ferraus plugin scan

Find CLAP and VST3 plugins and cache their metadata

Synopsis

ferraus plugin scan [options]

Searches the standard plugin folders for this OS, the folders given with --paths, and every --sound-path folder. Each CLAP bundle is probed in a separate ferraus-plughost process, so a plugin that crashes on load cannot stop the scan; VST3 metadata comes from the bundle's moduleinfo.json. Results are cached in <cache>/plugins/scan.json keyed by path and modification time, so later scans only probe new or changed bundles.

Examples

Scan the standard plugin folders

ferraus plugin scan

Re-probe CLAP plugins in two extra folders and print the result as JSON

ferraus plugin scan --paths ~/plugins,/opt/clap --format clap --rescan --json

Scan one freshly built bundle, giving a slow plugin two minutes to load

ferraus plugin scan --paths ./build/MyPlugin.clap --watchdog 120s

Options

Flag	Type	Default	Meaning
`--paths`	list	—	Extra folders (or bundles) to scan, comma-separated or repeated Repeatable.
`--format`	list	`clap,vst3`	Plugin formats to look for: clap, vst3
`--rescan`	flag	—	Probe every bundle again instead of trusting the cache
`--watchdog`	time	—	Stop the plugin host after this long without progress (default 60s, or FERRAUS_PLUGIN_WATCHDOG_S)

Global options

Every command also accepts the global options (-o, --json, --dry-run, --overwrite, --progress, ...). See Global options.

Exit codes

Code	Meaning
0	Success
1	Processing failed
2	Usage or parameter error
3	Input missing or unreadable
7	Plugin crashed, timed out, or was not found
8	Cancelled
70	Internal error (bug)

Common mistakes

Beat-based times (4b, 1/4) need a tempo: pass --bpm or write 4b@120.

For models

MCP tool: ferraus_plugin_scan
Schema: ferraus schema plugin scan
Pipeline: { op: plugin scan, args: { ... } } (flag names with _ instead of -)
fx stage: no

{"command": "plugin scan", "defaults": {"format": "clap,vst3"}}