FinalGod
Member
Hi everyone,
I've been working on a small Windows utility called FX5 Plugin Usage Statistics.
The idea came from trying to clean up my rather large VST collection. I wanted to know which plugins I actually use across all my Studio One / Fender Studio Pro projects, which ones I rarely use, and which ones might no longer be needed.
Checking hundreds of song files manually wasn't really an option, so I developed a tool to automate the process.
### What it does
- Scans entire folders of `.song` projects, including subfolders.
- Counts plugin usage across projects and individual instances.
- Detects installed VST2 and VST3 plugins.
- Reads existing Studio One / Fender Studio Pro plugin metadata where available.
- Compares installed plugins against those referenced in song projects.
- Identifies potentially unused plugins and possible VST2/VST3 alternatives.
- Generates interactive HTML reports with filters and CSV export.
- Optionally excludes autosaves and backup files.
I thought this might also be useful to others in the community, so I expanded the tool beyond my own setup to support different Windows and plugin configurations.
This required adding automatic VST2/VST3 plugin detection, including standard Windows plugin locations and custom paths configured in Studio One / Fender Studio Pro. Additional plugin directories can also be selected manually.
You don't have to scan your entire song collection either. If you prefer, you can simply copy a selection of `.song` files into a separate folder and analyze those instead.
The application works locally and offline. It does not modify song files, load or execute plugins, or upload project data.
Important: Plugins marked as potentially unused are not automatically safe to uninstall. The results depend on the projects scanned and the reliability of plugin identification.
### Tool information
- Name: FX5 Plugin Usage Statistics
- Version: 1.6.2
- Status: Public Beta
- Price: Freeware (closed source)
- Platform: Windows 10 / 11, .NET Framework 4.8
- DAW compatibility: Studio One / Fender Studio Pro `.song` projects
- Languages: English and German
- Installation: Portable ZIP, no installer required
- AI assistance: Developed with substantial assistance from OpenAI Codex.
### Compatibility and testing
The application has been tested with my own Fender Studio Pro 8 projects and plugin collection.
The current test collection includes hundreds of song files and more than 600 installed plugin entries. Automated tests cover plugin identification, DAW metadata parsing, GUI behavior and error handling.
Other Studio One versions are supported on a best-effort basis through format detection, but have not been independently tested.
The tool is still in beta, so feedback from users with different versions and plugin configurations would be welcome.
### Download
GitHub: https://github.com/ayla3ds/FX5-Plugin-Usage-Statistics
Latest Beta: https://github.com/ayla3ds/FX5-Plugin-Usage-Statistics/releases/tag/v1.6.2-beta
Extract the ZIP, keep the included `Data` folder next to the executable, and launch `FX5_Plugin_Usage_Statistics.exe`.
### Feedback
If you encounter problems, please let me know here, ideally with your Studio One / Fender Studio Pro version and a description of what happened.
I originally built this for my own plugin cleanup, but thought it might be useful to others dealing with large plugin collections.
Thanks!
I've been working on a small Windows utility called FX5 Plugin Usage Statistics.
The idea came from trying to clean up my rather large VST collection. I wanted to know which plugins I actually use across all my Studio One / Fender Studio Pro projects, which ones I rarely use, and which ones might no longer be needed.
Checking hundreds of song files manually wasn't really an option, so I developed a tool to automate the process.
### What it does
- Scans entire folders of `.song` projects, including subfolders.
- Counts plugin usage across projects and individual instances.
- Detects installed VST2 and VST3 plugins.
- Reads existing Studio One / Fender Studio Pro plugin metadata where available.
- Compares installed plugins against those referenced in song projects.
- Identifies potentially unused plugins and possible VST2/VST3 alternatives.
- Generates interactive HTML reports with filters and CSV export.
- Optionally excludes autosaves and backup files.
I thought this might also be useful to others in the community, so I expanded the tool beyond my own setup to support different Windows and plugin configurations.
This required adding automatic VST2/VST3 plugin detection, including standard Windows plugin locations and custom paths configured in Studio One / Fender Studio Pro. Additional plugin directories can also be selected manually.
You don't have to scan your entire song collection either. If you prefer, you can simply copy a selection of `.song` files into a separate folder and analyze those instead.
The application works locally and offline. It does not modify song files, load or execute plugins, or upload project data.
Important: Plugins marked as potentially unused are not automatically safe to uninstall. The results depend on the projects scanned and the reliability of plugin identification.
### Tool information
- Name: FX5 Plugin Usage Statistics
- Version: 1.6.2
- Status: Public Beta
- Price: Freeware (closed source)
- Platform: Windows 10 / 11, .NET Framework 4.8
- DAW compatibility: Studio One / Fender Studio Pro `.song` projects
- Languages: English and German
- Installation: Portable ZIP, no installer required
- AI assistance: Developed with substantial assistance from OpenAI Codex.
### Compatibility and testing
The application has been tested with my own Fender Studio Pro 8 projects and plugin collection.
The current test collection includes hundreds of song files and more than 600 installed plugin entries. Automated tests cover plugin identification, DAW metadata parsing, GUI behavior and error handling.
Other Studio One versions are supported on a best-effort basis through format detection, but have not been independently tested.
The tool is still in beta, so feedback from users with different versions and plugin configurations would be welcome.
### Download
GitHub: https://github.com/ayla3ds/FX5-Plugin-Usage-Statistics
Latest Beta: https://github.com/ayla3ds/FX5-Plugin-Usage-Statistics/releases/tag/v1.6.2-beta
Extract the ZIP, keep the included `Data` folder next to the executable, and launch `FX5_Plugin_Usage_Statistics.exe`.
### Feedback
If you encounter problems, please let me know here, ideally with your Studio One / Fender Studio Pro version and a description of what happened.
I originally built this for my own plugin cleanup, but thought it might be useful to others dealing with large plugin collections.
Thanks!
