✓Export to CSV: Back up your entire vault with one click, saved locally to your Downloads folder
  • ✓Stays on Your Machine: Zero cloud sync, zero accounts — your licenses are yours
PlugPane Plugin License Vault showing all saved serial keys
PlugPane license vault detail showing masked serial key with reveal toggle
Clean Up Your System

Find duplicates.
Reclaim disk space.

Over time, plugin folders accumulate redundant copies: old versions, multiple formats, forgotten installs. The Duplicate Finder scans your entire system and shows you exactly what can be safely removed.

  • ✓Quick Cleanup: One-click removal of duplicates
  • ✓Format Preference: Keep VST3, delete VST duplicates
  • ✓Confidence Scoring: See how certain each match is
  • ✓Safe Deletion: Review before removing anything
PlugPane duplicate plugin finder with quick cleanup

Tame the
plugin folder.

Name your own price on Gumroad!
v2.5.4 Beta — macOS·Code signed by Apple·Suggested donation $4.99
Follow the development

Got questions?

FAQ

PlugPane is name-your-own-price on Gumroad with a suggested donation of $4.99. You can grab it for free or pay what you think it's worth — it's the same app either way. If it saves you time, consider throwing a few dollars in.

PlugPane scans and manages AU, VST, and VST3 plugins. AAX (Pro Tools) plugins are detected and displayed but are read-only — Pro Tools manages its own plugin authorization system, so enable/disable is not available for AAX.

No. Disabling a plugin renames the bundle on disk with a .disabled extension — nothing is deleted. The Duplicate Finder moves items to a Bin that you have to manually empty. PlugPane will never permanently delete anything without an explicit action from you.

Yes — PlugPane ships as a universal binary and runs natively on Apple Silicon (M1, M2, M3, M4) and Intel Macs alike. No Rosetta needed. The architecture badge in the plugin detail panel also tells you whether each of your plugins is running natively or through Rosetta.

When you click "Check Plugin Updates," PlugPane fetches a version cache from plugpane.com, reads the current version of each installed plugin directly off disk, and compares the two. Anything where a newer version exists gets an orange badge. No data about your plugins is sent anywhere — the cache is just a public JSON file your app reads locally.

Your license keys are stored entirely on your Mac in a local SQLite database. PlugPane has no account system and nothing is ever synced to a server. The only time license data leaves your machine is when you choose to export the vault as a CSV — and that goes straight to your Downloads folder.

PlugPane operates at the file system level, not inside any DAW. It works by managing the plugin bundles on disk, so it's completely DAW-agnostic. Logic Pro, Ableton Live, FL Studio, Reaper, Cubase, Pro Tools, Studio One — it doesn't matter. If the DAW scans your standard plugin folders, PlugPane's changes will be reflected the next time that DAW scans.

PlugPane requires macOS 12 Monterey or later. It's developed and tested primarily on macOS 14 Sonoma and macOS 15 Sequoia.

Yes. There's no activation or device limit. Download it on as many of your own machines as you like.

The best way is to reach out on X (Twitter) — follow the development at @rchrsbrgrs. You can also open an issue on the public GitHub repo. Feedback directly shapes what gets built next.