Using auvaltool (with examples)

1: Listing all available AudioUnits of any type

To list all available AudioUnits of any type, we can use the “-a” flag with the auvaltool command. By running the following command, auvaltool will scan the system for all installed AudioUnits and provide us with a list of them.

Code

auvaltool -a

Motivation

One possible motivation for using this example is to get a comprehensive list of all the AudioUnits available on our system. This can be useful for troubleshooting purposes, as well as for exploring the various effects, instruments, and other audio plugins that are installed.

Explanation

The “-a” flag stands for “available” and tells auvaltool to list all the available AudioUnits on our system.

Example Output

AU Instruments:
EFMM (elevmchcre verm)    efmm    AUInstrument  Doron
EFMM M (elevmchc re verm) efmm    AUInstrument  Doron
ACo (Elsa Quartet.instrc) aumu    AUInstrument  ELSA QUARTET
...

AU Effects:
 Afpl (MachFive%XIn.pAfpl) afpl    AUEffect      MachFive

...

2: Listing all available AudioUnits of any type with their location

To list all available AudioUnits of any type along with their location, we can use the “-al” flag with the auvaltool command. This will provide us with the same list of AudioUnits as before, but this time it includes the file path of each AudioUnit.

Code

auvaltool -al

Motivation

By including the file path of each AudioUnit in the list, we can easily locate and track down specific AudioUnits on our system. This can be helpful when troubleshooting or when working with multiple versions of the same AudioUnit.

Explanation

The “-a” flag still stands for “available”, while the “-l” flag stands for “location”. When using both flags together, auvaltool will list all available AudioUnits along with their respective file paths.

Example Output

AU Instruments:
    /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/EFMM.component/Contents/MacOS/EFMM: efmm
    /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/EFMM M.component/Contents/MacOS/EFMM M: efmm

AU Effects:
    /Library/Audio/Plug-Ins/Components/Afpl.component/Contents/MacOS/Afpl: afpl
    ...