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Audio plug-in folders: AU, VST and AAX

Updated 2026-10-28 · 6 min read

Each plug-in format has its own folder under Audio/Plug-Ins, in the system Library or your own. This gives the path for AU, VST3, VST2, CLAP and AAX, and what to do when a host does not show a plug-in.

The folders

Each plug-in format has its own folder under Audio/Plug-Ins, in the system Library for all users and in your own Library for just you:

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/       Audio Units (.component), all users
~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/      Audio Units, just you
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/             VST3 (.vst3)
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/              VST2 (.vst)
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/CLAP/             CLAP (.clap)
/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins/    AAX for Pro Tools (.aaxplugin)

VST3, VST2 and CLAP have per-user twins in ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/ as well. AAX has no per-user folder.

The sources for each:

• VST3: Steinberg's developer portal lists, in priority order, ~/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST3/, /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST3/, /Network/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST3/ and a Contents/VST3/ folder inside the host application. macOS folder names ignore case, so Plug-ins and Plug-Ins are the same folder.
• CLAP: the CLAP specification lists /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/CLAP and ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/CLAP.
• AAX: Avid's support article gives /Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/ with two folders inside, Plug-Ins and Plug-Ins (Unused). A plug-in in the Unused folder does not load; Avid's advice is to move it back into Plug-Ins and relaunch Pro Tools.
• Audio Units and VST2: the Components and VST folders exist in both Libraries on the Mac used for this guide (Apple silicon, macOS Sequoia 15.6), empty because no plug-ins are installed there.

Open any of them with Go > Go to Folder (⇧⌘G), or from Terminal:

open /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components

~/Library is hidden by default. A missing folder simply means no installer has needed it yet; installers create the folders they use, usually the system-wide ones.

Plug-ins that are not in these folders

Three exceptions explain most "I cannot find it" cases:

• Audio Unit v3 (AUv3) plug-ins are app extensions. They live inside an app, in Contents/PlugIns, as .appex bundles, and macOS registers them when you open the app once. pluginkit -mA -p com.apple.AudioUnit lists the ones the system knows about; on the Mac used for this guide that is only two of Apple's speech synthesizer components.
• Apple's built-in effects such as AUBandpass and AUDelay are part of macOS. You will not find them in /Library, but they appear in the list below.
• Plug-ins bundled with a host. Pro Tools uses Avid's own folder, and a VST3 host may carry plug-ins inside its own application bundle.

To see every Audio Unit macOS has registered, run:

auval -a

It prints each plug-in's type, subtype and manufacturer codes and its name, for example aufx bpas appl - Apple: AUBandpass. Listing does not open them. auval -v validates a plug-in by loading it, so only run that on plug-ins you trust.

What you will see in the folders

Plug-ins are bundles, so Finder shows each as a single item:

• Something.component, Something.vst3 and Something.clap are packages. Show Package Contents reveals a Contents folder; do not edit anything inside.
• Something.vst is the older VST2 format. Many developers have dropped it, but hosts that support it still scan the folder.
• A .pkg, .dmg or .zip is an installer or a download, not an installed plug-in.

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/HAL is different again: it holds audio drivers such as virtual audio devices, not effects or instruments.

Presets, samples and licences are not in these folders. They usually sit in a folder named after the developer in ~/Library/Application Support/ or /Library/Application Support/, or in the Music folder; the developer's manual names it.

Removing a plug-in

Quit every audio app first. If the plug-in came with an uninstaller, use it, because developers also install licence files and preset folders elsewhere. Otherwise move the .component, .vst3, .vst, .clap or .aaxplugin bundle to the Trash in Finder (authenticating for the system folders), delete the matching AUv3 app if there is one, and restart the host.

When a host does not see a plug-in

Hosts cache their scan results, so a new or removed plug-in can go unnoticed. For Logic Pro, Apple's support article says to choose Logic Pro > Settings > Plug-in Manager (Preferences on older versions). If a plug-in shows "failed validation" in the Compatibility column, select it and click Reset & Rescan Selection; to rescan everything, click Full Audio Unit Reset, then quit and reopen Logic Pro. Apple also suggests moving the files out of ~/Library/Caches/AudioUnitCache before restarting if that does not help. Other hosts have a rescan option in their plug-in settings.

Format and chip differences

• Apple silicon and Intel. A universal or Apple silicon plug-in works in any current host. An Intel-only plug-in cannot load into a host running natively on Apple silicon. macOS includes an Intel helper that some hosts use to run Intel Audio Units in a separate process; otherwise the usual answer is to open the host using Rosetta, if its developer supports that.
• 32-bit plug-ins do not load in current hosts at all. Apple's Logic article says 32-bit plug-ins are not compatible with Logic Pro.
• Blocked downloads. If macOS refuses to load a newly downloaded plug-in, get the developer's signed installer rather than working around Gatekeeper.

Moving to a new Mac

Install the plug-ins afresh from the developers so their licence and authorisation steps run, rather than copying bundles across. Then let each host rescan.

Why Finder cannot find a plug-in

Spotlight and Finder searches leave out /Library and the insides of packages. A search for a plug-in's name tends to turn up the installer in Downloads but not the installed copy, and a Finder search for .vst3 shows nothing even when you have dozens.

Finding them next time

Everywhere matches file names in /Library and ~/Library as well as inside packages. Typing .vst3 or .component lists every plug-in of that format on the Mac, which also exposes duplicates of one plug-in sitting in both the system and user folders. Typing the developer's name finds their preset and licence folders. It cannot tell you which plug-ins a host actually loads; the host's plug-in manager does that.

Common questions

Where do AU plugins go on a Mac?

In /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components for all users, or ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components for just you. Audio Unit v3 plug-ins are app extensions inside their app instead.

Where is the VST3 folder on a Mac?

/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 for everyone, or ~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 for your account. Steinberg's documentation also lists a network folder and a VST3 folder inside the host app.

Where are AAX plugins for Pro Tools stored on a Mac?

In /Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins. Plug-ins in the neighbouring Plug-Ins (Unused) folder do not load; move them back into Plug-Ins and relaunch Pro Tools.

Why is my plug-in not showing up in Logic Pro?

Open Logic Pro > Settings > Plug-in Manager. Use Reset & Rescan Selection on a plug-in that failed validation, or Full Audio Unit Reset to rescan all, then reopen Logic Pro.