validate-audiounit

AudioUnit Validation (auval)

Plugin Install Locations

AudioUnits must be registered with the system for auval to find them — it does not accept a file path.

AUv2 (.component)

Location	Scope
~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/	Current user only
/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/	All users (requires admin)

After installing or rebuilding, force a rescan: killall -9 AudioComponentRegistrar

AUv3 (.appex)

AUv3 AudioUnits are app extensions (.appex) embedded inside a host .app bundle (e.g., MyApp.app/Contents/PlugIns/MyAU.appex). The host app must be run at least once to register the extension with the system via pluginkit.

# Check if an AUv3 is registered (match by bundle ID)
pluginkit -m -v -p <bundle-id>

# List all registered AudioUnit extensions
pluginkit -m -v -A

# Manually register an appex
pluginkit -a <path-to-appex>

# Unregister an appex
pluginkit -r <path-to-appex>

# Dump full extension info for debugging
pluginkit -e -v -i <bundle-id>

After rebuilding, re-run the host app or use pluginkit -a to re-register the updated extension.

Instructions

1. Register the plugin with the system:
   • AUv2: Install the .component in a standard Components location (see above)
   • AUv3: Run the host .app at least once, or manually register with pluginkit -a <path-to-appex>
2. Identify the plugin's AU type (aufx, aumu, etc.), four-character subtype, and manufacturer code
3. Force a rescan if the plugin was just built: killall -9 AudioComponentRegistrar
4. Run: auval -v <type> <subtype> <manufacturer> — this works the same for both AUv2 and AUv3 once registered
5. Check the final line — * * * * * * * * means all tests passed
6. If tests fail, see Common Issues below

Basic Usage

# Validate an effect (aufx)
auval -v aufx <subtype> <manufacturer>

# Validate an instrument (aumu)
auval -v aumu <subtype> <manufacturer>

# Validate a MIDI-controlled effect (aumf)
auval -v aumf <subtype> <manufacturer>

# Validate a MIDI processor (aumi)
auval -v aumi <subtype> <manufacturer>