Fix VST cannot be opened / developer cannot be verified in MacOS Catalina, Big Sur, Monterey

[@DaMooCow5000]

I can not tell you how much of a relief it was to come across this video. I've been migrating my entire ecosystem (daw, plugins, projects, etc.) from a windows pc to my first mac. When I ran into this issue, I wasn't sure there was a solution at all, so finding this video was so helpful! Thank you for finding and sharing this solution!

[@osiris-guitar]

Great, happy to help!

[@julianchavez1796]

Must be stressful being a genius. This DEFINITELY works! Thank you.

[@po-t7299]

You are amazing! A tiny update. If you do it on the folder that contains your VSTs, you can unlock all VSTs at once. :D

[@Mojokiss]

I had to create a new VST folder in a place that allowed me access by Terminal, and add the path to FX plugins to rescan in Reaper, even after giving full disk permission. But then this was helpful and worked for me and I finally have my reverb plugin. Thanks.

[@matsthys6235]

July 2024 and still works!! Thank you so much for this tutorial and clear instructions!

[@shivercanada]

Got it to work in Sonoma! You have to DRAG in vet or component to terminal after typing the above, not just type the name of the plugin and it worked for me thank you!!!

[@osiris-guitar]

You can also type the full path, but that's difficult. I made a simplified version of the tutorial with drag'n'drop: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXuZlGljo6dpibM

[@yukeemusic]

wow thank you so much for this tutorial

[@otterpupp]

you can also drag and drop directories into the terminal and it will go there.

[@kenzorwings]

Hello sir! I m new on mac,and i don t have iterminal only terminal. U drag and drop the rar file with vst into terminal and then this commands? Because i cannot do it...Sorry! I put this in terminal and noting happen: MacBook-Pro-macOS:~ macos$ /Users/macos/Downloads/FabFilter\ Bundle/Patched/VST/FabFilter\ Pro-R.vst -bash: /Users/macos/Downloads/FabFilter Bundle/Patched/VST/FabFilter Pro-R.vst: is a directory

[@thepedalpress]

Nice! Bingo. Was tough using Terminal as a noob. Ended up dragging and dropping directory from Finder that was denied permission to access.

[@joshuaorr7492]

Thank you so much for this video, sold a PC I built because I stopped playing video games as much and I bought a Mac because it interfaces into most of my life a little better but man every time I run into an issue like this it makes me want to sell my Mac and go windows again. Much appreciated information

[@vidak.228]

Oh my god MAAAN! This worked just SUPER fine! One note - for some plug-ins you need also to clear quarantine from "Components" folder the same way

[@osiris-guitar]

So the components folder itself was marked with quarantine? 😳

[@vidak.228]

@@osiris-guitar No, for example you have “Example” vst plug-in. Data files will be in folders VST and Components. In VST will be file called “Example.vst” In Components will be file “Example.component” In my case with guitar rig 6 both of these files required cleaning from quarantine. I cleansed Components file same as in your instruction (just changed folder and file name)

[@merrimac4846]

Had to log in just to say thank you. Shout out to all the creators who post solutions to obscure problems, you the GOAT!

[@przymrozek]

Awesome tutorial! Worked for me on MacOS 14.6.1. The only difference was that Reaper could not load the VST (it was a freshly installed one), so I could not load it onto a track; I had to go to Settings-->VST-->Re-scan-->plugins that failed to scan-->select the plugin (after I removed the quarantine parameter as you described in detail in the video). Then the plugin simply showed up! Thanks a lot :D

[@osiris-guitar]

@@przymrozek Good to know and glad it worked!

[@jacobirwin2503]

You have solved something that I had nearly given up on. Legend.

[@osiris-guitar]

Awesome!

[@MorisoniProductions]

Just to say a huge thank you for a super-clear explanation and workaround for this issue. I have just upgraded to Big Sur, and so far the Terminal fix seems to be working for me, using VSTs within Cubase 12.

[@rishabhsingh3610]

Dude such a niche topic and of course there's a vid for it, props we need more people like you and its why the net exists!

[@osiris-guitar]

Glad to be of service :-)

[@beegee9426]

super helpful unlike pretty much all of these types of tutorials. thx brodie

[@christsampson]

YOU ARE MY HERO FOR THIS!!! this video should have way more views. Thank you!!

[@rhythmace1]

Thanks for this! It's not the first working solution I've come across for this issue, but although I don't remember what the first one was, I do remember it was fiddly and not very intuitive, hence me not remebering it! I'll definitely remember this one, it's clearly the most direct and logical route to a resolution. Cheers!

[@donovanrebbechi3334]

thank you ! This worked like charm, those popups had been bothering me for quite a while

[@bmxescape]

Thanks a lot for this tutorial. It works great! Perfectly explained. 🙏

[@osiris-guitar]

Awesome, happy to help!

[@mikehunt576]

what about sanoma?

[@osiris-guitar]

I haven't personally tested it past Ventura, but to my knowledge nothing has changed (about this) in Sonoma.

[@mikehunt576]

@-guitar un fortunately I cant get some iOS apps to work..or other things from the web (none able developer partners). how ever I do have a copy paste trick for terminal you can try in the future, its a bundle line , meaning a few things you probably already know of but instead of pasted common lines multiple times yu do them at once: you pause : function prep() { sudo xattr -cr "$1" sudo xattr -r -d com.apple.quarantine "$1" sudo codesign --force --deep --sign - "$1" } prep (space) drag any APPLICATION here, return and your password, I later found out that getting info to any app and adding the admin or user with read write privileges gets most of the apps running

[@WondaBeats-l9l]

@@mikehunt576 Thanks so much for this man!😊❤ I'M ON SONOMA and this was the only solution that worked. Thanks once again!

[@osiris-guitar]

@WondaBeats-l9l Awesome, happy to help!

[@alessandrog5261]

THank so much and subscribed!!! it worked exactly like you said. I'd like to add one thing tough, if you just type the name of the vst it might not work. so the solution is simply drag and drop the whole vet file inside the terminal instead write the name of the file. it gonna write down automatically the address location of the file then everything like you explained. Thanks again!

[@osiris-guitar]

Thanks for the feedback! I put it in a new video to make it even easier: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXuZlGljo6dpibM

[@MrKjellstrand]

Thank you so much! Now I can listen to old DAW tracks again :)

[@osiris-guitar]

@@MrKjellstrand I aim to please 😂

[@guitars490]

Goodness sake, this video is a spectacular problem solver. And so clearly articulated. Thanks a million!

[@guitars490]

PS: It works on Ventura with an M2. : )

[@osiris-guitar]

@@guitars490 Awesome!

[@newtoncardoso6087]

Wow! After looking extensively for a solution I've found your video. Mac Ventura sucks! You cannot give a short fart without an annoying security message. I did exactly as you instructed but with AU plugins for Logic. It works like a charm. Thanks a lot

[@osiris-guitar]

Happy to help! Also, I agree it's annoying but at the same time I'm grateful for not having to run horrible antiviruses etc. like you do in Windows. A high default level of security is a better path, even if it can interfere with your stuff sometimes.

Thank you, you’re a lifesaver! Nice drop C riffing in the background 🙌🏻🤟

[@danbilluable]

Doesn't work for me unfortunately....whatever command i write the terminal just replies: /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST: is a directory....and nothing happens. Any idea what i might do wrong? Th anks :)

[@osiris-guitar]

Check out the simplified version: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXuZlGljo6dpibM

[@mrtymusic]

You are the real life Top G! The most helpful video by far!

[@osiris-guitar]

Happy to help!

[@ezequiellarsen]

Thanks a lot for made this video! You are a genius. I was not able to find any solution in any website. Greetings from Argentina!

[@jaimyyelvingtonmusic]

Ok but how did you get inside the directory where the VST is in terminal?

[@osiris-guitar]

You use the cd command. When you open a terminal, it will default to your home directory (where VSTs usually are not). VSTs can theoretically be anywhere on your harddrive, depending on where you or an installer put them. The default path for VSTs is /Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST (or VST3 for... well, VST3s :-)) Rarely used: /Users/your username/Library/Audio/Plug-ins/VST More info: helpcenter.steinberg.de/hc/en-us/articles/115000171310-VST-plug-in-locations-on-Mac-OS-X-and-macOS

[@osiris-guitar]

I made a new video with a simpler process! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXuZlGljo6dpibM

[@maxim.b]

Best video on the entire platform

[@osiris-guitar]

😍

[@arabiedds]

I can't thank you enough for this video. I was about to lose my mind.

[@osiris-guitar]

Happy to help!

[@larkhallpaul9381]

When I drag the component or vst file, or the vst/component folder, it says 'zsh: permission denied:' ..... Any help?

[@Goldlogmusic]

Thanks helped a lot. I still needed to find how to open the Terminal from an folder but was a fast search in google

[@Oddjowe]

Im confused how you got the terminal uo with vst already coded

[@osiris-guitar]

I didn't, I used the cd (change directory) command to get there. There's more help with that in some other comments to this video.

[@johanisu]

Hallo, trying this on a mac where I'm not an admin. Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST shows nothing when I use the ls command (thus the xattr command shows: "xattr: No such file: pluginname.vst"). If I type "touch test.txt" test.txt shows up in the VST folder but nothing else. ls -a shows the hidden files (i.e. VSTs) as ". ..". I think it's to do with the permissions in the Library/.../VST. Any idea how I can show the hidden files and use xattr on them/remove quarantine? I tried removing quarantine from the vst in question in a folder on my desktop and moving back in the vst. Removing quarantine worked, but the VST is still not showing up in Ableton after moving it to the VST folder.

[@ScottAstill]

This looks great, if I knew how to use Terminal. Mine looks nothing like yours, and when I try to open the VST3 path I get an access denied message.Any hints?

[@osiris-guitar]

I'm using a different terminal (iterm), but it works the same. If you can't go to the directory where the VST is, I'd say that's your first problem. I can't really do a tutorial on access rights in a comment unfortunately, but this might help... sir-apfelot.de/en/understand-and-use-read-and-write-access-rights-under-macos-43013/

[@osiris-guitar]

I made a new video to make it easier to get the right path in the terminal: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXuZlGljo6dpibM

[@samiflix]

Finally I can use my old fav VSTs 😃

[@osiris-guitar]

Glad to hear it!

[@arielbustamante]

this also worked for Waves plugins which are more tricky to catch as individual files, nevertheless option 1 worked for me. eternal gratitude!

[@osiris-guitar]

Awesome, glad to hear it!

[@B-Pace]

Bought first mac (m1) and thought everything should be more plug and play than in my win10 system. NOT. Thanks for this video as it made possible to install couple freebies that I use all the time!

[@bradking7414]

Having the same issue with a component file. /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/ Should it work the same? It says "no such file," when I enter the file name.

[@osiris-guitar]

It should work exactly the same. A component is a "magic" folder just like a VST. What was the exact command you ran? The file names are case sensitive...

[@osiris-guitar]

I made a new video with a simpler process using drag and drop: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXuZlGljo6dpibM

[@damiancoldwell]

I did it with a component. same process just different folder and name

[@mattyoutubes]

Genius and it's ridiculous that it's this hard.

[@stcommet505]

Terminal keeps showing me "Not enough arguments for option -d. Expected at least 2 but got 1" What do I do?

[@osiris-guitar]

You're missing a space probably (after "quarantine"). Check the blog www.osirisguitar.com/how-to-make-unsigned-vsts-work-in-macos-catalina/

[@confuterable]

Wow thank you so much for this solution! I had struggles for over 1 year!! Thank you a lot dude

[@DJKeltech]

thanks so much, this problem was driving me mad for ages

[@HaruSkage]

1:46 Not related to the video, but how do you make the dock appear like that?

[@osiris-guitar]

That’s not the dock, that’s flipping through open apps with alt-tab

[@GeoffTripoli]

Thanks! This helped me get back up and running with Ohmicide on MacOs Ventura.

[@osiris-guitar]

Awesome, glad to help!

[@chrisfarrell8399]

Your video saved me a lot of frustration. Thank you thank you thank you!!

[@osiris-guitar]

Cool, glad to help!

[@marcuscak]

hi, I'm on macOS Ventura 13.6.4, I followed every step but even if I see the file inside the folder the terminal tells me that the file does not exist... I don't know what else could I try. do you have any suggestion for me?

[@osiris-guitar]

I tried making an easier version of this tutorial, maybe that will help? kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXuZlGljo6dpibM

[@Pisklenov]

MAN YOU SAVED MY LIFE, I WILL NAME MY 6th CHILD AFTER YOU!

[@jwilliams-10]

Wow. great video thanks! got my new vst working in ableton!

[@neilmickleburgh9621]

I have big sur and I can't get s(M)exoscope.vst3 to work. Does the file need to be in the VST plugin folder or can you apply it to the file, say in the downloads folder? Thanks

[@osiris-guitar]

The VST can be anywhere. Are you sure the VST is 64 bit?

[@kianhendrick3794]

Nice,Thank you ,just one question ,do you think it would be possible to run NetvstHost ? With Catalina the component file works ,i can load it in my DAW but not the app sadly ...

[@kianhendrick3794]

netvst org

[@osiris-guitar]

I don't know a lot about netvst, but I'll have a look and see if I get what it is :-)

[@kianhendrick3794]

@@osiris-guitar Thanks !!

[@nathanwasnthere]

it gives me...... 'Not enough arguments for option -d. Expected at least 2 but got 1' what can i do to fix this?

[@osiris-guitar]

It needs the name of the attribute to remove (com.apple.quarantine) and then the path to the VST. In the simplified version you get the path by just dragging and dropping it from finder.

[@HololiveFanGirl]

hey I accidentally forgot to put in the vst and turned it off completely, how can I revert this?

[@osiris-guitar]

I'm not exactly sure what you mean... You forgot to put in the VST - in the command? And it turned off what completely?

[@metal_helm]

I can't even get the vst to show itself in reaper. any work around??

[@osiris-guitar]

That's a different problem. It could be due to file access rights. Can you see it in Finder?

[@MrLongmatt]

Thanks for explaining this in a very clear way! New subscriber

[@fusionistaaaa]

Great job. Still going back to Mojave at the cost of losing Google Drive.

[@osiris-guitar]

Why are you going back?

[@fusionistaaaa]

@@osiris-guitar Because of the pain of resolving plugins and apps issues, the annoying security warnings every time you start an app, like using audio, documents, etc and lots of old projects on Ableton Live and Logic use those plugins. I always feel that battery lasted longer on Mojave.

[@tani1908]

forgive me, how do i access the terminal for my vst?? & will this work for Ventura?

[@osiris-guitar]

It will and check out this simplified version with drag and drop Fix VSTs in MacOS - Even Simpler Tutorial kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXuZlGljo6dpibM

[@JoshuaFricke]

Cat a batch file be made for this or a way to do a whole folder?

[@osiris-guitar]

You can to it from a parent folder, the -r will traverse all subfolders and files. A shell script (batch file) is also doable, but it still needs to be run as sudo.

[@YTGtr1]

Thank you!! Works on Sonoma 14.0 as well.

[@kenzorwings]

Hello sir! I m new on mac,and i don t have iterminal only terminal. U drag and drop the rar file with vst into terminal and then this commands? Because i cannot do it...Sorry! I put this in terminal and noting happen: MacBook-Pro-macOS:~ macos$ /Users/macos/Downloads/FabFilter\ Bundle/Patched/VST/FabFilter\ Pro-R.vst -bash: /Users/macos/Downloads/FabFilter Bundle/Patched/VST/FabFilter Pro-R.vst: is a directory. When i go back to reaper this show me: The application can’t be opened because apple cannot verify if this contain an malicious software. This software must be update. Contact the developer for more info. Update: i fix it,the vst it was for win maybe only with the au vst work in the end... Thanks a lot!

[@fluffyt1709]

my issue is all my plugins is only showing sliders. how do I fix that? It became like reaper native plugins while it is different from the actual one. do you have the solution to this? using mid 2012 MacBook Pro retina

[@osiris-guitar]

Just press the button named UI in the FX window imgur.com/a/6bxewvA

[@hamburgkaro]

thank you very much for this really helpful video 🙂

[@PrendaSoLit]

if the vst is not in a zip folder will it work? that's the only thing different on mine and it won't work

[@osiris-guitar]

No zip required. But is the exact same error message you're getting?

[@xaviergauthier7177]

Thanks a lot OSIRIS GUITAR ! Working fine here on catalina !

[@walkaboutboy72]

amazing that works thanks so much. it also has on another plugin - same issue but on 'component' - how would one do that ?

[@osiris-guitar]

Same method works on au / component

[@walkaboutboy72]

@@osiris-guitar amazing thanks

[@deejaychopper69]

How I access the vst directory!? Just typing ls doesn't take me to the vst directory

[@osiris-guitar]

Try the simplified version with drag'n'drop: kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXuZlGljo6dpibM

[@Madarssius]

This will change my life forever, thank you !

[@jeffreyjbyron]

If xattr doesn't show anything, can that VST still be fixed? Thanks for this video!

[@osiris-guitar]

If there's no quarantine attribute this won't help I'm affraid...

[@donpiper5041]

Im just getting 'permission denied' every time, can you help me here? Im on M1 Ventura 13.1

[@osiris-guitar]

Did you put sudo first on the command line?

[@diletti3556]

Worked like a charm. Thanks for posting this video.

[@MCSMUG0]

How would I go about doing this if I have a ventura

[@osiris-guitar]

Same

[@RobertDorschel]

I am glad you posted this video, BUT I have no idea how to point to the VST3 / AU directories in Terminal

[@osiris-guitar]

Common issue. I think I’ll make a follow-up video on that…

[@osiris-guitar]

And I did! kzbin.info/www/bejne/jXuZlGljo6dpibM

[@Harry42377]

Thank you! Great tutorial, fast and starightforward!

[@osiris-guitar]

Glad to help!

[@AdmiralQuality]

Thanks for doing this! It really helps explain the situation our very small business has found itself in to our customers and advise them on a workaround. Apple clearly want to crush us little guys and make a monopoly for the distribution of software. Cheers! - Mike/AQ

[@grdalenoort]

How expensive is it to code-sign your apple app ?

[@AdmiralQuality]

@@grdalenoort Infinity percent more than the $0 it used to be.

[@ArmEn-c4x]

Awesome man, saved from a headache!

[@osiris-guitar]

Yeah, this is one annoying quirk. So happy it's solveable.

[@berkeleybernie]

Great explanation. Thank you!

[@Neomvdic]

what if the "wrong solution" worked for me? should i still do it the other way?

[@osiris-guitar]

No, if that works it’s the right solution :-). But it's never worked for a single vst for me

[@Neomvdic]

@@osiris-guitar The “component” wasn’t allowed to load on the DAW for me, but ur video helped me fix that😄Thank you!

[@Robangledorf]

Big thanks man. This saved me a lot of headache

[@ChanceDevlin]

thanks for the vid! Tried it on an Accordion VST but it didn't work with my DAW Ableton. Akkordica.VST3. I'll reach out to the company but.. it's freeware so I doubt I'll hear back. Let me know if you have any other ideas what might be happening.

[@osiris-guitar]

Don't think I've tried it with a VST3, but I don't see a reason it shouldn't work...

[@lettherebegames8]

thanks so much this worked perfectly

[@baybisbald4004]

this video saved my life thank you sir !

[@osiris-guitar]

Glad to help!

[@mimoochodom2684]

I purchased Reaper and it's doing the same thing. I can't open Reaper and Cokos are impossible to contact.

[@osiris-guitar]

@@mimoochodom2684 It won't start the installer or it won't launch after it's installed?

[@mimoochodom2684]

@@osiris-guitar I downloaded the wrong installer. I've got silicon. All good. Thanks for reply.

[@aficionadoflamenco]

That's amazing! it works! Thank you very much!

[@osiris-guitar]

Glad to hear it!

[@raphabmroque]

So sad it didnt work for me =/ VSTs are still not working and still in the quarantine

[@michalwawryniuk]

Work's it on Ventura? in my case no :/

[@osiris-guitar]

I haven't tried on Ventura. I think it should work, but I can't say without trying myself... What happens for you? Are you sure the plugin is 64 bits and not 32? Nothing will fix a 32-bit plugin unfortunately.

[@GodIsDanny]

what do I do if I can't input my password? I followed the steps and made it to the password part, but then when I tried to input it I couldn't add any additional text

[@osiris-guitar]

Does it ask for your password?

[@GodIsDanny]

@@osiris-guitar it does but i cant input text

[@osiris-guitar]

@@GodIsDanny The input is hidden (for security reasons). Type the password at the prompt and then press entet

[@kingslyverghis8774]

it really worked. thanks man

[@youredad6340]

Would this work in Ventura ??

[@osiris-guitar]

Yes!

[@sagejr9295]

Is it possible to do this on all .vst's with one command?

[@osiris-guitar]

If they are in one folder, I think so

[@Kagira_ke]

still works in 2024 awesome!!!!

[@OniricCat]

Thanks so much for this video, seriously

[@osiris-guitar]

Happy to help!

[@lyricalstar28]

I'm stuck at the password part of it. I don't see anything being entered when I type. Plus, what password am I suppose to use at this point to get the vst3 to work?

[@osiris-guitar]

It's normal for the password not to be shown when you enter it. The password is the password for you Mac account, the one you use when you log in (or when an application needs extra access rights to allow access to photos, the camera etc.).

[@lyricalstar28]

Gotcha... that worked thank you. One more question. I downloaded a vst3 for protools but the plugin doesn't even show up at all in my DAW. It's a free plugin and it has been installed correctly. Is that something I would have to contact the company about or is there a way to get the plugin to be added in with the rest of my plugins?

[@osiris-guitar]

@@lyricalstar28 I'm not very good with Protools... In Reaper you can add folders where it will look for plugins, not sure if Protools has the same.

[@lyricalstar28]

Okay. I'll do some research. Thank you so much for your help and your speedy responses. You are awesome. Thank you 🙏🏾

[@danigiavanni]

Thank U!!

[@RussPaladino]

Does this work the same with AU?

[@osiris-guitar]

Yep!

[@mit5oner]

Amazing video and explanation, saved my life!

[@thomaspeeters2312]

Big thanks, worked like a charm!

[@alicevat62]

Did not work. this tutorial is false, it just said no such file ~rd.

[@osiris-guitar]

You not being able to follow it doesn't make it false. If you don't believe me, read some of the comments on this video. It's -rd not ~rd.

[@mikelmoral-salar5452]

Many thanks!!!!!!!!! I do really appreciate your effort and kindness sharing this!!! BR!!!!