Plugin Manager

The Plugin Manager lists the Audio Unit (AU) plugins available to SoundDesk and provides controls for scanning, enabling, disabling, and excluding plugins.

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Opening the Plugin Manager

Open the Plugin Manager from the application menu, or with the keyboard shortcut ⌘P.

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Audio Unit Support

SoundDesk hosts Audio Unit (AU) plugins exclusively — the standard plugin format on macOS. Other formats (VST, AAX) are not supported. The cDSP plugins shipped with SoundDesk appear in the Plugin Manager alongside any third-party AU plugins installed on the system. Plugins are loaded into the inserts on each channel and on the Master Section.

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Where AU Plugins Live on Disk

Audio Units installed on macOS live in two standard locations:

• /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/ — plugins installed system-wide, available to all users.

• ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/ — plugins installed for the current user only.

SoundDesk scans both locations. If you add or remove a plugin from these folders while SoundDesk is running, run Reset & Rescan from the Plugin Manager (or restart SoundDesk) to update the list.

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Reset & Rescan

The Plugin Manager keeps a cached list of validated plugins so that SoundDesk doesn't need to re-validate every Audio Unit on each launch. Use the Reset & Rescan button to clear the cache and re-validate every Audio Unit from scratch — typically after installing a new plugin or updating an existing one.

Validation runs each plugin through the macOS Audio Unit validation process (auval) before it becomes available in SoundDesk. Plugins that pass validation are added to the Plugin Manager list and become selectable in the insert menu on channels and the Master Section.

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Plugin Information

For each plugin in the list, the Plugin Manager displays:

• Name — the plugin's display name.

• Manufacturer — the vendor (e.g. cDSP, Apple, or a third-party developer).

• Type — Effect, Instrument, MIDI Effect, or other Audio Unit category.

• Version — the version number reported by the plugin.

• Status — Enabled, Disabled, or Blacklisted.

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Enabling and Disabling Plugins

Each plugin in the list has an enable/disable toggle. Disabled plugins remain validated and tracked by the Plugin Manager but are disabled in the insert menu on channels and the Master Section.

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Blacklisted Plugins

A plugin that crashes SoundDesk during validation or during use is automatically excluded — added to the blacklist. Blacklisted plugins are skipped on subsequent launches and never loaded into a desk, protecting SoundDesk from repeated crashes caused by the same plugin.

If you have updated a plugin that was previously blacklisted (for example, to a version that fixes the crash), you can manually rehabilitate it from the Plugin Manager and run Reset & Rescan to verify it now passes validation.

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When a Plugin Fails Validation

A plugin can fail validation for several reasons:

• It crashes during the auval process. A common cause is incompatibility with the current macOS version.

• It depends on a missing component, framework, or licence file.

• It is not a valid Audio Unit (for example, an old 32-bit-only plugin on a modern 64-bit-only system).

• It has been blacklisted from a prior crash.

Failed plugins are excluded from the insert menu. If a plugin you need is failing validation, check that you have the latest version from the vendor, that it is compatible with your macOS version, and that any required licence or framework is installed. Then run Reset & Rescan from the Plugin Manager.

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Next Steps

Once your plugins are validated and enabled:

• Try the built-in plugins. SoundDesk ships with a collection of cDSP Inserts — EQs, dynamics, meters, and more — that always pass validation.
• Place a plugin on a channel. See Channel Overview: Inserts for insert slot mechanics, side-chain, and bypass.
• Process the whole mix. The Master Section has its own chain of up to 12 plugin inserts for mix-bus processing.

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