I have a growing hoard of VST plugin goodies and want to catalog them in a database.

Wondering whether to use either a table in word.doc, an excel table or a simple access style database?

The structure of columns would be eg.
Developer | Product | Type | Version | WWW Dev. | WWW Source ... etc.
The 'Type' would be limited to similar used in KVRaudio; Synth VA, Synth Additive, FX Chorus, FX Distortion,,,

Searchable and sortable.

Ideally to include a graphic of the GUI of each product in the dB.

KVRaudio used to have a great big dB, sortable by Developer or Product Name but I cannot find it anymore

Are there any database boffins here who can help me to whip up such a dB, in something like SQL, MS Access, OpenOffice Base ?

Thanx ^_^

 

I just use spreadsheet for my personal plugs. One tab for Instruments, one tab for Effects.

1st column: Plugin author + Plugin name (e.g. "Full Bucket Nabla")
2nd column: Category (e.g. Synth/SynthMono/FM/ROMpler/Keys/Drum/SynthEdit/SynthMaker)
3rd column: Type (kinda like Category but more specific)
4th column: Free or Paid (to keep track since sometimes I forget )
5th column: Notes (any important info to note, like version, whether portable or installer, instructions, or bugs/issues, 32-bit only etc)

For MySQL, I'm not that far gone yet

Though if you know HTML/CSS/JS and want something prettier than a spreadsheet, it's fairly easy to make a little browser HTML file that can display the data. Good if you want screenshots of the plugins too.

 

Last edited: Apr 29, 2025

You don't need a relational, query-able database to catalog a few dozen, or even hundreds of VSTs.
A google spreadsheet or an XLSX will do just fine.

 

I highly recommend this tool ( since it's free anyways)
Virtual Volume Viewer

https://portableapps.com/apps/utilities/virtual_volumes_view_portable


There are other commercial tools like Super Cat and others but I needed
something fast and able to handle large indexed volumes ( 4+TB and up)

So grab that and index your volumes then search offline or view all the folders manually if you wish.

This tool makes it easier if you have lots of backup drives offline and need to look for some files
and don't remember where they are. Just label the drive with a label printer and name the indexed file on
Virtual Volumes Viewer with the same name as the drive so they match up when you open the indexed volume file.

 

An example from my PC, I took one picture of each plugin and labeled it accordingly, most of the time you forget the name of the plugin you are looking for but with pictures you can find it quickly.