Where apps hide your files

Pro Tools plug-in, preference and session folders

Updated 2026-10-28 · 6 min read

Pro Tools spreads its files across several places: plug-ins in the system Library, preferences in your user Library, a shared database folder with the plug-in cache, and backups inside each session. Here is each path and what is safe to reset.

The locations

/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins
~/Library/Preferences/Avid/Pro Tools
/Users/Shared/Pro Tools
<your session folder>/Session File Backups
~/Documents/Pro Tools

• Plug-ins: AAX plug-ins live in the first folder, the system Library at the top of the disk. Plug-in makers including Spitfire Audio, AIR and Toontrack give this path, and their installers put .aaxplugin files there for you.
• Preferences: Avid's knowledge base gives the second path; its Pro Tools Prefs file holds your latest preference settings.
• Database and plug-in cache: Avid names /Users/Shared/Pro Tools as the database folder.
• Session backups: Avid's Reference Guide says auto backups go into a Session File Backups folder inside each session's folder.
• Presets and loops: the Reference Guide gives Documents/Pro Tools/Track Presets and Documents/Pro Tools/Sound Libraries in your home folder as defaults.

Open any of them with Go > Go to Folder (⇧⌘G) in Finder. This lists names only:

ls "/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio"

Plug-ins: what goes where

A sibling folder, Plug-Ins (Unused), holds plug-ins Pro Tools should ignore. Universal Audio's guide says plug-ins moved there are not shown the next time Pro Tools opens, and Avid's guide mentions moving one back into Plug-Ins to use it. Moving a plug-in between the two is a reversible way to hide it; quit Pro Tools first.

Install plug-ins with their own installers rather than dragging them in, since installers often add licence files and support folders elsewhere.

What is in the preferences folder

Avid's article lists the files in ~/Library/Preferences/Avid/Pro Tools:

File	What it stores
Pro Tools Prefs	Your most recent preference settings
DSIPrefs	Last hardware state, sample rate and sync settings
Last Used.pio	The last used I/O setup
InstalledAAXPlugins	The plug-in cache, before Pro Tools 2023.12
UsageAnalytics.pref	Your choice about sending usage data

A plug-in is missing

Avid's knowledge base says to delete the AAX plug-in cache when plug-ins are missing, crash or misbehave; Pro Tools rescans every AAX plug-in on the next launch, which can take several minutes. Where that cache lives depends on the version:

• Pro Tools 2023.12 and later: an AAXPlugInCache folder inside /Users/Shared/Pro Tools, with one cache file per plug-in.
• Earlier versions: the single InstalledAAXPlugins file in ~/Library/Preferences/Avid/Pro Tools.

Check first that the plug-in is in Plug-Ins, not Plug-Ins (Unused). Then, in this order:

1. Quit Pro Tools.
2. Back up: copy the cache folder or file to your Desktop.
3. Move the original to the Trash (for 2023.12 and later, the AAXPlugInCache folder only, not the whole database folder).
4. Restart the Mac, as Avid's steps say, then open Pro Tools and let it rescan.
5. If the plug-in now appears, empty the Trash. To undo, quit Pro Tools and put your copy back.

Resetting preferences

For odd behaviour, Avid's procedure resets all preferences: quit Pro Tools, go to ~/Library/Preferences/Avid, remove the Pro Tools folder and restart the computer. Pro Tools recreates default files on the next launch. Avid recommends a backup first, by renaming the folder (for example Pro Tools.old) or copying it elsewhere. Renaming does both jobs at once. To undo, quit Pro Tools, move the new Pro Tools folder to the Trash and rename Pro Tools.old back. You lose custom settings in the meantime.

The database folder

/Users/Shared/Pro Tools holds more than the plug-in cache. Avid lists Workspace.wksp (the index of volumes and catalogues), WaveCache.wfm (waveform display data), AnalysisData.ptadb (transcription data for files Pro Tools cannot write to) and MiscSettings (including the Sound Libraries path). Avid warns that deleting Workspace.wksp deletes all your catalogues, and deleting AnalysisData.ptadb can lose transcription data. Avid's full database reset deletes this whole folder, so copy it somewhere first, and do not use that for a plug-in problem when removing AAXPlugInCache will do.

Inside a session folder

A session is a folder with the session file, an Audio Files folder holding your recorded audio, a WaveCache.wfm for that session and the Session File Backups folder. The Reference Guide puts the backup settings under Setup > Preferences, Operation tab, Auto Backup: Enable Session File Auto Backup, Keep n Most Recent Session Backups and Backup Every. It gives no option to send backups elsewhere.

Plug-in presets (.tfx files) save either to a plug-in settings folder inside the session folder or to the root settings folder, depending on the plug-in window's Settings Preferences > Save Plug-In Settings To choice. The root folder for presets, templates and I/O settings is set under Documentation and Settings on the same Operation tab.

Copying sessions and moving to a new Mac

Back up the whole session folder, not just the session file, because the audio is separate. The supported way to make a complete copy is File > Save Copy In, whose Items to Copy options include the audio files, the session's plug-in settings folder and the root plug-in settings. Do not tidy inside Audio Files by hand, because the session points at those files by name.

On a new Mac, install Pro Tools, then your plug-ins with their own installers (licences are separate), copy sessions across, and copy ~/Documents/Pro Tools for presets and templates. Avid's articles do not describe moving the preference files between Macs, so set preferences again.

Why search misses these

/Library/Application Support and ~/Library/Preferences are left out of Spotlight and Finder searches. /Users/Shared is searchable, but its database files have generic names, and a session's audio often sits on an external drive that is not always connected.

Finding them again

To locate every .aaxplugin, type that extension into Everywhere, or type Session File Backups to list the backup folder of every session at once, including sessions on an external drive you have since unplugged. System folders and the unprotected parts of ~/Library are scanned by default, while Documents and external drives need Full Disk Access. It matches names only, not what is inside a session.

Common questions

Where is the Pro Tools plug-ins folder on a Mac?

/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins in the system Library, as plug-in makers' install guides give it. A Plug-Ins (Unused) folder beside it holds plug-ins Pro Tools should ignore.

Where are Pro Tools preferences on a Mac?

In ~/Library/Preferences/Avid/Pro Tools, per Avid's knowledge base. To reset them, quit Pro Tools, rename that folder as a backup and restart the Mac; Pro Tools recreates defaults.

Where do Pro Tools session backups go?

Into a Session File Backups folder inside each session's folder. Avid's Reference Guide puts the settings under Setup > Preferences, Operation tab, Auto Backup.

How do I make Pro Tools rescan plug-ins?

Quit Pro Tools and move the AAX plug-in cache aside: the AAXPlugInCache folder in /Users/Shared/Pro Tools for 2023.12 and later, or the InstalledAAXPlugins file in the preferences folder before that. Avid says Pro Tools rescans on the next launch.