Installing on macOS.

What you need.

Mac

macOS 14 Sonoma or later. Apple silicon (M1 or later) recommended. Built for Intel Macs (2018 on, quad-core Core i5 or better), not yet tested on one; dual-core MacBook Air models are not recommended.

Windows (coming)

Windows 11, 64-bit, 4-core CPU.

Memory

8 GB RAM, 16 GB recommended.

DAW

One that loads Audio Units (Logic Pro) or VST3 plugins.

Your plugins

AU or VST3 effects you have installed and licensed.

Installing

An administrator password on this Mac.

AI

An internet connection, and a trial or plan with credits left.

1. Check the download.

Use only the installer from the download page. It lists the version and the SHA-256 checksum of the package; to compare, runshasum -a 256 ~/Downloads/Knobpilot-*.pkg in Terminal.

2. Allow the beta installer.

During the beta the installer is not notarized by Apple, so macOS stops it the first time. That is expected for this package. Follow the steps for your macOS version.

macOS 15 Sequoia and macOS 26 Tahoe

1. Double-click the downloaded .pkg. macOS says “Apple could not verify ‘Knobpilot…pkg’ is free of malware that may harm your Mac or compromise your privacy.” Click Done.
2. Open System Settings → Privacy & Security and scroll down to Security. A line names the blocked installer. Click Open Anyway. The button is there for about an hour after the blocked attempt.
3. Confirm with Open Anyway and your administrator password. The installer starts.

macOS 14

1. Control-click (or right-click) the downloaded .pkg and choose Open.
2. In the dialog that says the developer cannot be verified, click Open. You do this once.

If macOS says the file is damaged, will damage your computer, or should be moved to the Trash, stop. That is not the expected warning for this installer. Delete the file, download it again from the download page, and contact support if it happens again. Never turn Gatekeeper off.

If Open Anyway doesn’t appear, or your Mac is managed by an organisation, contact support or your administrator. Apple’s guide to opening apps safely

3. Run the installer and restart your DAW.

The package installs the Audio Unit and the VST3 plugin for all users of the Mac. Open your DAW again; if Knobpilot isn’t listed, run the DAW’s plugin rescan. Logic Pro uses the Audio Unit: add it from the Audio Units menu under “Knobpilot”, as “Knobpilot”. Most other DAWs use the VST3.

Old copies in your user folder (~/Library/Audio/Plug-Ins) can show up as a second Knobpilot. Remove those if you see a duplicate.

4. Start the trial or activate.

Insert Knobpilot on a track or bus and open its account dialog. Choose “Try it free for 14 days” for 14 days and 100 AI credits on this computer, no card. If you have a plan, paste the licence key from your purchase email instead. Signing in on this website does not activate the plugin.

5. Scan, play, describe.

Scan your installed effects inside Knobpilot. Play a few seconds of the track, then say what you want to hear. Compare Original, Previous and Current, and save your project when you’re happy.

Uninstalling.

Close your DAW. The quickest way is the uninstall script: in Terminal run bash ~/Downloads/uninstall-knobpilot.command. It asks before it removes anything and asks for your password once. Add --all to remove your data too (rack presets, plugin cards, logs and the saved sign-in).

Or by hand: delete these in Finder (Go → Go to Folder) or in Terminal:

• /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/Knobpilot.component
• /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/VST3/Knobpilot.vst3
• ~/Library/Application Support/Knobpilot: your settings, plugin list, cards, rack presets and sign-in. Keep it if you might reinstall.

Then run sudo pkgutil --forget com.knobpilot.pkg in Terminal to remove the installer’s receipt, and restart the Mac (or run killall -9 AudioComponentRegistrar) so your DAW stops listing the Audio Unit.

Uninstalling doesn’t cancel a plan; do that in the billing portal from your account. To free this computer’s place on your plan, choose “Deactivate this computer” in the plugin’s account dialog before you uninstall.

If something gets stuck.

Include your macOS version, processor, DAW and version, AU or VST3, Knobpilot version and the step that failed. Find support and troubleshooting. Keep the project as it is while we look into it.