> ## Content Index > Fetch the complete content index at: https://lightworksguide.net/llms.txt > Use this file to discover other available public pages before exploring further. # Lightworks Effects and Plugins: What's Built In, What Needs Pro, and How to Add More - URL: https://lightworksguide.net/editing/effects-plugins/ - Published: 2026-10-30T15:00:00.000Z - Updated: 2026-11-11T10:38:47.000Z - Description: Built-in effects on every plan, plugins on Pro and free community effects: how Lightworks 2026.1 applies effects, which plugins it supports and what to do when one breaks. - Author: Lucas Bennett - Tags: editing Every Lightworks plan ships with built-in video effects, titles, transitions, masks and clip LUTs, so you can grade, reposition and mask a shot on Free. Create adds advanced titles and the native audio effects. Plugins are a Pro feature: OpenFX video plugins and VST, AU or LADSPA audio plugins only load in Lightworks Pro, and the full NewBlue TotalFX suite is a paid upgrade on top of Pro. Outside that ladder sits a library of community effects written by Lightworks users, which you install from inside the program. I'd work through the built-in stack and the community library before paying for Pro just to get plugins, because Transform 3D, Reframe, masks, LUTs and EQ already cover most of what a typical edit needs. Pro earns its price when a specific plugin family, such as Boris FX, a NewBlue suite or a Waves bundle, is part of how you already work. | Feature | Plans | Linux | | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Built-in effects, titles and transitions | Free, Create, Pro | No restriction listed | | Video mask effect | Free, Create, Pro | No restriction listed | | Clip LUTs | Free, Create, Pro | No restriction listed | | Audio levelling and EQ | Free, Create, Pro | No restriction listed | | Advanced transitions | Free, Create, Pro | Not available | | Advanced titles | Create, Pro | Not available | | Quick audio FX and native audio FX (compressor, limiter, noise gate, noise reducer, reverb) | Create, Pro | No restriction listed | | Advanced correct and enhance effects | Pro | Not available | | OpenFX video plugins | Pro | No restriction listed for OpenFX itself | | Third-party audio plugins (AU, VST, LADSPA) | Pro | Custom plugin UI issue listed in 2025.1; check current plugin/build compatibility | | NewBlue TotalFX (1,500 presets in 177 video plugins) | Paid upgrade on Pro | Not available | The rows come from the [Lightworks plan comparison](https://lwks.com/pricing), which also carries the Linux notes. The [NewBlue plugin requirements on the tech specs page](https://lwks.com/lightworks-tech-specs) split the NewBlue products the same way: Transitions runs on Free, Create or Pro, TitlerPro needs Create or Pro, Essentials needs Pro, and the full TotalFX suite is a paid upgrade to Pro. Those plugins list Windows 10 or macOS 12 and later, 8 GB of RAM with 16 GB recommended, and an NVIDIA or AMD graphics card with OpenGL 2.1 and 1 GB of video memory. For the rest of each plan, the [Free, Create and Pro comparison](https://lightworksguide.net/compare/free-create-pro/) covers export and licensing, and [what Lightworks Free leaves out](https://lightworksguide.net/compare/is-lightworks-free/) lists every gap in the free plan. ## How effects work in Lightworks 2026.1 An effect lives at one of two levels. A segment effect changes one clip on the timeline, and most effects go on that way. A track effect processes everything on a track, which suits a treatment you want across many clips at once. The [Lightworks effects overview](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/effects-overview) stresses that both are non-destructive: your source media never changes, and removing an effect returns the clip to how it looked without it. Where a new effect lands depends on how you add it, and 2026.1 changed one of the three routes: - **Drag it onto a clip** and it goes on exactly that clip. - **Select clips first** and it goes on the selection. Clips on locked tracks are never changed. - **Double-click it in the Effects browser, press Apply or use a keyboard favourite** and, since 2026.1, it follows the track targets. Video effects go to the top-most targeted track with a clip under the playhead, and audio effects go to the first targeted audio track with a clip. With nothing targeted, every track counts. Untargeted and locked tracks are left alone. The [Lightworks 2026.1 What's New page](https://lwks.com/whats-new) explains the reason: Apply isn't aimed at a particular clip, so it now behaves like other edits. The same release stopped offering audio effects for a marked region, because audio effects belong to clips. [Audio crossfades](https://lightworksguide.net/editing/lightworks-audio-crossfade/) still use marks. I'd drag effects onto clips while you're learning the new rule, because a drag always lands where you drop it, whatever the targets say. ![Lightworks track headers V2, V1, A1 and A2 with V1 and A1 targeted and V2 locked: pressing Apply sends a video effect to the clip on V1 under the playhead and an audio effect to the clip on A1, while the locked V2 clip is left alone.](https://lightworksguide.net/content/images/2026/11/lightworks-apply-effect-follows-track-targets.webp) Apply, double-click and keyboard favourites follow the track targets in 2026.1: video goes to the top-most targeted track with a clip under the playhead, audio to the first targeted audio track, and locked tracks are skipped. ### The Effects Settings panel Effects Settings is where you adjust an effect, and 2026.1 rebuilt it for working on a whole stack. Categories carry icons, effects can be reordered with arrows, values can be shown as percentages or pixels, and parameter boxes respond to the scroll wheel for fine changes. Show only active clip hides effects from other tracks. If several clips sit under the playhead, you can pick the segment you want and its settings appear. When effects are expanded to FX tracks, the panel shows only the FX track. Two controls do very different jobs. Disabling an effect bypasses it and keeps every setting, so you can flick it off and on to judge whether it earns its place. Removing it takes it out of the stack for good. Order matters as well, because effects process from the top of the stack down: in the knowledge base's own example, a crop before a resize looks different from a resize before a crop. Any active parameter can also be keyframed to change over time. ![Two Lightworks effect stacks side by side: Crop above Resize and Resize above Crop produce two different pictures, one filling the frame and one inside a border; below them a dimmed Crop row with its switch off marks Disable, and an empty dashed slot with a trash can marks Remove.](https://lightworksguide.net/content/images/2026/11/lightworks-effect-stack-order-disable-remove.webp) Effects process from the top of the stack down, so swapping a crop and a resize changes the picture. Disable bypasses an effect and keeps its settings; Remove deletes it. ## Copy a look across clips or save it as a template Right-click a clip and choose Copy Effects, then use Paste Effects... on the destination. The dialog asks the two questions that matter: what should happen to keyframes, and what should happen if the target already has that effect. You can also choose which effects to copy rather than moving the whole stack. | Question | Option | What it does | | ---------------- | ------------------------------------ | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Keyframes | Retime To Fit | Stretches or squeezes the keyframes to the length of the target clip | | Keyframes | Keep Original Timing | Keeps the keyframes at the same times as on the original clip | | Keyframes | Reset All Parameters | Pastes the effects with keyframed parameters reset | | Existing effects | Paste as New Effect | Always adds a new copy | | Existing effects | Update Existing Effects | Replaces the settings of an existing effect of the same type | | Existing effects | Skip If Effect Already Exists | Leaves clips that already have the effect alone | | Target | Selected clips or All Matching Clips | All Matching Clips pastes onto every use of the same source clip in the timeline | The knowledge base suggests a scene workflow: grade a hero shot, copy it, then paste with Update Existing Effects onto All Matching Clips, and keep tweaking afterwards. I'd use Update Existing Effects for every second pass at a look, because Paste as New Effect stacks a fresh copy on top of the old one and leaves you with two grades fighting each other. For a look you'll use again in other projects, Create template from segment effects saves the clip's whole stack as a template. Further in, the Video Routing panel shows a clip's effects as a node graph you can rewire, for effects that need a second input or an arrangement a top-to-bottom stack can't express. The knowledge base says most editing never needs it, and that matches what the panel is for. ## The built-in picture tools you'll reach for first Three built-in effects do most of the visible work on a modern edit, and all three are in every plan: - **Transform 3D** is the default transform in 2026.1 and combines what Transform 2D and 3D used to offer: position, scale and [rotation](https://lightworksguide.net/editing/rotate-flip-video/), with Scale running from 0 to 10 and 1 as normal size. The older Transform and Framing effects still work where a project already uses them but are no longer offered as new effects. The [crop and resize guide](https://lightworksguide.net/editing/crop-resize/) walks through it step by step. - **Reframe** is new in 2026.1 for delivering one edit in more than one shape. You pick the frame you're delivering to, position the picture inside it and choose what fills the gap: black, a blurred copy of the same clip, or another clip. Presets cover film and television ratios plus portrait and square, and everything keyframes. The [vertical video guide](https://lightworksguide.net/export/vertical-video/) uses it for 9:16 delivery. - **Masks** limit an effect to part of the frame with an ellipse, a rectangle, a curve or an imported SVG shape, with feather, opacity and invert controls. The [masks knowledge base article](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/masks-and-selective-effects) notes that mask controls are disabled while the effect itself is disabled. In 2026.1 a rectangle or ellipse appears at a default size as soon as you choose it, and you can drag it from anywhere inside the shape. Titles follow the same plan split as the effects. Built-in titles work on every plan, and NewBlue TitlerPro needs Create or Pro, as the [text and titles guide](https://lightworksguide.net/editing/text-titles/) explains. For transitions, the useful habit is leaving handles on your clips; [the not-enough-media fix](https://lightworksguide.net/fix/transition-not-enough-media/) covers the error you see without them. ## Community effects: free extras from other users Community effects are user-written effects, not plugins. On the Lightworks forum, a member answering a [question about third-party VFX plugins](https://forum.lwks.com/threads/third-party-vfx-plugins.247068/) points out that what many videos call plugins are Lightworks user effects, which are numerous and free, while OpenFX is the Pro feature. Since [Lightworks 2023.1](https://cdn.lwks.com/docs/2023.1/Lightworks%5F2023.1%5FRelease%5FNotes.pdf) you install them straight from the effects panel with Install community effects, and the [2025.1 release](https://cdn.lwks.com/docs/2025.1/Lightworks%5F2025.1%5FRelease%5FNotes.pdf) added Create template from shader code for writing your own. The [community effects FAQ on the Lightworks forum](https://forum.lwks.com/threads/lightworks-and-community-effects-faq.188603/) covers the details the official pages skip. Open Install community effects, pick a category and choose the effect; anything already installed shows greyed out. Lightworks never overwrites an effect with the same name, so a newer version appears as a duplicate unless you right-click the old one, choose Delete.. and install again. Lightworks-supplied effects can't be deleted this way. A red error message during install means the effect failed to compile, and the FAQ asks you to post the message with your Lightworks version, operating system and graphics card in the custom effects feedback thread. The library itself is downloaded when Lightworks starts, and the FAQ warns it can fall out of step with the website. To rebuild it, close Lightworks, then rename, move or delete the User Effects folder inside Effect Templates. Lightworks rebuilds it with the current library on the next launch. | System | Folder that holds User Effects | | --------------------------------------------- | ---------------------------------------------------------- | | Windows (the FAQ's Public Documents location) | C:\\Users\\Public\\Documents\\Lightworks\\Effect Templates | | macOS | /Users/your-account/Lightworks/Effect Templates | | Linux | /home/your-account/Lightworks/Effect Templates | The table records the FAQ's locations. For a fresh Windows v2026 installation, the [current installation guide places Lightworks data in your own Documents folder](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/installation-and-setup). Locate the actual User Effects folder for that installation before changing anything; if it is absent, check the build-specific location rather than creating or deleting folders to match this table. I'd rename the verified folder rather than delete it, because the renamed copy preserves effects installed by hand if the rebuild leaves something out. ## OpenFX video plugins on Lightworks Pro OpenFX arrived in [Lightworks 2022.1, whose release notes](https://cdn.lwks.com/docs/2022.1/Lightworks%5F2022.1%5FRelease%5FNotes.pdf) list it as Pro only and name the plugins Lightworks tested and verified: - NewBlue 7.8 (TotalFX, Titler Pro, Elements, Transitions, Filters, Stylizers and Essentials), Windows and Mac only - Boris FX 2021.5 Continuum and Title Studio, Windows and Mac only - Boris FX 2021.5 Sapphire - Maxon Magic Bullet Looks 14.0.4, Windows and Mac only The same notes say other OpenFX effects from other vendors may work. The 2023.1 notes fix OpenFX problems such as wrong colours at 8-bit GPU precision and plugins with unconnected inputs, yet neither 2023.1 nor 2025.1 adds a vendor to that tested list. Every version from 2022.1 to 2025.1 also lists one firm limit under Windows: After Effects plug-ins are not supported. OpenFX and After Effects are different plugin standards, so a pack sold only for After Effects won't load. TotalFX has its own conditions in the [Lightworks FAQs](https://lwks.com/faqs). The package needs a Lightworks Pro licence active on the system. If TotalFX is installed but its effects are missing from the Plugins category, the FAQ blames an older Lightworks and points to 2023.1 or later. If you own a perpetual licence for a version before 2025, My Products offers both a regular upgrade and an upgrade plus TotalFX. ![Diagram of where Lightworks effects come from by plan: built-in effects on Free, Create and Pro, growing on the higher plans, community effects on every plan, OpenFX plugins and VST, AU or LADSPA audio plugins only on Pro, and TotalFX as a paid upgrade on Pro.](https://lightworksguide.net/content/images/2026/11/lightworks-effects-plugins-routes-by-plan.webp) Four ways to get more effects: the built-in set, community effects, Pro-only OpenFX and audio plugins, and the paid TotalFX upgrade on Pro. ### Example: TotalFX on Windows, from licence to export Use the TotalFX package supplied for Lightworks and the version covered by your entitlement. The [LWKS FAQ requires an active Pro licence](https://lwks.com/faqs); TotalFX is a separate paid upgrade. Check its [Windows and graphics requirements](https://lwks.com/lightworks-tech-specs) before downloading. This route does not establish compatibility for an arbitrary retail OFX build. 1. Get the official installer for your licensed package. Close the editors and NewBlue applications, then follow the [NewBlue installation and activation steps](https://newbluefx.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/15181840599195-Install-Activate-TotalFX). Sign in to NewBlue Application Manager and activate the TotalFX serial supplied with your purchase. 2. Open Lightworks with Pro active and look for the installed effect in the Effects panel's Plugins category. Drag one effect onto a specific clip, then use its ordinary controls in [FX Settings](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/effects-overview). Toggle the effect off and on to compare the picture without losing its settings. 3. If the effect is missing, check the licence, the Lightworks-specific package and the vendor's version/platform compatibility. The FAQ names an older host as one possible reason for missing TotalFX effects; it does not make an update a universal repair. The audio-plugin scan command below is not a documented OFX rescan command. 4. Mark a short section that shows the effect. In the [Export panel, check the source item and marked range](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/export-overview), choose the intended delivery settings and use a new output name. 5. Wait for [the export task to finish](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/batch-export-and-background-tasks). Open the resulting file outside Lightworks and check the effect, motion, framing and sound. Run the full export only after that sample matches the intended result. ### Plugin known issues, release by release The historical plugin entries below come from the published release notes for [2022.1](https://cdn.lwks.com/docs/2022.1/Lightworks%5F2022.1%5FRelease%5FNotes.pdf), [2023.1](https://cdn.lwks.com/docs/2023.1/Lightworks%5F2023.1%5FRelease%5FNotes.pdf) and [2025.1](https://cdn.lwks.com/docs/2025.1/Lightworks%5F2025.1%5FRelease%5FNotes.pdf). The [2025.2 notes](https://cdn.lwks.com/docs/2025.2/Lightworks%5F2025.2%5FRelease%5FNotes.pdf) omit that section, while the [2026.1 What's New page](https://lwks.com/whats-new) lists updates and fixes rather than an open-issues register. | Known issue | 2022.1 | 2023.1 | 2025.1 | | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ---------- | ---------- | ---------- | | No vendor categories in the Video and Audio Effects lists | Listed | Listed | Listed | | First startup can be slow, depending on how many third-party plugins are installed | Listed | Listed | Listed | | Windows: After Effects plug-ins are not supported | Listed | Listed | Listed | | Linux: custom plugin interfaces are disabled | Listed | Listed | Listed | | Linux: no FX plug-in support | Listed | Not listed | Not listed | | Linux: some audio plugins hang Lightworks at startup | Not listed | Listed | Listed | | Audio plugin effects can't be added as favourites | Listed | Listed | Not listed | | Boris FX Continuum: crash opening Mocha Motion Tracker on some plugins | Listed | Listed | Listed | | Boris FX Continuum: image background missing in BCC Mocha Pixel Chooser | Listed | Listed | Listed | | Boris FX Continuum: OpenFX transitions between segments of different dimensions are wrong | Listed | Listed | Listed | | Boris FX: possible hang adding an effect when the clip thumbnail is grey | Listed | Listed | Listed | | NewBlue Titler Pro: long wait before the licensing panel opens | Listed | Listed | Listed | | NewBlue: uninstalling can hide text in Lightworks until a restart | Listed | Listed | Listed | | NewBlue: Title effects may render incorrectly | Listed | Not listed | Not listed | | NewBlue: thumbnails may stop showing after adding several effects | Listed | Not listed | Not listed | | NewBlue: possible hang working with titles | Listed | Not listed | Not listed | | Accusonus ERA plugins don't apply processing on export | Listed | Not listed | Not listed | | Plugin issues listed | 16 of 17 | 12 of 17 | 11 of 17 | Ten of the seventeen plugin entries appear in all three lists, and eleven were listed in the 2025.1 known-issues section. Six dropped out along the way: three NewBlue title and thumbnail problems, the Accusonus export problem and the Linux "no FX plug-in support" line after 2022.1, then the audio favourites limit after 2023.1\. One joined in 2023.1, a Linux hang at startup caused by some audio plugins. Lightworks marks every NewBlue entry as a NewBlue issue rather than its own. The tested vendor list above belongs to Lightworks 2022.1, not a certification of every current NewBlue, Boris FX or Magic Bullet build. I'd confirm the exact host version, operating system and plugin package before buying, then export a short representative section. The historical issue table identifies what those releases listed; it does not establish whether every issue remains in 2026.1, and a missing row alone does not prove a fix. ## Audio effects and VST, AU or LADSPA plugins The [Lightworks audio effects guide](https://lwks.com/lightworks-knowledge-base/audio-effects) lists the built-in processors: Graphic EQ, Compressor, Limiter, Noise Gate, Noise Reducer and Reverb, with availability depending on your licence. On the pricing page, Free gets levelling and EQ, while the compressor, limiter, gate, noise reducer and reverb start at Create. The guide's order rule is worth keeping: clean up first with noise reduction and corrective EQ, shape the tone next, and control level last with compression and limiting. A stereo pair shows as a single tab, such as A1/2, and every change applies to both sides. With grouped tracks, Link Grouped Audio Effects keeps the group's effects adjusted together. Bypass any effect to hear the sound without it; if the bypassed version sounds just as good, the effect isn't needed. Third-party audio plugins in VST, AU or LADSPA format, depending on platform, sit in the same stack on Pro. After installing a plugin, run Scan for new audio plugins so Lightworks finds it, and use Launch plugin editor to open the plugin's own interface. In 2026.1 the scan accepts plugins with a side-chain input on Windows and macOS, and rechecks plugins an earlier version ignored. Instruments and Apple's mixer Audio Units aren't effects, so they never appear in the list. The 2022.1 notes list the audio plugins Lightworks tested: Waves 13, the Accusonus ERA 6 bundle, Melda's free bundle and three Sonnox plugins. For the editing side of sound, the [music and dialogue mixing guide](https://lightworksguide.net/editing/music-dialogue/) puts these effects to work, and the [voiceover recording guide](https://lightworksguide.net/editing/lightworks-record-voiceover/) covers getting a clean take to treat in the first place. ## When an effect or plugin misbehaves | Symptom | Likely cause | What to do | | ------------------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | An applied effect lands on the wrong track | Apply, double-click and favourites follow track targets in 2026.1 | Drag the effect onto the clip, or set the targets before you apply | | An effect won't go on a clip | The clip is on a locked track | Unlock the track, then add the effect again | | Audio effects missing for a marked region | 2026.1 applies audio effects to clips only | Select the clips; keep marks for crossfades | | A new audio plugin isn't listed | Not scanned yet, no Pro licence, or it's an instrument | Run Scan for new audio plugins and check the licence; instruments never appear | | TotalFX installed but missing from Plugins | An older Lightworks, or no active Pro licence | Update to a current version and confirm Pro is active | | A community effect is missing or out of date | The local library is out of step | Close Lightworks and rename the User Effects folder | | A reinstalled effect shows up twice | Lightworks doesn't overwrite same-name effects | Delete the old copy, then install again | | Slow first launch after adding plugins | Long first startup listed in older release notes | Allow initial loading time; preserve logs if it stalls before changing the plugin setup | | Linux hangs at startup after adding audio plugins | Some audio plugins implicated in 2025.1 notes | Record the named plugin and version; use a vendor/LWKS check with a reversible change | | Playback stutters only on effects-heavy sections | GPU precision set to 16-bit while cutting | Use 8-bit while editing and 16-bit for grading and the final render | The old notes offered sudo as a workaround for a Linux startup hang. Do not turn that into a routine launch method: running the editor as root can create files your normal account cannot change. If the failure follows a plugin install, preserve the logs and record the exact plugin, host version and operating system before following a scoped vendor or LWKS procedure. The [crash guide](https://lightworksguide.net/fix/crashing/) covers the evidence to send. For effects-heavy stutter, the [playback guide](https://lightworksguide.net/fix/slow-playback/) separates effects, decoding and storage checks. ## A routine for effects that stay manageable Drag effects onto specific clips while learning the 2026.1 targeting rule. Build a look on one hero shot, paste it with Update Existing Effects and save a reusable template. Keep custom effects backed up before rebuilding a library. For a plugin purchase, confirm the exact host, platform and package, then check a short export before committing to the full job.