Installation and compatibility

32-bit & 64-bit

On Windows, VST2 and VST3 plug-ins include 32-bit and 64-bit versions. CLAP and AAX are 64-bit only. Mac and Linux versions are 64-bit only (CLAP, AUv2, AAX, VST2, VST3).

macOS

Current release versions support macOS from OS X 10.10 Yosemite up to macOS 15 Sequoia. Minimum AAX (Pro Tools) requirement is OS X 10.11 El Capitan.

Current releases also include native Silicon support. There is no need for the use of Rosetta2, unless stated otherwise on the product page.Uhbik and TyrellN6 have not yet been updated for support with native Silicon and the latest macOS versions. Updates for these plugins are planned.

Windows

We support the following Windows versions:

• Windows 7
• Windows 8.1
• Windows 10
• Windows 11

Linux

Our Linux plugins are mainly built and tested for use with Ubuntu distributions. They will generally also run on other distributions, but we cannot guarantee they will run on every possible Linux variant. If you encounter any issues, you can contact our support or look for solutions in the Linux subsection of our community forum on KVR.

iOs and Android

There are currently no plans to support iOs and Android operating systems. There are no AUv3 versions available.

Please refer to the system requirements section at the bottom of each product page to see which formats each plugin supports. Not all plugins include CLAP and AAX support at the moment.

Generally, current versions will support the following:

• CLAP: macOS, Windows and Linux
• Audio Units (AUv2): macOS only
• VST2: macOS, Windows and Linux
• VST3: macOS, Windows and Linux
• AAX: macOS and Windows

CLAP, AAX and AUv2 are 64-bit only. VST2 and VST3 are 64-bit only on Mac and Linux. Windows additionally offers 32-bit versions. There are currently no plans to support AUv3.

The installation paths for the VST3 and AAX formats are fixed, so those plug-ins will be installed to their default locations:

• C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\VST3\
• C:\Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins\
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins\

The installation paths for VST2 plug-ins can be customized. If you installed other VST2 plug-ins before, you should already have a designated plug-in directory, so you will likely know where you want your new VST2 plug-ins to go.

If you have never installed a VST2 plug-in before, then check the default path your DAW software uses to look for plug-ins. Your DAW should have a preferences dialog that lets you set the folder in which it will search for VST2 plug-ins. Find it, remember it, and make sure the u-he installer installs your new VST2 plug-ins there, otherwise your DAW will not find them.

The installer will also ask for an install path for the .data directory, and this is the important part. The .data directory contains plug-in resources like GUI graphics, presets, user settings, etc. If the resources in this folder are not readable/writable because of access permissions, then the plugin will run into problems like forgotten licenses or blank GUIs. So choose a location that is not inside a protected system folder, like e.g. C:\Program Files\* or C:\ProgramData\*.

Any custom location outside of C:\Program Files\* or C:\ProgramData\* should work, but our recommendation is to place the .data folder somewhere inside your user documents path, e.g. like this:
C:\Users\*YOUR USERNAME*\Documents\u-he\*.data

Should you run into any issues, please do not hesitate to contact us.

On macOS, the target folders for most components of our plug-ins are pre-defined either by the operating system or by the plugin format. After the installer has successfully completed, all required files should have automatically been copied to their expected locations.

This is where the main plug-in files are installed to:

AU

Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/

VST2

Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/u-he/

VST3

Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/

AAX

Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins/

Globally shared files (for all users) are copied to these locations:

Factory patches

Macintosh HD/Library/Audio/Presets/u-he/*PRODUCT*/

Microtuning scales

Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/u-he/Tunefiles/

Alternative skins

Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/u-he/Themes/

Other resources

Macintosh HD/Library/Application Support/u-he/*PRODUCT*/

User-specific files are copied to these user-specific locations:

User patches

Macintosh HD/Users/*USERNAME*/Library/Audio/Presets/u-he/*PRODUCT*/

Preferences

Macintosh HD/Users/*USERNAME*/Library/Application Support/u-he/

Note: User-specific files are stored inside the user path of the account currently logged in on your Mac. Newer versions of macOS hide the user path folder by default. Should you not be able to locate it in Finder, then please follow these steps.

Our Linux plug-ins come in a .tar.xz archive that contains an installer script, which when run will automatically copy all required files to their expected locations on your system:

VST2 plug-in

/home/*USERNAME*/.vst/u-he/

VST3 plug-in

/home/*USERNAME*/.vst3/u-he/

Plug-in data

/home/*USERNAME*/.u-he/

Note: All these folders are inside your user account’s home path, and they are hidden by default. If you can not find these folders in your file manager, please check its preferences for a “show hidden files” setting.

If a u-he plug-in starts acting strangely, e.g. forgets its registration, loads with a blank UI or gives you “could not write to file” error messages, then its resources were probably installed to a location that Windows is protecting too fiercely. In such cases, please follow the instructions below.

Note: This example uses Diva, but the process will work for any u-he plug-in if you substitute “Diva” with the appropriate plug-in name.

1. Uninstall the plug-in according to the instructions in this FAQ article.
2. Create a folder somewhere within your Windows user path, like this:
   C:\Users\*YOUR USERNAME*\Documents\u-he\
3. Run the plug-in installer and follow instructions until you are asked where to put the .data folder.
4. At the top of the dialog, click the Browse… button and locate the folder you created in step 2.
   The .data folder needs to be placed inside that folder, so the text box should read something like this:
   C:\Users\*YOUR USERNAME*\Documents\u-he\Diva.data\
5. Make sure you check the option manual folder selection in the lower half of the dialog, then continue with the installation.

If these instructions don’t solve the problem, please do not hesitate to contact us.

GarageBand X (v10+) introduces sandboxing, a security feature to prevent malicious code from harming your computer and files. Unfortunately, this extra security means plug-ins inside GarageBand no longer have access to your hard drive and cannot load the registration file. Since the plug-ins can no longer access the registration file, they think they are in demo mode.

The solution is simple:

Just enter your registration details in the plugin while using GarageBand.
The registration .plist file will be saved to the following location:
Macintosh HD/Users/*YOUR USERNAME*/Library/Containers/ com.apple.garageband10/Data/Library/Application Support/u-he/

If you are using multiple hosts, please keep in mind that due to the sandboxing, GarageBand will also use separate files for:

• Your plugin preferences
• The MIDI learned parameters
• The preset database (this includes your preset’s favourite status)

The sandboxed versions of these files are also stored in the above mentioned location.

If you cannot find the Library folder located Mac HD/Users/YOUR_USERNAME/ please see: Q: Where do I find the user Library folder.

There are currently no uninstallers for our plug-ins, but it is on our project list.

For now, you will have to remove our plug-ins manually by deleting a number of files and folders in several locations. The following example uses Diva, but it will work for any other u-he plug-in if you substitute “Diva” with the corresponding plug-in name.

Windows

• C:\Program Files\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins\Diva.aaxplugin
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\Avid\Audio\Plug-Ins\Diva.aaxplugin
• C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3\Diva(x64).vst3
• C:\Program Files (x86)\Common Files\VST3\Diva.vst3
• C:\*YOUR 64-BIT PLUGIN FOLDER*\Diva(x64).dll
• C:\*YOUR 32-BIT PLUGIN FOLDER*\Diva.dll

Note: The location of your VST2 plug-in folders depends on where you installed the DLL files. It will usually be in the same folder as all your other VST2 effects and instruments.

If you have never specified a custom path for plug-ins, the default location for 64-bit plug-ins should be:
C:\Program Files\Steinberg\VstPlugins\
The default location for 32-bit plug-ins should be:
C:\Program Files (x86)\Steinberg\VstPlugins\
Along with the files mentioned above, each location should also contain a folder or shortcut called Diva.data.

To completely uninstall Diva, please also delete any occurence of Diva.data folders and/or shortcuts you come across.
By default, it should be located at C:\Users\*YOUR USERNAME*\Documents\u-he\Diva.data.
If the actual Diva.data folder is in a custom location (that you specified during installation of the plug-in), then please locate it and delete it as well.

macOS

• Mac HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/Diva.component
• Mac HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST/u-he/Diva.vst
• Mac HD/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/Diva.vst3
• Mac HD/Library/Application Support/Avid/Audio/Plug-Ins/Diva.aaxplugin
• Mac HD/Library/Application Support/u-he/Diva/
• Mac HD/Library/Documentation/u-he/Diva/
• Mac HD/Library/Audio/Presets/u-he/Diva/
• Mac HD/Users/*YOUR USERNAME*/Library/Application Support/u-he/Diva/
• Mac HD/Users/*YOUR USERNAME*/Library/Application Support/u-he/com.u-he.Diva.midiassign.txt
• Mac HD/Users/*YOUR USERNAME*/Library/Application Support/u-he/com.u-he.Diva.plist
• Mac HD/Users/*YOUR USERNAME*/Library/Application Support/u-he/com.u-he.Diva.preferences.txt
• Mac HD/Users/*YOUR USERNAME*/Library/Audio/Presets/u-he/Diva/

Note: Some newer versions of macOS hide the User Library folder Mac HD/Users/*YOUR USERNAME*/Library/ by default. Should you not be able to locate it in Finder, please follow these steps.