Install guide

Every FRED plugin ships as a macOS installer with VST3, AU and a standalone app. Apple Silicon (M1 or newer), macOS 12 or later.

1. Download and run the installer

Open the download link from your order e-mail. You get a ZIP with FRED <name> Installer.pkg, the standalone app and a folder with the raw VST3 and AU files.
Double-click the .pkg. It installs to /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3 and /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components. Your Mac asks for your password; that is normal for every plugin installer.
Restart your DAW, then rescan plugins if it does not pick up new ones automatically. In Cubase: Studio → VST Plug-in Manager → Rescan. In Logic: the AU appears after a restart; if not, Preferences → Plug-in Manager → Reset & Rescan.

2. Security warnings

Our installers, plugins and standalone apps are signed with an Apple Developer ID and notarised by Apple, so macOS opens them without warnings. If you still see "cannot be opened", the download is probably from before November 2026: fetch the current installer from your download link and run it over the old one.

If a DAW blocks a plugin after installation (Cubase keeps a blocklist), re-enable it in the plug-in manager and rescan. Only if that fails, clear the quarantine flag once in Terminal:

sudo xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/FRED LEGEND 79.vst3"
sudo xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/FRED LEGEND 79.component"

Replace the name with the plugin you installed.

3. Your licence

Your order e-mail contains a licence key. Keep it with your order confirmation. The plugins currently run without activation; the next update adds a one-time activation (three of your own computers, works offline afterwards), and you will enter the same key then. Nothing to do today.

4. Presets, updates and uninstalling

Factory presets live inside the plugin. Your own presets are saved in ~/Library/Audio/Presets/Shiitake Audio/<plugin>.
Updates are new installers from the same download link; run them over the old version. Your sessions and presets are kept.
To uninstall, delete the .vst3 and .component files from the two folders above.

5. Something else?

Write to hello@shiitakeaudio.com with the plugin name, your DAW and macOS version. We answer within a day.