Installing Effect, Generator and Analyzer plugins on Windows
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Any new plugins that you add to the various plugins folders will be automatically enabled, ready for use, the next time you launch Audacity. |
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Audacity is now a 64-bit application on Windows, so 32-bit plugins will not work on Audacity 3.0.3 or later. |
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It is strongly recommended, when installing third-party plugins, that you thoroughly test the plugin on non-critical project data before using it in production use on a live project. Many such plugins are known to fail or crash Audacity, see this Wiki page. |
Contents
- Installing Nyquist plugins
- Installing VST plugins
- Installing LADSPA plugins
- Installing LV2 plugins
- Installing Vamp plugins
- How can I solve Audacity crashing after I add a plugin?
Installing Nyquist plugins
Nyquist plugins provide most of the optional effects underneath the divider in the Effect menu. They are also used to provide some of Audacity's built-in audio generators and analysis tools. A wide range of additional Nyquist effect, generation and analysis plugins can be obtained from Download Nyquist Plugins on our Wiki.
The easiest way to install a new Nyquist plugin is to use the Tool Nyquist Plug-in Installer which is itself a Nyquist plugin that simplifies the installation of other Nyquist plugins.
All Nyquist plugins are plain text files that have the filename extension '.NY'. This plugin installer provides a file browser for selecting the plugin '.NY' file, and then copies the file to the correct location.
Any new Nyquist plugins that you add will be automatically enabled, ready for use, the next time you launch Audacity.
- Accessed by:
Installing a Nyquist plugin manually
It is also possible to add a new Nyquist plugin manually by adding it to the correct location that Audacity expects.
Place it in the Audacity "Plug-Ins" folder: Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\audacity\Plug-Ins
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If you are a privileged user and you need to install a plugin for use by multiple user accounts on the same PC you may also install Nyquist plugins to the Plug-Ins folder in the directory where Audacity is installed. This is usually: C:\Program Files\Audacity. |
To enable the new Nyquist effects in Audacity so they are available in the menu, close and relaunch Audacity.
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Some Nyquist plugins could crash while processing very long audio selections (typically an hour or more). This is due to the plugin using a large amount of memory and is a known issue in Audacity's current Nyquist implementation. Try using the plugin on shorter selections instead. |
Installing VST plugins
Audacity supports almost all VST effect plugins on Windows including "shell" VST's that host multiple VST effects.
To install new VST effects, place them in the Audacity "Plug-Ins" folder: Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\audacity\Plug-Ins
To automatically enable the new VST effects, so they are available in the Audacity menu, close and relaunch Audacity.
- Windows Registry key HKCU\Software\VST\VSTPluginsPath
- Windows Registry key HKLM\Software\VST\VSTPluginsPath
- All paths specified by the "VST_PATH" environment variable
If you are installing plugins that come from Steinberg (including iZotope plugins) the installer usually automatically places these in its own plugins folder: C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VSTPlugins.
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If you are a privileged user and you need to install a plugin for use by multiple user accounts on the same PC you may also install VST plugins to the Plug-Ins folder in the directory where Audacity is installed. This is usually: C:\Program Files\Audacity. |
All the directories where you can place VST plugins are searched recursively, which means that plugins that are inside their own folder in that directory should still be found by Audacity.}}
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The list of effects in the dialog will include any detected VST instrument (VSTi) plugins (such as synths) and any real-time VST effects that are capable of changing audio data while it is being written to disk. Neither of these are yet supported and they will not load even if you enable or re-enable them in the dialog. |
Why do some VST plugins not work or display incorrectly?
Audacity will by default display VST effect plugins with a full graphical interface where the plugin supplies this.
VST instruments (VSTi) (such as synths) and real-time VST effects (that change the audio data while it is being written) are not yet supported. These will not load even if you enable or re-enable them in the Plugin Manager: Effects, Generators and Analyzers dialog.
If any plugin displays incorrectly, you can use the Manage button in the effect's dialog then choose Options... to open the
VST Effect Options for that effect. Then remove the checkmark from the "Enable graphical interface" checkbox and click . When you reopen the effect it will display a simpler tabular interface.
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Audacity is a 64-bit application so 32-bit versions of VST plugins will not work. |
If you experience a problem with a specific VST effect plugin in Audacity, please contact us.
Installing LADSPA plugins
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LADSPA has been superseded by LV2 and most if not all LADSPA plugins are ancient and are no longer maintained. |
The LADSPA plugin architecture was originally developed on Linux. Audacity supports LADSPA effects on Windows as well as GNU/Linux. You can download and install a set of over 90 LADSPA plugins for Windows. You can then choose which LADSPA plugins to enable in the Plugin Manager: Effects, Generators and Analyzers dialog.
To add a new LADSPA plugin, place it in the Audacity "Plug-Ins" folder: Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\audacity\Plug-Ins
To automatically enable the new LADSPA effects, so they are available in the Audacity menu, close and relaunch Audacity.
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If you are a privileged user and you need to install a plugin for use by multiple user accounts on the same PC you may also install LADSPA plugins to the Plug-Ins folder in the directory where Audacity is installed. This is usually: C:\Program Files\Audacity. |
Installing LV2 plugins
LV2 is a more advanced evolution of the LADSPA plugin architecture which was originally developed on Linux. Audacity supports both LV2 effects on Windows as well as GNU/Linux. There are not yet many pre-compiled LV2 plugins for Windows, though it may be possible to compile some Linux LV2 plugins for other operating systems.
To add a new LV2 effect, place its complete ".lv2" folder (not the files alone) at the top level of any of the following searched for locations:
- Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\LV2 (or Documents and Settings\<username>\Application Data\LV2)
- Program Files\Common Files\LV2
- %APPDATA%\LV2 or %COMMONPROGRAMFILES%\LV2
To automatically enable the new LV2 effects, so they are available in the Audacity menu, close and relaunch Audacity.
Installing Vamp plugins
Vamp plugins are usually for analyzing audio so will appear under Audacity's Analyze Menu. You can do interesting things like attempt to track beats, note pitches, chords or frequencies. Any Vamp plugin whose output is suitable for a label track should work in Audacity on Windows. To add a new Vamp analysis tool, add the plugin's DLL, DYLIB or SO file and any supplied category or RDF files to any of the Vamp search locations. To automatically enable the new Vamp plugins, so they are available in the Audacity menu, close and relaunch Audacity.
How can I solve Audacity crashing after I add a plugin?
Please see this FAQ
Please see this Wiki page for Plugins that crash Audacity or fail to work properly in Audacity