Audacity plugins on Windows — VST, VST3, LV2, LADSPA & FFmpeg guide

Audacity plugin formats on Windows

VST2

Legacy .dll plugins. Place in Audacity plugin folder or VST search path.

VST3

Modern standard. Place .vst3 files in C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3.

LV2

Linux-origin plugins. Supported on Windows via the LV2 bundle format.

LADSPA

Linux Audio Developer Simple Plugin API. Older format, many free effects.

Nyquist

Audacity's built-in scripting language. .ny files go in Audacity plugins folder.

FFmpeg

Not a plugin but a library. Adds MP4, AAC, M4A, WMA import/export support.

Add VST plugins to Audacity on Windows

• 1

  Place plugin files in the right folder

  For VST2 (.dll): copy to C:\Program Files\Audacity\Plug-ins or any folder in Audacity's VST path.
  For VST3 (.vst3): copy to C:\Program Files\Common Files\VST3.

• 2

  Scan for new plugins

  In Audacity: Effect → Add / Remove Plug-ins. Click Rescan. New plugins appear in the list with "New" status. Check them and click Enable.

• 3

  Access in the Effect menu

  Enabled plugins appear in the Effect menu. VST plugins are listed under their plugin name.

Install FFmpeg for Audacity on Windows

FFmpeg lets Audacity open and export MP4, AAC, M4A, WMA and other formats:

• 1

  Download FFmpeg for Audacity

  Go to support.audacityteam.org/basics/installing-ffmpeg for the official Windows download link.

• 2

  Install and point Audacity to FFmpeg

  Install FFmpeg, then in Audacity: Edit → Preferences → Libraries → click Locate next to FFmpeg Library and browse to avformat-xx.dll.

Plugin questions