How To Install Plugins In Garageband (2 Minute Guide)

Garageband is a fantastic, free, digital audio workstation to start producing music with. However, there aren’t many Garageband plugins available in the stock library. Luckily for you, Garageband allows for the download and use of 3rd party plugins as long as they are AU components (audio units).

In this article, we’re going to show you how to install plugins in Garageband, where you can download more plugins and more!

How To Install Plugins in Garageband (TL;DR)

Here’s how you can install plugins in Garageband:

1. Download an AU plugin of your choice
2. Go to Finder\Macintosh HD\Library\Audio\Plugins\Components
3. Drag your downloaded AU unit to the Components folder
4. Enable audio units checkbox in GarageBand > Preferences > Audio/MIDI.
5. Close & Reopen Garageband. You’re done.

1. Download a plugin of your choice

To use a 3rd party plugin in Garageband, first, you must download a plugin. You can either purchase VST plugins, or you can download some great free plugins. For this to work, you must ensure that the plugin you download is an AU component.

Only AU plugins are compatible with Garageband. Unfortunately, you cannot use VST. Also, if you are on Garageband 10 and above, you can’t use 32-bit plugins. This may limit the number of free plugins you can use in Garageband.

2. Open Your Components Folder Using Finder

To install your plugins in Garageband, you must find the Components folder on your computer. This is where your Mac will store all of the AU plugins. This makes sense as AU plugins are formally named – AU Components.

There are 2 ways to find your components folder on Mac:

1. Go to: Finder\Macintosh HD\Library\Audio\Plugins\Components
2. Go to: Finder > Go Menu > Hold “⌥” > Library > Audio > Plugins > Components

Help! I Can’t Find My Library Folder!

In some instances, you won’t be able to find your library folder on your Mac. This is because it is hidden by default for security reasons. To show your Library folder, it’s much easier than in previous versions of macOS.

There are 3 ways you can show your library folder. Some options are much easier than others.

1. Easy Option for Mavericks and Above

To show the Library folder in Mavericks and above do this:

1. Open Finder
2. Go to your Home folder (usually named after you)
3. From the top toolbar select View -> Show View Options
4. This will open a new menu. On this menu select -> Show Library Folder

Your library folder will now appear whenever you go to your home menu. You can also drag your library folder to the left hand side to create a shortcut for future ease of access.

2. Harder Option Below macOS Mavericks

To show your library folder in macOS versions below Mavericks do this:

1. Click the search icon in the top right corner of your Mac
2. Search for: “Terminal” and open it
3. Copy & paste this into Terminal: chflags nohidden ~/Library/

This will permanently show your library folder on macOS. This works on all versions, but if you have a version below Mavericks the first option will not work and you will have to use this method, or the 3rd method.

3. Hold “option” or “alt” in the “Go” menu

This is the easiest option for all operating systems. If the “alt” key doesn’t work, press the “shift” key to show the library on your system.

Here’s how to do it:

1. Open Finder
2. From the top toolbar, select -> Go
3. Hold “alt”, “option” or “shift”.
4. Select “Library”
5. Drag this folder to the left hand side to create a shortcut

3. Drag your AU plugin to the “Components” folder

Next, find your downloaded AU plugin and drag it to the “Components” folder. This will move it to the correct folder for Garageband to find your plugin upon next start up.

4. Enable audio units checkbox in Garageband

To use audio units in Garageband, you need to first make sure that you’ve enabled to use them in your digital audio workstation otherwise, they won’t show up and Garageband will not scan the database for new plugins upon opening.

To enable audio units:

Click “GarageBand > Preferences > Audio/MIDI” and check “Enable audio units

5. Close & Reopen Garageband

Close Garageband (if you have it open), and open a new instance. This will prompt Garageband to run an AU scan for plugins. Once this is complete, you can use your new plugins in Garageband.

How Do I Open Plugins in Garageband?

So you have your audio units installed, but you can’t find out where they’re located in Garageband. No worries! We’ll show you how you can use instrument plug ins and effect plug ins.

How To Open Audio Unit Instrument Plugins

Here’s how to open instrument plugins:

1. Create a new software instrument track
2. Head to the bottom-middle section and select “Track”
3. Scroll down and find “Plugins”. Then, hit the “>”.
4. Select a virtual instrument you would like to use

How To Open Audio Unit Effects Plugins

Here’s how to open audio unit effects:

1. Create a new track in Garageband
2. Head to the bottom-middle section and select “Master”
3. You should see “Plugins”. From this menu, select the right up/down arrows
4. This opens the plugin directory. Choose a plugin from here to load.

Fix “Cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified” – Garageband

If you’re downloading 3rd party free plugins, when you open them on your Mac you might get a security warning “Cannot be opened because the developer cannot be verified”. This is due to security and privacy settings that can be changed to allow other developers’ plugins to run on your system.

To fix this error message, do this:

1. Open “System Preferences”
2. Go to “Privacy & Security”
3. Click “Allow anyway”
4. Open Garageband, open the plugin & click “Allow”

Permanently Fix “Cannot be open because developer cannot be verified” – Garageband

It can get pretty annoying having to click “allow anyway” especially when there are a lot of unidentified developers for Mac that produce free plugins.

To get this message to go away for good you can:

1. Search for and open Terminal
2. Type: sudo spctl –master-disable
3. Hit enter & enter your password
4. Done!

Why Aren’t My Plugins Showing in Garageband?

Audio Units Aren’t Enabled – Enable Them

Your plugins might also not be showing due to caching problems in your audio units folder. To fix this issue on Garageband – unfortunately, you can’t just rescan for plugins like you can in Logic – you will have to reset the cache manually.

To reset the cache manually:

Reset & Rescan The AU Cache Manually

1. In the Finder, navigate to Macintosh HD/Users/<your username>/Library/Caches/
2. Delete the files
   • com.apple.audiounits.cache
   • AudioUnitCache/com.apple.audiounits.cache
   • AudioUnitCache/com.apple.audiounits.sandboxed.cache
3. If you’re using macOS 10.9 or above you must now log out, then log in again
4. Re-open Logic

Can You Install Plugins on Garageband iOS?

For instance, you can download Voloco (a free autotune plugin) on iOS and use it as a plugin inside your Garageband digital audio workstation.

Can I Use 32-bit Plugins in Garageband?

Bridging plugins are fairly common but come at a cost. If you use a lot of 32-bit free plugins, then investing in some bridging software may be useful.

You can even run VST plugins using NetVST and streaming locally from your windows machine. This is too complex to cover in the length of this article.

Where is The Best Place To Look For Garageband Plugins?

There are a load of great websites online for free plugins and paid plugins. Although it’s great to have so many resources, to save time, you’ll really want to know the best places you can look to find plugins.

So let’s start with the free plugin sites.

Best Free Plugin Sites Garageband

Here’s the complete list of the best places to look for free Garageband plugins:

Website	Features
WCS 250 Free VST Plugins	Extensive list, OS compatibility, Search & Tags available
Plugin Boutique’s Free Section	Wide range of free music software, including synths and FX
Plugins4Free	User reviews, compatibility details, wide plugin range
KVR Audio	Forum, marketplace, user reviews, compatibility information

1. WhippedCreamSounds Free VST Section

We’ve created a huge list where you’ll find all the best free VST plugins online. Meticulously sifting through each free plugin to recommend only the best of the best, you’ll find the plugins actually worth downloading on this list.

There are categories for you to search like “synths”, “compressors”, “virtual analogue” and you can even search by brand! You’ll also know which plugins are compatible with your system, because of the handy tags included! As a major plus, it’s all on one page, with a search function (so no having to sift through multiple tabs), making it the easiest list to navigate.

2. Plugin Boutique

Alongside being one of the best plugin distributors around and a great place to find plugin savings, Plugin Boutique also offers a wide range of free music software to download over on the free plug ins area of their site.

You can get synths, mixing utilities, samplers, creative FX and more! They also offer a wide range of trials on many popular music plugins, on the paid section of the site.

3. Plugins4Free

Plugins4Free does exactly what it says on the tin; offers a place to search for and find an array of free plugins for download. You can search by category, check user reviews and see the compatibility options before downloading them.

They have pages for 99% of the free plugins on the internet, so you’ll even find brand-specific ones. Use Plugins4Free as a hub to find more plugins when you want to expand your collection.

4. KVR Audio

KVR wears many hats. It acts as a forum for producers and developers to discuss ideas, a marketplace for developers to share products for a price (and for free), and as a place to find the best plugin deals around right now.

As we mentioned, they also have a free section where you can search for and download new plugins. There are user reviews, compatibility tags and more.

Best Paid Plugin Sites for Garageband

Here is the complete list of the best places to find paid plugins for Garageband:

Site Name
WhippedCreamSounds Best VST Plugin List
Plugin Boutique
Audio Plugin Deals
VSTBuzz

1. WhippedCreamSounds Best VST Plugin List

We spent hours trying, testing and curating the best VST plugin list on the internet. It’s a huge list of the most useful plugins, including a range of picks from beginner to advanced, and in an array of affordable price ranges.

You’ll know the price directly on the page, the pros, cons and how useful the plugin is before deciding whether to look any further. There are also a number of FAQ-style questions to help answer your queries about VST plugins and whether they’re worth getting at your stage in music production.

2. Plugin Boutique

Hands down the best plugin distributor to purchase from, you’ll find all the best savings and deals over on Plugin Boutique. They routinely run promotions, have a stellar customer service team and house a huge assortment of different plugins, music software and more.

They’re best to use for Black Friday plugin deals and to rack up customer points, so you can get money off in the future. They also routinely give a free plugin away with every purchase – rotating the plugin of choice each month.

3. Audio Plugin Deals

When you’re looking for a huge saving, you want to head to Audio Plugin Deals. They provide new deals every 14 days that are exclusive to them. And, you can pick up some incredible plugins for next to nothing if you stay up-to-date with them

Not every deal is something you’ll want, but keep an eye out and occasionally you’ll be able to pick up huge brand names for nothing.

4. VSTBuzz

Audio Plugin Deals also run a company called VSTBuzz. This is their business dedicated to virtual instrument deals. You can pick up anything from Kontakt instruments, to synths, to VST plugins here.

Not every deal is something you’ll want, but keep an eye out and occasionally you’ll be able to pick up huge brand names for nothing.

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