Hi there! I have a confession!
I recently realized I had fallen into the trap of collecting plugins instead of making music. Reading through Reddit and various forums, I realized I’m definitely not the only one struggling with "Plugin Hoarding."
I’ve spent 15 years working across 4 different DAWs, and my VST folder became an absolute cemetery of installers. I couldn't find a tool to actually see what I use vs. what I just own, so I decided to stop buying gear and start coding.
I built a custom Python tool to sync and analyze all my project data, and the results were a wake-up call:
- I scanned every project file across all my DAWs.
- I cross-referenced every VST2 and VST3 instance.
- The Result: I found over 100 "trash" plugins that I have NEVER opened. Not once.
I’ve attached a few screenshots of the results. My tool generated a full usage frequency report and, more importantly, a "Kill List" of plugins ready for uninstallation. Seeing the data visually made me realize how much mental energy I was wasting on tools I don't even need.
I’m not selling anything. I made this solution for myself to clean up my workflow and finally get back to actually finishing tracks.
But now that it works, I’m curious - does anyone else feel the need for this kind of "plugin audit," or am I just the only one crazy enough to scan my own metadata? How do you guys decide what to uninstall?
P.S. The screenshots show usage examples. Naturally, the full report for all DAWs is much larger.
