Ity doesn't do that in Live 11 that's the point both me and keen are making, so whatever user error you'll rule out it still Live 12's new way of handling database that are at fault.

 

But that's not thought through thoroughly, because the scan normally takes a maximum of 5 seconds, while yours takes 3 minutes. If Ableton were to make users wait 3 minutes, the Ableton community would immediately complain, because making music, and 3 minutes, kills any creative process. That's why I wanted to work with you to rule out any other possible interference.

 

I think its ableton error not user error, IN live 11 and every live version before there is no problem, instant plugin list every time you click., even now with the same plugins in the same folder ,instant plugins list pops up when u click on it and click somewhere else and back. plus it still has manufacturers categories.Its in live 12 the problem ,it must be that database file. prob would be best if Ableton would do a original version of that file same as in live 11 and let peeps choose which one to use.TBF it shouldn't be happening its crazy computers have got faster and disks etc but to check your plugin list u now have to wait while three dots move left to right? its mad. its the main way and only way since live v1 for me where its like what have u done?, that's broke kinda thing.mad. and like keen said god forbid u want to add a plugin or instrument in a live or studio session scenario ,just looks bad . shouldn't have to be any workarounds at all no excuses, just needs to work as it did in every live version before v 12.If other peeps is fine, great, but I seen loadsa peeps with this same prob.

 

@bdone, it takes 3 minutes. I think most people take about 5 seconds.
Can you confirm that it actually takes 3 minutes, because then the product would be defective? How much time do you need?

 

Nice one for trying to help, If you could try see what's the diff between live 11 n before DB file , and live 12.

cool , ill load up a set and let u know how long mine takes

 

Rescanning plug-ins in Live 12.1
Ableton Live 12.1 automatically rescans all plug-ins when first launched after updating. This is necessary due to a change in the location where plug-in data is stored. As of Live 12.1, plug-ins scanning data is written into a plug-in database file, which is separate from Live's main database file.

This change is expected to improve Live’s performance, compared with earlier versions. Once an initial full rescan is completed in Live 12.1 or later, an automatic rescan will not be triggered on subsequent launches of Live 12.1.

Important: If you experience slow launch, hanging, freezing, crashing on startup, or missing plug-ins, check that all installed plug-ins are updated to the latest versions and officially supported in Live 12 on your OS.

The plug-in scanning database file, named Live-plugins-1.db, can be found inside the following folder on your computer:

• Mac: /Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/Ableton/Live Database/
• Windows: \Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Ableton\Live Database\

After updating your devices and checking that they are correctly installed and configured, if you still experience issues during Live's plug-ins scanning, you can follow the steps in this guide to reset the plug-ins database file: Resetting Live's Database.

For more information, visit our guides to Troubleshooting a crash and Plug-ins Tips and Troubleshooting.

Source: https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/16261934134940-Rescanning-plug-ins-in-Live-12-1

 

Just looked , First time clicked on plug ins took 59 secs, no joke. then I just clicked on lives own plugins list. then clicked back on plug ins that took 37 secs. just for the list to show ,all u get is three dots at the top for however long it decides to take. but in live 11. no seconds the list is just there instantly as I've always been used to it. its mad.

 

thanks for that ,but in my case its the opposite way round lol.

 

also just to be clear, the problem is not on scanning at startup, that's ok. its just once its started up just seeing the plugin list straight away is the issue

 

Thanks for the re-measurement.
Is it 32 seconds each time? What if they open it again? 37 seconds is too long, I think.

Does this solve the problem?

Important: If you experience slow launch, hanging, freezing, crashing on startup, or missing plug-ins, check that all installed plug-ins are updated to the latest versions and officially supported in Live 12 on your OS.

The plug-in scanning database file, named Live-plugins-1.db, can be found inside the following folder on your computer:

• Mac: /Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/Ableton/Live Database/
• Windows: \Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Ableton\Live Database\

https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/16261934134940-Rescanning-plug-ins-in-Live-12-1

 

At startup, it doesn't scan at all anymore. As soon as I open Ableton, I see a plugin scan in the bottom left that takes 2 seconds!
Why does the thread start for 3 minutes?

 

Does this solve the problem?

Important: If you experience slow launch, hanging, freezing, crashing on startup, or missing plug-ins, check that all installed plug-ins are updated to the latest versions and officially supported in Live 12 on your OS.

The plug-in scanning database file, named Live-plugins-1.db, can be found inside the following folder on your computer:

• Mac: /Users/[username]/Library/Application Support/Ableton/Live Database/
• Windows: \Users\[username]\AppData\Local\Ableton\Live Database\

https://help.ableton.com/hc/en-us/articles/16261934134940-Rescanning-plug-ins-in-Live-12-1

News | Live 12.2 is Out Now

Browser improvements in Live 12.2 include the new Quick Tags panel that enables you to view, edit and assign tags directly in the Browser. You can customize the look of any label and user folder in your sidebar with a range of new icons, and the Browser lets you view multiple columns of metadata at once. The Filter View has been simplified too, and its hidden features are now more discoverable.
- Devices can be selected, controlled, and viewed in Plugin mode.

www.ableton.com/en/blog/live-12-2-is-out-now

 

Last edited: Aug 14, 2025

Bro............ NOBODY IS TALKING ABOUT STARTUP PLUGINS SCAN!!!

 

None of this stuff is helping. Database cleaning or ungroup by creator, it's the implementation of this tagging nonsense as it constantly makes cross references between vendors, names, VST2 VST3 format and whatsnot, so yeah maybe there's some user errors that prologues this process but "somehow" Live 11 or 10 do well while 12 is getting short-circled whenever you move through different sections in the database. So cleaning it or re-installation not going to help. And yes, it has nothing to do with the startup scan, forget about the startup. No hard feelings, it's cool that you are sincerely trying to help, greatly appreciated but it's already been pointed out at least 6 times by now it's not the startup.

 

I haven't read the entire thread, so maybe it's already been mentioned, but what if you disable all these tag options using the arrow next to the tag button? Specifically, disable "auto tag" and maybe also all the tags like "content, function," etc. Does that make a difference?

 

This won't bring you any closer to solving your problem, but what you're describing doesn't happen in my Ableton Live at all. I've never had this kind of problem. From what I can tell, my Live 12 doesn't scan for plugins at all past the startup scan. Also, for being a known issue that everyone complains about I can find surprisingly little about it with Duckduckgo. In fact, a lot of the results that pop up lead back here to AudioSex.
Could it be a bug related to cracked Live 12? Because my impression is that the majority of AudioSex users use pirated Live, and unless I'm blind i wasn't able to find this complaint on the official Ableton forums.

 

HI cool , just tried that but no difference . Also forgot to say when u take off group by manufacturer that works, but I like it with manufacturer categories so always still never worked.

 

I wonder if it's a Waves issue. I don't have any Waves plugins installed and not having this issue.
There is also this for people who claim they like to scroll through a long list of plugins in the middle of a show https://killihu.vstskins.com/alfil-max/

 

If you are on 12.2 and still experiencing this, what is the contents of your user library and is the user library on a NVME SSD and do you know for certain that your SSD drive is NVME and not SATA. If its on SATA is that drive the primary/only or a secondary and is Ableton itself on a NVME SSD?

File > Manage Files > Manager User Library

Whats in "Contents of the User Library"? and then whats 'Files from Elsewhere' in "External Files?"

 

Has nothing to do with any of this Database, Library, NVME/SSD, Waves, cracked software vs legit etc. Ableton tried to get fancy with all these ridiculous tags, favorites colors, filters and such. Pretty much every forum on the net, including Ableton's own, has this issue mentioned and the only solution I have been able to find, tested by myself, is written below, in my own words, not some Ai copy and paste guessing game crap I lifted from the net


The only way to make it an instant plug-ins list is to open the Plug-ins tab from the browser, then mouse right click anywhere in the Plug-ins empty field and uncheck "Group By Creator". You'll now get an instant list whenever you click on the Plug-ins section, but obviously its every plug-in you have installed, rather than folders listed by developer, so its likely a much longer list to scroll through.

If you have thousands of plug-ins, basically, you're forked! To date Ableton has not offered a fix or viable solution to this. Use search or better yet create your own folder with customized sub-folders and groups saved inside. This is what I do and it works amazingly!