Logic Pro will not use an Audio Unit until it passes Apple's validation, and a plugin that fails is disabled and drops out of the list. It looks like the plugin vanished, but Logic found it, tested it, and held it back on purpose. Here is what that means and how to get the plugin validating again.
This one is Logic-specific. Logic loads Audio Units only, so it is the only host that runs this test, and the steps below use Logic's own menus. Paths shown are macOS.
It means Logic tested the plugin, the plugin did not pass, and Logic disabled it, so it will not appear in your instrument or effect list even though it installed.
Logic Pro loads Audio Unit (AU) plugins only. Whenever it finds a new or changed Audio Unit, it runs Apple's validation tool, called auval, on it before it will let you use it. The test checks that the plugin loads and behaves the way an Audio Unit is supposed to. A plugin that passes is enabled and shows up in the menus. One that fails is marked failed and switched off, so it goes missing with nothing on the track to explain it.
So a failed validation is not Logic losing your plugin. It is Logic testing the plugin and keeping it out of the way until it passes, which is good news: you usually have one plugin to fix, not a broken install of Logic.
Logic uses Audio Units and nothing else. It does not load VST, VST3 or AAX at all, so those formats are never validated and are never affected by this. If a plugin only came as a VST or VST3, Logic will not show it whether or not it would validate, and that is a different problem covered in why a plugin does not show up in your DAW.
Because the plugin did something the test would not accept, and it is usually one of a short list of reasons. The failure itself rarely tells you which, but these are the common ones.
The table below maps each cause to the fix that clears it.
| Why it failed | What fixes it |
|---|---|
| An old plugin version with a bug | Update the plugin to its current release, then re-run validation |
| Not updated for your macOS or Logic | Update Logic and macOS to a supported combination and install the matching plugin build |
| Intel-only plugin on an Apple Silicon Mac | Install a Universal or Apple Silicon build, or run Logic under Rosetta as a temporary workaround |
| Unsigned or quarantined by Gatekeeper | Install a signed, notarized build from the maker, and install only plugins you trust |
| Corrupt or incomplete install | Remove the .component and reinstall a fresh download cleanly |
Work down this list in order and stop the moment the plugin validates. The steps run from the most common and least disruptive to the last resort.
Tunary /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components, or the same folder inside your home ~/Library if it installed there, then download a fresh copy and install it again in case the first install was damaged.~/Library/Caches/AudioUnitCache. Quit Logic, remove that cache, and reopen Logic so it rebuilds the list and tests the plugin fresh.If you want the exact reason it stopped, Apple's auval tool can be run from Terminal against a single Audio Unit and it prints where the test failed. That output is optional and is mostly useful to pass on to the maker. For everything else about Audio Units in this host, see audio plugins in Logic Pro.
In Logic's Plug-in Manager, with Reset & Rescan Selection. This is the one place in Logic that re-tests a plugin and shows you the result.
If it passes, it returns to your instrument or effect menus straight away. If it still fails, rescanning on its own will not change that, because it only re-tests what is already there. The fixes above, updating, reinstalling, checking Rosetta or clearing the cache, are what actually change the result, and then a rescan confirms it. If the plugin is not in the Plug-in Manager list at all, rather than listed as failed, that is a slightly different problem: see why a plugin does not show up in your DAW.
Most of this page is about one plugin that will not pass a test the rest of your setup passes fine. While you sort it out, it helps to have an instrument you know validates cleanly, so you can keep making sound in Logic instead of chasing a failed scan.
Our Audio Unit is signed and notarized, and it passes Logic's validation cleanly on the first launch, so none of the steps on this page apply to it. You can also try it in a browser first, with no install and no account. The Collection is three instruments: ARGISH, SILT and REHEAT.
Every one ships as AU, VST3, AAX and a standalone app on macOS, signed and notarized, and a VST3 on Windows. So the Audio Unit lands in the right folder and validates in Logic on the first launch, rather than adding to the trouble on this page.
Try one free in your browser first, no install and no account. The whole Collection is one purchase.
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