KLU (Kontakt Library Utility) - Version 2

Discussion in 'Kontakt' started by Fred Bloggs, Nov 17, 2023.

  1. sisyphus

    sisyphus Audiosexual

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    Hey, a little OT, but I just want to say I respect how you came here on multiple levels, from reading and rereading every post/comment here, Fred Bloggs's faq's/read me's etc.. and acknowledging you are new to this (as hell, we all were and still are on many levels with different things), respectfully asking good questions which apparently (and I need to reread all what you wrote! :) ), found some issues in Fred Bloggs' great utility that a lot of us have come to rely on, and that he is perhaps going to look at, and examine to see if there might be something problematic.. or something that might tighten the experience and utility of it in ways not expected....

    And English is your second language, and you have done your homework, aren't at all lazy about this, and seemingly exhausted the repositories of information on this before posting after multiple attempts to try and solve it yourself.

    I wish there were more who approached this like you. Welcome to posting at the site.
    (and not that my opinion matters for anything, I just see so much noise...)
     
  2. Fred Bloggs

    Fred Bloggs Platinum Record

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    The usual and original way to install with KLU until very recently, was by dropping a library folder in the top left section of the NICNT window. The "bulk" install icon and drop zone in the bottom right is a very recent addition and seems it may still have a couple of gremlins! Try as I may however, I just cannot reproduce what you are experiencing. I also just installed both Session Guitarist Electric Sunburst AND the Deluxe version with KLU and both appeared in K7 with their main and secondary wallpapers, no problem.
    I'll admit I'm running out of things to suggest! Were it my setup, I think I'd "bite the bullet" (pluck up the courage) and dop my library disks on bulk uninstall, uninstall everything, check the Service Center and Main preferences to make sure there's no Kontakt library files left in there, and then bulk re-install again. I've done this several times on my system with KLU when testing the bulk (un)install features I had added - two hard drives, over 700 libraries, some of them up to 340GB each! The first time I did it, I had a few issues, all resolved with the help of KLU. Since then, I can bulk install and uninstall and add single libraries and everything works smoothly.
    This is however a serious step and if you don't feel comfortable doing it, DON'T!
    If any other readers of this thread have any suggestions for @steeth2, please feel free to try and help him too… :wink:
     
  3. steeth2

    steeth2 Noisemaker

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    Thank you so much sisyphus for your kind and welcoming words, I really appreciate it :) If more people were like you and Fred, the internet and forums would be a much nicer place :)
     
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  4. steeth2

    steeth2 Noisemaker

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    Thank you so much again Fred for taking the time to look in to my issues, helping me out and replying. I guess I have to "bite the bullet" and start looking into learning how to bulk uninstall and bulk re-install everything I have in my library and see what happens. It's most definitely user error on my part that something is wrong, and I've most likely messed something up. The fact that you can't recreate my issue your end makes it very obvious that there is something wrong with my particular setup and not a general issue. And I have to learn how to bulk uninstall and bulk install sometime sooner or later so I can trouble shoot my own mistakes :) So I might as well bite the bullet now if there are no other kind souls out there in this forum that have experienced what I'm experiencing, and would be so kind as to shed some light on what I've might have done wrong and if there's anything to do to fix it?

    Thanks again Fred. You're truly one of a kind and so talented, and I wish to even gain a fraction of your knowledge some day :)
     
  5. sisyphus

    sisyphus Audiosexual

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    Hey, I've been using Fred's great KLU2 for the last few months as I have been putting together a new system, and I haven't approached it in "bulk" style... while most or a lot of my libraries are self made or 3rd party not relying on NI's licensing grift, I am coming from an older machine with older Kontakt etc, and I've just kinda added different stuff 1-5 at a time manually simply dragging the NICNT, or rather, the library folder, as Fred suggested, over to the top left window, making sure everything is copacetic, then installing, then after a few, booting up Kontakt in standalone to insure it is not only there, but everything is fine.... then I move on to the next batch or not or whatever.

    I haven't had a single problem myself that wasn't my own stupidity/mistake or NI induced (like their getting rid of the database or user accessibility and marking certain drive locations etc or the fact their quick load is based on aliases and other stupid things)... but Fred's tool has been spot on for me, outside of certain releases (which surprisingly current enough like "Marble 2" or another in which the NICNT isn't included for some reason, and since it hasn't been of urgency, and I don't want to mess with the NINCT God's for some reason others have warned me off of incorrectly or correctly... I just haven't made my own or whatnot... and will later perhaps if required for something I want/need)...

    But I haven't had a problem with any of the ~150-200 libraries I have installed that require KLU installation, (and I am a legit NI Ultimate owner, but I don't want to use them for more then one reason that is obvious in this context)....

    I haven't used the library that is causing you problems, but I will try and give it a toss soon to see if I have the same problem...

    But with myself putting together a new system after years, I just have gone slow and steady, and on per need basis, and I wouldn't have been able to do so as easy without KLU2, for which I am tremendously grateful to Fred Bloggs for without question, but I'd imagine if I were in your situation, I would just clean uninstall Kontakt and all it's dependancies and start over with your libraries just adding a few at a time and whatnot... it's possible something just got screwed up along the way in the long list of files from xml's to plists and whatnot... and I don't like to pile bad on good myself.. and I can't imagine you have THAT big a library that it wouldn't take that long to do from scratch you know?

    And I could be wrong on that... I'm just saying, if I can't figure something that is nagging at me and not working, I tend to circle round to what I do know worked, and doing so from a fresh start isn't that big a deal unless you have thousands of libraries or something... (I do, but not reliant on KLU2 to install, just the ~150+, which isn't that big a deal to spend the time and make sure the foundation of everything is right if I want a clean running system you know?)...

    Best of luck though. :)
     
  6. steeth2

    steeth2 Noisemaker

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    Thanks a lot for this insight :) I really appreciate it.

    If you don't mind me asking, do you (or anyone else) know if any of all the other xml files in the Service Center folder that has nothing to do with Kontakt libraries, could have a negative impact and use the same SNPID numbers as Kontakt libraries and therefor mess things up? I'm just thinking since I get a warning that the SNPID number for The Score Kontakt library is used by "505" which according to the list is a plugin called Spectral Delay? And when I look in the Service Center folder, I have a bunch of xml files for Izotope and other plugins that have nothing to do with Kontakt libraries. So I'm just a bit scared to start removing and uninstalling every Kontakt library I have and re-install everything, just to find out later that it was a completely different xml file for some plugin that was causing the issue, and not the Kontakt libraries :) I'm sorry if I don't make sense, but I have quite a few Kontakt libraries so it will take some time to remove everything and start from scratch, so I just wanted to check if someone knows?
     
  7. sisyphus

    sisyphus Audiosexual

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    No worries. Happy to help if I can steeth2. :)

    You know what? I am installing on a new machine, and while I have (own) legit Kontakt Ultimate or whatever, I haven't installed anything outside of k'd Kontakt and Guit Rig (and that may not be for long on my drive).... as I currently don't feel the need for any other products from them at this time...

    Spektral Delay was one of the first NI products, I believe long since abandoned, which was interesting an interesting product along with their Vokator, ... but I know you aren't here for an archeological dig or history lesson on NI products past.

    Let's see, let me tell you what I did.. I didn't want anything (for now) other than Kontakt, (and GuitRig7 was tossed in later).... so I had a "virgin system" in regards to NI, so I just installed HCiSO's Kontakt, and had my old libraries from my other system, some new ones from sister site and NI etc, and I had read up on Fred Blogg's KLU2, so all I did was systematically install libraries one by one that required being recognized by a properly k'd Kontakt (unless I just wanted to use the libraries that require licensing and whatnot that I have already purchased but...)..

    (of course only use the KLU version provided on this thread, as sometimes HCiSO's releases, while they mean well of course, do not always include the latest etc, and I haven't needed Kitty scripts or whatever.... and I always get KLU2 direct from Fred Bloggs and what he posts here)

    So honestly, I have never had to look at the Service Center folder or deal with Native Access as there has been no reason, as KLU2 works great, and Kontakt (through their current clunk of file tree navigation bs can see my other 3rd party libraries that aren't paying for NI licensing or I made myself. If I came across a library that KLU wasn't happy with, or there was any issue, I would put it in another folder, check it later, redownload it perhaps, or just decide to live without it (of which I believe there are only 2 libraries that I had issue with out of the ~150+ in Marble 2 and something else I can't remember that didn't have a proper NINCT)...

    Izotope is now owned under the same umbrella of hedge fund jackasses that now own Native Instruments, and there has been some shifting around of if they fall under NI or both fall under the same, which I believe currently is just known as Native Instruments... (but again, you don't care about corporate structure, I'm just explaining WHY you are seeing Izotope in there where you wouldn't have 5 years ago or whatever)...

    I'm not sure what else you are using from NI (or the companies under or included in their xml files or ServiceCenter/Native Access etc), but if I were you, or rather, I was me in my current situation, and I felt I really needed some library for some reason or another, and there were apparently problems across my whole NI ecosystem as a result of something getting bonked along the way etc... I would absolutely start from scratch.

    As I said, it doesn't take too long to add a few libraries at a time, check them, and continue on until done... I recently migrated a fair amount to other drives, and I had to do that with many as NI is a stickler for locations (and don't get me started on them using aliases for Quickload ffs), and KLU helped me either uninstall them from my library or relink them one by one... and it took less time or about the same as it is typing this comment.

    So if you are just using Kontakt, I would uninstall everything NI related using 'App Cleaner and Uninstaller', 'Find any File', and/or 'Audio Plugin Uninstaller' from Wide Blue Sound (it's free), manually check everything with FAF, or EasyFinder 2... and just reinstall a solid HCiSO version etc, and perhaps start with that library (or libraries) to see if it's a problem.

    But I personally don't like tossing bad on top of good, and prefer to have everything running without problems beneath the water kinda thing, and not using duct tape and toothpicks (well outside of what is necessary in all this!)... and while some may not mind some inconsistencies... I think with Kontakt and this all, I would, and just try and get it right foundationaly as if there is a problem now, I can see more arising in the future possibly.

    You can clone your system and roll back if you want if are worried... or I would keep a copy of the "shared" library NI presets and possible dependancies if they are needed) but since you are the only one experiencing this problem iirc from the thread, and others are fine with said library,... it hints that there is something wrong with your system somewhere, and I would address that now instead of making it worse down the road.
     
    Last edited: Jun 18, 2024
  8. steeth2

    steeth2 Noisemaker

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    Thank you so much again for great tips and very good explanations that are very easy to understand for someone like me who isn't very proficient at english and have limited computer skills :) I'm deeply grateful for all your very helpful insights.

    I saw that Izotope now is a part of Native Instruments, so that explains why I see Izotope plugin xml files in the Native Instruments Service Center folder in Library/Application Support where all the Kontakt libraries xml files are located. The weird part is that I have Arturia xml files, Korg xml files, Softube plugins xml files, U-He plugins xml files, BeatMaker xml files, Waves xml files etc in the Service Center folder. All of which has nothing to do with Native Instruments from what I understand? I've tried investigating and googling about it but haven't found any information, so I'm a bit scared to delete those files from the Service Center folder in case that messes something up with plugins that has nothing to do with Kontakt. And since I have no idea why they are in that folder, I don't know if that's why I'm having issues?

    But I guess that the best way to find out is to do exactly what you wrote, clone the system and try to delete everything and see what happens. I just thought I'd ask in case you or anyone else had any idea.

    Thanks a million again for all your help and guidance, and thanks again Fred for all your hard work in making an app for all of us that works like magic considering I personally would never even have been able to try out these libraries properly before deciding which ones I can afford to purchase without your amazing tool. So thank you once again.
     
  9. sisyphus

    sisyphus Audiosexual

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    I would imagine it probably has something, or everything, to do with their "NKS" system, where presets and plugins can be addressed from NI hardware or software implementing that functionality, so other manufacturers will "tag" their stuff so that it works in concert with that...

    If you aren't using NKS I wouldn't worry a second about dumping it myself. (as you can get it back, or rather just back it up for safety if you want, as they aren't large files, and since you have no dependency currently relying on them for anything, they are dead ends doing nothing for you)... but it should not in any way effect the functionality of your other products unless you are using a NI keyboard or Maschine or whatever to access them....
     
  10. steeth2

    steeth2 Noisemaker

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    Ah I see, that makes sense :) Thank you so much for explaining this.
     
  11. jethrootull

    jethrootull Member

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    this has many bugs. once i install library it deletes another sometimes also it does not remove library correctly. sometimies i have to try three times or more to delete one.
     
  12. sisyphus

    sisyphus Audiosexual

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    Can you document the problem when it happens are report them?

    Fred Blogg's has obviously done a lot of work on this, and solicits not only ideas and future functionality, but with any issues in the past has been extremely responsive to peculiarities and possible problems.

    I would list said libraries effected, their SNIPD numbers, and what happened, and other specifics of what happened.

    I have installed 150-200 libraries, and I haven't encountered a problem myself so far that was not my own user error, a problem with a library release having had some SNIPD problems inherent perhaps from someone creating one differently, or some other problem, or whatnot.

    I'm not saying there may not be an issue at times somewhere, and Fred himself keeps updating it to reflect new features and addressing other situations in which a use case might be either confusing or problematic (see the previous few comments). And updates have been issued regularly.

    Also, sometimes people use versions released with other Kontakt versions packaged by well meaning teams and releasers that include an older version, which is nice it's included, but we've seen people using previous versions of KLU2 that have problems that are already addressed with an update... more then once for sure!

    I would always use the latest version released by Fred Bloggs, to be found in the first page of this thread, closely read his FAQ and notes, and then again, and the entirety of this thread, and he also announces new releases and discusses individual use cases when he has the time, and explains things in great depth and whatnot.

    The KLU2 upon booting, should scan your library, and lists anamolies which you can peruse yourself, and see what may be wrong, and an attempt to install a library (or delete one) that has a possible conflict with another, in my experience, gives a notification and alert as to the ramifications.

    I've also not had a problem removing or moving a library/libraries to and from different drives as I have collated many over the years and moved my most oft used to, say a 4TB SSD, and have other drives, say another 2TB SSD, and a few 7200 spinners, constaining less oft used libraries or ones that are legacy etc. Been no problem unless I haven't closely followed the instructions so far, and any problem with my slop has always been revealed by the manual/FAQ and otherwise.

    It shouldn't just overwrite other libraries without giving you a prompt that there is a conflict that I know of. And if you even blow past that, with the information in this thread and other documentation, you should be able to undo the problem, as it doesn't delete any libraries, and the only thing destructive might be writing into a plist file or xml file an incorrect SNIPD assignement or something that can be undone with minimal computer knowledge and following the advice.

    Rebooting, checking libraries in standalone, importing/installing carefully, and following the prompts closely etc and any other precaution one would take on this, as with any install on sister site and elsewhere etc, has served me just fine.

    But I wouldn't just say "it has many bugs", and not provide the specific information that may either yield the answer from others and help you, but also possibly help others and most importantly, Fred, as the creator of this, so that if there IS a real problem, he can fix possibly or explain a work around. He does appreciate the crowd sourcing of end use ideas and troubleshooting and problems as said, and if you want to find out what went wrong for you,.... the best way to do that, is to lay it out.

    KLU 2.x DOES work though, and sure there may be a hitch or two found here and there, but you aren't using anything else all encompassing better for this on macOS, that much I believe I can safely say.
     
  13. jethrootull

    jethrootull Member

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    Sure i can do that.

    I'm not saying that this utility is not working. Actually we are lucky to have it but it has bugs. I think there is problem with SNIPD numbers. I get same warning like "This SNIPD number is used by other library"; but all numbers are created by KLU.

    I've installed some packages without KLU. Maybe that's the reason why it is happened. Not sure but deleting library is really really pain to me.
     
  14. clone

    clone Audiosexual

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    I think we will always see minor issues trying to use 3rd party created solutions like this, or even with Midi editors for hardware like Soundquest or even the Mystery Islands Virus Librarian. Manufacturers and developers are never helpful for creators of such software, especially if they happen to assist some who may use them for purposes they don't directly support. Or they buy and stick their names on them. It's always very custom created software. Look how long Chicken Systems Translator has been around, is not cheap. People ask about a Windows version of KLU on every site where there are Kontakt users. :)
     
  15. sisyphus

    sisyphus Audiosexual

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    More often then not, that happens when a "third party" releaser creates a new NINCT with an "unofficial" /changed SNIPD I imagine. And sometimes that rubs with the "official" one NI might have, or the xml is different then the plist or whatnot in that regard. Which is not the fault of KLU2 to my knowledge, which actively tries to suss that out first thing, as it basically does an audit every single time it loads to look for inconsistencies and let you know.

    There are lists out there with the different SNIPD numbers provided and copacetic with NA and whatnot, and if you get a mismatch, well, I would either fix it or in most instances for 'me', it's been a library I don't really need and move on...

    KLU can create SNIPD numbers, but to my knowledge, it doesn't just toss them on you or apply them willy nilly without prompt if they are included in the provided library or NINCT... and so again, if one is provided by a release that doesn't gel with NI's list perhaps, or one you made etc, sure there is going to be a problem in which you need to address the aforementioned files, but that isn't KLU's fault, and going with what clone said, NI isn't going to make it easy for Fred Bloggs to access and edit those files necessarily and imaginably have other impediments that some people just can't or don't want to deal with.

    But again, I don't encounter that problem often with releases, (like I said, once or twice, and usually it's just just that there isn't an NINCT provided in the release (for example, Marble 2 etc) )...

    I've absolutely installed libraries without KLU, (with pkg installers etc as is the case with many), and I check them with KLU2 to make sure they aren't a problem, but I don't have to install them, as they were by the official installer and KLU simply acts as an audit and list to work with to reorder and examine and whatnot. (and remove if I want).... but unless I installed something otherwise with a conflicting SNIPD, there isn't a problem and I don't have to go and edit those NI files, and I never have with my new system up to ~200 libraries in addition to the terrabytes of my own creation etc...

    So yeah, I can see how perhaps deleting a library could be a problem if you don't edit those xml files and NA/NI plists and whatnot... but one shouldn't have to if they went about it differently I'd imagine.
     
  16. clone

    clone Audiosexual

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    The best tool to use in addition to KLU for problematic Kontakt libraries is still to use a cracked Kontakt 5.6. On Intel Mac anyway. It's not a big program to keep around as another utility, but even if you delete it you can still reinstall it in like 5 minutes. People seem to forget that Kontakt and keeping up with all NI's constant software update versions is because NI functions very much like a DRM provider for developers, just like the much loathed iLok.
     
  17. Hardalov

    Hardalov Newbie

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    Hi there!

    Using KLU 2.3.1 on a mac M2 Sonoma. Im a new mac user and still have some figuring out to do. I managed to install 1 library a while back using KLU (even i had the older 1 version), however the 2nd library I tried to install failed in different attempts including reinstallation manually creating XML and installing the latest KLU version etc. So, where did that get me now? Currently I installed the library via KLU and noticed the folder of the library doesnt have its own installation file. I see the library in Kontakt, SNPIDs match on KLU and XML, however I get the error "This instrument belongs to a library that is not installed currently!". Any help would be greatly appreciated!
     
  18. sisyphus

    sisyphus Audiosexual

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    Do you mind sharing what library is causing the problem?

    Sometimes "modified" libraries, or provided libraries here and elsewhere may lack an ninct, or rather sometimes have one that conflicts with NI's, and since there are also other unique identifiers that are linked with the snipd, like upid/hu/jdx etc (to my understanding), if there are inconsistencies, could lead to some problems.

    A lot of libraries provided at sister site etc do not have installers per se, but generally their ninct's and corresponding data match with NI''s, and while I have encountered one or two that do not, I generally have kinda stepped aside on those, as while/since I am no expert etc at/on the dependancies, I tend to a be little trigger shy with altering snipd numbers etc myself, as I can see how it might possibly lead to future problems (which tend to rear ugly heads more on the window's methods to this, at least in reported frequency and warnings issued and explained by Talula etc)...

    Also, obviously, not all Kontakt shared require library add, as their devs have not paid into NI's licensing scheme, and are simply addressed or opened just via the file browser, not the official library tab etc. There are also libraries that pre-date ninct's and whatnot, for which as mentioned by clone above in this thread, you can add via Kontakt 5 etc possibly or whatnot.

    Also, just something to try: I have had some installs or additions via KLU which have not 'taken' at first, (I usually check with Kontakt standalone after each install or addition), but with a subsequent removal via KLU and then re-addition, perhaps a reboot (which may or may not do anything in this case at all), everything has been fine. I believe I encountered this most recently with some Slate + Ash libraries.
     
  19. S2D01

    S2D01 Noisemaker

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    Hi, I recently try to add new K libs using KLU latest version:

    The app is behaving strangely, always invoking:

    “This SNPID number is not used by any of your libraries.”

    trying to install any Kontakt library (old and new), even try to downgrade to 2.2.0 but still unable of installing anything...

    It might be something related to Sonoma 14.5 (?)

    Please update!!!

    TIA
    s
     
  20. sisyphus

    sisyphus Audiosexual

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    Sorry, just so I understand, it is saying “This SNPID number is not used by any of your libraries.”, and then NOT allowing you to install said library/libraries?

    As obviously you want that SNIPD number to not be used by your other libraries, but I have never seen that kicked out as a 'warning' that doesn't allow installation... is it grayed out or whatnot? and are you (trying to at least) hit the "install" button right under the "Path to your chosen Library" in the top right of the NICNT Utilities page or the one on the bottom right with the green arrow graphics etc?

    (and feel free to attach a screen shot as would be helpful to me at least, as I certainly haven't encountered that myself and I just want to be clear on what your issue is)
     
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