Plug-ins (VST3 & AU)

Vibrai’s browser snapshot includes your installed third-party plug-ins — VST3 and Audio Units — as the Plugin kind. They flow through the same list → tag → find → load workflow as stock devices and presets, and every step works on both surfaces.

How plug-ins appear in the browser

Plug-ins live under the Plug-Ins browser root, organized by format folder, then vendor, then plug-in name:

Plug-Ins/AUv2/Apple/DLSMusicDevice
Plug-Ins/VST3/Arturia/Acid V

The Audio Unit format folder is AUv2 — not “Audio Units”. The path root is Plug-Ins (with the hyphen), but the URI token is Plugins.

Each item carries a query: URI you pass to load_device / vibrai device load:

query:Plugins#AUv2:Apple:DLSMusicDevice

AU factory presets (.aupreset) appear as individually loadable children under their plug-in’s entry, each with its own URI.

Workflow

The examples below use Apple’s DLSMusicDevice (an AU instrument that ships with macOS), so you can run them verbatim.

Refresh the browser snapshot

Make sure the snapshot reflects your currently installed plug-ins. This asks the Vibrai Live remote script to rescan the browser.

vibrai instrument refresh

{
  "tool": "refresh_instrument_tags",
  "arguments": {}
}

List your plug-ins

Filter the snapshot to the Plugin kind. The output includes each item’s browser path and its query: URI.

vibrai instrument list --kind Plugin

{
  "tool": "list_browser_items",
  "arguments": {
    "kinds": ["Plugin"]
  }
}

Tag a plug-in with a part type

Tag the plug-in so generation and search can find it by role. Pass the exact URI (or a name substring that matches a single item).

vibrai instrument tag "query:Plugins#AUv2:Apple:DLSMusicDevice" pad

{
  "tool": "tag_instrument",
  "arguments": {
    "uri_or_search": "query:Plugins#AUv2:Apple:DLSMusicDevice",
    "part_type": "pad"
  }
}

Find it by tag

Look the plug-in up by its tag. The match includes the URI to load.

vibrai instrument list --tag pad

{
  "tool": "find_instruments_by_tag",
  "arguments": {
    "suffix": "pad"
  }
}

Load it onto a track

Pass the URI as the device path. Plug-in instantiation is slower than stock devices — a few seconds is normal — but the device is queryable as soon as the call returns.

vibrai device load 2 --path "query:Plugins#AUv2:Apple:DLSMusicDevice"

{
  "tool": "load_device",
  "arguments": {
    "track_id": "2",
    "path": "query:Plugins#AUv2:Apple:DLSMusicDevice"
  }
}

Loading an instrument onto a track that already has one replaces it in place — the device chain doesn’t grow.

Limits

One kind, no instrument/effect split. Plugin covers both instrument and effect plug-ins; Vibrai can’t tell them apart without loading them. Tag them with the roles you use.
Excluded from tag suggestions by default. vibrai instrument suggest / suggest_tags_from_folders skip plug-ins unless you pass --kind Plugin / kinds: ["Plugin"] — plug-in paths are vendor folders, so folder-name inference rarely helps. Tag plug-ins directly instead.
Never auto-picked. Default-instrument resolution (vibrai device load-defaults, generate --with-instruments, load_default_instruments) sticks to stock devices and presets. Load plug-ins explicitly by URI, or tag them and reference them from your project’s defaults.instruments.
Parameter automation works after load. Once loaded, a plug-in’s parameters are addressable by the same automation tools as any other device.

See the Device and Instrument reference pages for every flag and parameter.

​How plug-ins appear in the browser

​Workflow

​Limits

How plug-ins appear in the browser

Workflow

Limits