How to install, find and remove Premiere Pro extensions

What is the difference between a Premiere Pro plug-in and an extension?

A plug-in adds effects you put on clips. An extension adds a panel, a window of buttons that drives Premiere. The two install in different ways, so first work out which one you have.

Maxon describes Red Giant as a toolkit that runs as plugins inside host applications. Boris FX calls Sapphire a plugin suite with more than 270 effects and transitions and more than 3,000 presets. Those are effect plug-ins.

Extensions come in two Adobe frameworks:

• CEP. CEP extensions are packaged as .zxp files. Adobe's CEP resources say an extension must be a ZXP to be seen and loaded by Extension Manager.
• UXP. UXP, the Unified eXtensibility Platform, is an integration framework built into Premiere and other Creative Cloud apps. It runs on a modern JavaScript engine.

We make mouzeclick, and its Premiere panels are the worked example on this page. They are extensions, not effect plug-ins. For the same split in After Effects, with .aex and .jsx files too, see plugin vs script vs extension in After Effects.

How do I install a ZXP extension in Premiere Pro?

Run the .zxp through a free installer, then restart Premiere and open the panel. aescripts ZXP Installer installs by double-click on Windows and by drag and drop on a Mac. It takes any ZXP, not only ones bought from aescripts.

1. Check what you downloaded. A file ending in .zxp is a CEP extension. If the maker gives you its own installer or app instead, use that and skip the rest of this list.
2. Save your project and quit Premiere. You'll start it again after the install. mouzeclick gives the same rule for its own panels: restart the editor after installing.
3. Get an installer. aescripts ZXP Installer is free and built for CEP extensions in After Effects and Premiere Pro. Anastasiy's Extension Manager is also a free download, covered in the next section.
4. Install the file.
   • With aescripts' installer, double-click on Windows, or drag and drop the .zxp on a Mac.
   • With Anastasiy's manager, drag the .zxp onto the manager. The Windows version also accepts it dropped on its icon.
5. Open Premiere and open the panel. Look in the menu the maker names in its instructions, because the sources we checked don't name one menu for every extension. mouzeclick's panels, for example, open under Window › Extensions.
6. If the install fails, try the fallback. aescripts' installer has a fallback custom install option. aescripts says it should work where other installers fail, Adobe's own included.

Mister Horse's tools have their own guide: installing Animation Composer and Premiere Composer.

Which free ZXP installer should I use for Premiere?

Use aescripts ZXP Installer if you only need .zxp files, on either system. Use Anastasiy's Extension Manager on a Mac if you also need .CCX/UXP files. All of the details below were checked on 3 November 2026.

The two builds of Anastasiy's manager differ:

• macOS v5.0 runs on macOS 10.8 or newer. It lists Apple Silicon support, full .CCX/UXP support and fixes for Creative Cloud 2026 update quirks.
• Windows v4.2 runs on Windows 7 or newer. The page shows no newer Windows build and no UXP support on Windows.
• Command-line installs are possible in the Windows version. That helps a studio setting up several machines.
• File › Reset Extension List, added in v3.4, resets the manager's list of extensions.

Adobe's CEP resources page carries an announcement titled "Extension Manager End of Life". Under other tools, the same page points to zxpinstaller.com and install.anastasiy.com.

Where do Premiere Pro extensions get installed on Windows and Mac?

CEP extensions sit in one of two folders: one for your user account, or one for every user on the computer. Knowing both tells you whether an install landed, and whether you have two copies.

These paths come from a panel install script Adobe publishes on GitHub. The script is written for Photoshop panels, but the folders are named for CEP, not for Photoshop, so they are the place to check for a Premiere CEP extension too. The same script has a step that clears matching folders from cep_cache.

UXP plugins are not in this table. The sources we checked don't say where Premiere keeps them.

How is a UXP plugin different from a ZXP extension?

A UXP plugin is built on Adobe's Unified eXtensibility Platform rather than CEP, and it is not a .zxp. Adobe's Share & Distribute page for Premiere UXP covers packaging, Adobe Marketplace, enterprise distribution and installation options.

For someone installing a plugin, that means three things:

• Follow the maker's instructions for a UXP plugin. aescripts describes its installer as one for CEP extensions and doesn't say whether it handles UXP.
• On a Mac, Anastasiy's Extension Manager v5.0 lists full .CCX/UXP support. The Windows build on the same page lists none.
• Adobe's UXP Developer Tool (UDT) is aimed at people writing plugins. It creates plugins from templates and loads plugins, including a pre-compiled template plugin.

The sources we checked don't say which Premiere versions run CEP, UXP or both. Check the maker's requirements before you buy.

How do I install Premiere Pro plugins such as Red Giant or Sapphire?

Use the maker's own route, not a ZXP installer. For Red Giant and Universe that is the Maxon App, which installs and manages them on Windows and macOS. For Sapphire, start from the free trial download on the Boris FX page.

Red Giant and Universe (Maxon)

1. Download the Maxon App. It starts a 14-day free trial that includes Red Giant, Cinema 4D, Redshift and the full Maxon One suite. Only the latest releases are available as trials.
2. Install Red Giant or Universe from the Maxon App.
3. Restart Premiere and look for the effect by name.

What runs in Premiere, according to Maxon:

• Universe, Magic Bullet and Primatte Keyer run natively in a Premiere Pro timeline.
• Magic Bullet Looks is listed for After Effects, Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro, Unreal Engine, Autograph and Cinema 4D.
• Trapcode Particular and Form are described as tools that work directly in After Effects.

Maxon says support varies by tool and host, so check its per-tool compatibility matrix before you count on a tool in Premiere. Red Giant's price is not published on the pages we checked.

Sapphire (Boris FX)

Sapphire 2026.5 lists Premiere Pro among its hosts. The others include After Effects, Avid Media Composer, DaVinci Resolve (via OFX), Nuke, Flame, VEGAS Pro and Fusion Studio.

The product page doesn't give install steps, the trial length or the price, so follow the instructions that come with the download.

For what each suite is good at, see the best Premiere Pro plugins by job. The After Effects side is in how to install After Effects plugins. Preset files are covered in importing Premiere Pro presets (.prfpset).

How do I find a new plug-in in Premiere's effects list?

After you install and restart Premiere, look the new effect up by its own name or the suite's name among your installed effects. An effect plug-in adds effects, not a panel you open from the Window menu.

A big suite is slow to scroll through: Sapphire alone has more than 270 effects and transitions. mouzeclick's Search effects panel was built for this (we make it):

• It lists every installed effect and transition, audio included, plug-ins too.
• Your 12 most recent picks come first, then exact and word-start matches.
• Enter applies the effect. Shift+Enter applies it and pins it to the Tool wheel.
• It runs on Windows and Mac, and it also works in After Effects.

The Search effects feature list shows all 10 of its items.

The Premiere Pro Tool wheel has a segment for your installed effects, so one you use daily sits a flick away. It opens with F10 or a held right button, and it works only in Premiere Pro and After Effects. Both Tool wheels are on the Premiere Pro and After Effects tools page.

Worked example: how mouzeclick installs its Premiere panels (we make it)

mouzeclick's app installs its own Premiere Pro and After Effects extensions, so you never handle a .zxp. After that, the panels open under Window › Extensions, on Windows and on Mac.

1. Install the app. It runs on Windows 10 or 11, or macOS 12 or newer. The download links come in the key email and are also on your account page. There is no driver.
2. On a Mac, allow the app once. Drag it to Applications. Apple has not notarized it yet, so go to System Settings › Privacy & Security › Security › Open Anyway. Turn mouzeclick on under Accessibility and Input Monitoring, then quit it and open it again. The full steps are in installing mouzeclick on a Mac.
3. Enter your key. On a Mac, click the menu-bar icon › Open settings, paste the key and press Activate.
4. Press each mouse button once when the app asks. The settings page is then built around the buttons your mouse has.
5. Install the bridge. Open the app's Tool wheel page and press Install Premiere bridge, or the After Effects one. One bridge panel serves both editors.
6. Restart Premiere.
7. Open a panel from Window › Extensions. You can pick mouzeclick Studio, the mouzeclick Toolbar, Search effects or one of the 8 Premiere Pro extensions.
8. Open the workspace (Windows only). The Premiere Pro workspace is under Window › Extensions › mouzeclick workspace.

Keep mouzeclick running while you work. The Tool wheels need both the bridge and the app.

What runs where:

• Windows and Mac: the mouse app, both Tool wheels, Studio's Silence, Timeline and Guides tabs, the Toolbar, Search effects and all 22 extensions (15 for After Effects, 8 for Premiere Pro, and mouzegrade in both).
• Windows only: Studio's auto, styled and Hinglish captions, Retakes, the two workspaces, cloud sync and in-app updates. The Mac app does not include the workspaces.

mouzeclick publishes no tested minimum Premiere version. The panel files support Premiere Pro 2020 (14.0) or later and After Effects CC 2018 or later. The 3-day trial needs no card, so it is the easiest way to check your own version.

More detail:

• Every panel has a card on the extensions page.
• The whole bundle is laid out in the all-in-one Premiere Pro extension guide.
• The Windows panels are on the workspace page.
• The plan is under pricing.

What should I check when a Premiere Pro extension doesn't show up?

Start with a full restart of Premiere, then confirm the file type and the install folder. Work down this list in order.

1. Restart Premiere fully. Quit the app, not just the project, and open it again.
2. Check the file type.
   • A .zxp is a CEP extension.
   • Red Giant installs through the Maxon App, and Sapphire comes as its own trial download. Neither is installed as a .zxp.
   • A .CCX/UXP file needs a tool that lists UXP support.
3. Look in the right place. The panel may be under Window › Extensions, as mouzeclick's are, or in another menu its maker names. An effect plug-in adds effects, not a panel, so look it up by the effect's name.
4. Check the CEP folders in the table above. If the extension's folder is in neither, the install didn't land. If it's in both, you have two copies.
5. Try the other installer. Switch between aescripts ZXP Installer and Anastasiy's Extension Manager, or use aescripts' fallback custom install option.
6. Reset the list. In Anastasiy's manager, use File › Reset Extension List.
7. Look at the CEP cache with Premiere closed. Adobe's panel install script clears matching folders from cep_cache as one of its steps.
8. Check your build of Anastasiy's on Windows. v4.2's notes list full CC 2024 support. The Creative Cloud 2025 and 2026 support is listed on the macOS v5.0 build.
9. Ask the maker. aescripts says its FAQ answers 99% of support questions and offers a support ticket after that.

For mouzeclick's panels:

• Keep the app running.
• Check that you pressed Install Premiere bridge, then restarted Premiere.
• mouzegrade needs mouzeclick installed on the same computer.
• On Windows, apps running as administrator ignore apps that are not elevated. If Premiere runs as administrator, pick Restart as administrator in mouzeclick's tray menu.

If a panel opens but its controls are grey, see Premiere Pro extensions greyed out.

How do I remove or update a Premiere Pro extension?

Remove or update a ZXP extension with a manager. Anastasiy's Extension Manager lists install, remove and update support. Close Premiere before you change anything.

The aescripts page we checked doesn't describe removal. Without a manager, the extension's folder still sits in one of the CEP folders above, so you can at least see what is installed and where.

Red Giant and Universe are managed through the Maxon App, which installs and manages both.

mouzeclick's panels are updated by its app. On Windows, it keeps its Premiere Pro and After Effects extension files up to date when it updates. In-app updates are Windows-only for now. Each release is listed in the release notes.

Questions people ask

Sources

Checked on 2026-11-03. Prices and features change: each link goes to the maker's own page.

1. Adobe: Premiere product page (name change, price, licensing)
2. Adobe CEP Resources on GitHub (ZXP packaging, Extension Manager end of life, other tools)
3. Adobe generator-panels installPanels.py (CEP folders and cache)
4. Adobe Premiere UXP developer docs
5. Adobe Premiere UXP starters and samples (UXP Developer Tool)
6. aescripts ZXP Installer
7. Anastasiy's Extension Manager
8. Maxon: Red Giant
9. Maxon: visual effects solutions (Universe, Magic Bullet, Primatte Keyer in Premiere)
10. Maxon: color grading solutions (Magic Bullet Looks hosts)
11. Maxon: free trial and platforms FAQ
12. Boris FX: Sapphire

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