Install on macOS

By the end of this page Virtue FX Manager will be installed as a REAPER extension and reachable from the REAPER Action List.

Virtue FX Manager for macOS ships as a signed and notarized installer package (.pkg) inside a disk image (.dmg). It installs a single REAPER extension file — it is not a standalone application and does not appear in your Applications folder.

Close REAPER first

Quit REAPER completely before running the installer. REAPER loads extensions at startup and holds the old file open while running, so installing over a running REAPER produces an extension that will not load.

Install

1. Open the disk image.

   Double-click the downloaded vfxm-mac.dmg. The volume window contains the VirtueFXManager.pkg installer and the Uninstall Virtue utility.

   

2. Run the installer package.

   Double-click VirtueFXManager.pkg and click Continue on the welcome screen.

   

3. Confirm the destination and install.

   Click Install to perform a standard installation on your primary drive. This copies the native extension reaper_virtue.dylib into REAPER’s UserPlugins folder. macOS will ask for your password — this is the standard installer authorisation.

   

4. Finish.

   Click Close when the installer reports success.

   

5. Launch it in REAPER.

   Open REAPER, press ? to open the Action List, search for Virtue FX Manager, and run the action. The window opens over REAPER.

Verify the download (optional)

The download page publishes a SHA-256 checksum for each release. To confirm the file you downloaded matches it:

shasum -a 256 vfxm-mac.dmg

Compare the output with the checksum on the download page. They must match exactly.

Starting fresh (rarely needed)

Updating never removes anything you have made — you can skip this section entirely unless you actually want to throw your library away.

If you do, the installer offers an option that clears your favourites, tabs, thumbnails, notes, categories and settings, then installs as though for the first time. It is meant for troubleshooting a configuration that has gone wrong, not for routine updates. Everything it removes is copied to a dated folder on your Desktop first, so nothing is unrecoverable.

1. In the installer, click Customize instead of Install.

   

2. Tick Erase my favourites and start fresh, then continue with the installation. Leaving it unticked is a normal update.

   

This option erases your library

Favourites, tabs, notes, ratings, thumbnails, categories and settings are all removed. A copy of everything is saved to a dated folder on your Desktop before anything is deleted, so you can restore it if you change your mind — but only choose this if you genuinely intend to start over.

What the installer writes

Path	Contents
~/Library/Application Support/REAPER/UserPlugins/reaper_virtue.dylib	The REAPER extension itself
~/Library/Application Support/REAPER/Virtue/	Your data: settings, favourites, thumbnails, notes, themes

The installer does not modify REAPER’s application bundle or any of REAPER’s own files. Updating or reinstalling preserves everything in the Virtue/ folder.

Next steps

• Activate your licence — start a trial or enter a purchased key.
• Quick start — first scan and first plugin insert.
• macOS permissions and Gatekeeper — if the extension does not appear in REAPER.