> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.gridshift.studio/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Plugin Categories

> Sorts your Audio Unit instruments and effects into your own categories and favorites, the same on every project and every Mac. Open Settings ▸ Plugins and drag a plugin onto a category.

## File a plugin in a category

Open `Settings ▸ Plugins` (`⌘,`) and pick **Instruments**, **Effects** or **MIDI Effects** at the top. Drag a plugin onto a category to move it there, or hold `⌥` while dropping to add it there as well. Or right-click the plugin and tick categories under **Categories**.

## Mark a favorite

Click the star in a plugin's row, or drag the plugin onto **Favorites**. Favorites list first in **Add Effect…** (`⌥E`) and **Load Sound…** (`⌥S`). Click the star again to take it out.

## Order the categories and their plugins

Drag a category up or down to set the order of the categories. Drag a plugin within its category to set its place there. The plugin lists show categories and plugins in this order.

## Make, rename and delete categories

Click **+** under the table for a new category. Double-click a category to rename it. Right-click it for **Rename…**, **Icon** and **Delete…**, or select it and click **−**.

## Scan for new plugins

After installing a plugin, click **Scan for New** at the bottom of `Settings ▸ Plugins`. The line beside it counts your plugins and says when Gridshift last scanned.

## Good to know

* **A plugin can sit in several categories at once.** A checkmark under **Categories** in its menu marks each one it belongs to.
* **Plugins in no category are listed under Other**; a newly scanned plugin starts there. Dropping a plugin on **Other**, or **Remove from** in its menu, takes it out of that category.
* **Deleting a category frees its plugins.** They stay installed and lose only that filing. Gridshift asks first, and it cannot be undone.
* **Categories are app-wide.** The same layout applies to every project. With [iCloud](/sync/icloud.md) on, categories, filings, favorites and the order sync across your Macs.
* **Inserting a plugin is a palette job**: [Load Instruments and Effects](/sounds/load-instruments-and-effects.md).

> **Details**
>
> * **Each kind has its own list**, with **Favorites** on top and **Other** at the bottom. A category shows under a kind while it holds a plugin of that kind; a new, empty one shows under all three.
> * **Search plugins narrows the table** to plugins whose name or maker has every word you type.
> * **Rescan All checks every installed Audio Unit again** and takes longer than **Scan for New**.
> * **The starter set is ordinary.** Rename or delete those categories like any you create.
> * **The palette and the [assistant](/assistants/capabilities.md) work on the same categories**: **New Plugin Category**, **Rename Plugin Category…**, **Set Plugin Category Icon…** and **Delete Plugin Category…**, and **Scan All Plugins** and **Scan for New Plugins**.

> **Starter categories**
>
> | Kind | Categories |
> | - | - |
> | Effects | **EQ**, **Dynamics**, **Reverb**, **Delay**, **Modulation**, **Distortion**, **Utility** |
> | Instruments | **Synths**, **Sampler**, **Keys**, **Drums**, **Strings** |


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