Quick start

This is the fastest path from a fresh install to a usable visual plugin library. Each step links to the topic that covers it in depth.

1. Confirm your setup.

   Launch VFxM in REAPER, check your interface language, and confirm your plugin scan paths in Settings (gear icon) match where your plugins are actually installed.

2. Sync with REAPER’s plugin cache.

   VFxM reads REAPER’s own plugin cache to populate its list. If a plugin you installed recently is missing, run REAPER’s own scan first: Options → Preferences → Plug-ins → VST → Re-scan, then reopen VFxM.

3. Build your visual library.

   Open Plugin Manager (toolbar button next to Settings), choose a scan mode — only missing thumbnails, or regenerate all — and click Start Batch Scan. VFxM instantiates each plugin briefly on a temporary track to capture its GUI, then removes it. See Auto thumbnail scanner for what this does and how to recover from a crash mid-scan.

4. Capture anything the scanner missed.

   For blocklisted or otherwise unscannable plugins, float the plugin’s own window in REAPER, hover its card in VFxM, and click the camera icon to capture it manually.

5. Clear the clutter.

   Right-click any plugin you don’t want cluttering search results and choose Hide / Unlist — useful for trial versions or utility plugins you never load directly.

6. Create your first Favourites board.

   Click the + tab icon, name a board (for example Vocals), and drag the plugins you actually reach for into it.

7. Insert your first plugin.

   Double-click any card to insert it on the selected track, or drag it onto a track — or onto empty arrange space to create a new track for it.

You're set up

From here, Plugin status circles covers search and filtering in depth, and Favourites boards covers favourites, FX chains and ratings.