ICONIC - FL Studio Plugin Sorter AI

An intelligent, AI-powered tool to organize, categorize, and manage your FL Studio plugin database

🎯 Overview

ICONIC is a powerful desktop and web application designed to help music producers organize their FL Studio plugin databases. Using Google's Gemini AI, it intelligently categorizes your plugins, detects duplicates, and provides a clean, intuitive interface for managing thousands of plugins efficiently.

📖 Read the complete Feature Analysis & Design Rationale to understand the thought process behind each feature and see detailed ratings.

💡 View Improvement Recommendations for future enhancements and feature ideas.

✨ Key Features

🤖 AI-Powered Organization

• Smart Categorization: Automatically categorizes plugins using Gemini AI
• Multi-Tag Support: Assign multiple categories to plugins for flexible organization
• Learning System: Remembers your manual categorizations and applies them automatically
• Batch Processing: Process hundreds of plugins simultaneously with intelligent retry logic

🔍 Advanced Duplicate Detection

• Content-Based Hashing: Identifies true duplicates by comparing file content
• Fuzzy Name Matching: Finds duplicates even with different naming conventions
• Smart Rename: Automatically cleans up plugin names and removes duplicate suffixes
• Best Version Selection: Keeps the newest version with the cleanest name

📁 Powerful File Operations

• Category-Based Organization: Automatically moves plugins into category folders
• Flatten Database: Consolidate all plugins to root directory
• Undo Support: Revert any file operations with one click
• Asset Management: Handles associated files (.nfo, .png) automatically
• Leftover Cleanup: Moves orphaned files to dedicated folder

🎨 Intuitive Interface

• Grid & List Views: Switch between visual grid and detailed list view
• Multi-Select: Select and operate on multiple plugins at once
• Drag & Drop: Drag plugins directly onto categories in sidebar
• Real-time Search: Instantly filter plugins by name
• Status Filters: View uncategorized, duplicates, analyzed, or all plugins
• Zoom Controls: Adjust grid size to your preference

🚀 Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v16 or higher)
• Gemini API Key (optional, for AI features)
  • Get your free API key at Google AI Studio

Installation

Option 1: Desktop Application (Recommended)

1. Download the installer for your platform:

   • Windows: ICONIC-Setup.exe
   • macOS: ICONIC.dmg
   • Linux: ICONIC.AppImage or .deb

2. Install and run the application

3. Enter your Gemini API Key (optional)

4. Select your FL Studio plugin database folder

   • Default location: C:\Users\[YourName]\Documents\Image-Line\FL Studio\Presets\Plugin database

Option 2: Web Application

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/trabalhefabricio/iconic-fl-pluginsorter.git
   cd iconic-fl-pluginsorter

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Set up environment (optional): Create a .env.local file:

   GEMINI_API_KEY=your_api_key_here

4. Run the development server:

   npm run dev

5. Open in browser: Navigate to http://localhost:3000

📖 Usage Guide

Initial Setup

1. Launch Application: Open ICONIC desktop app or web version
2. Enter API Key: Paste your Gemini API key (or use Manual Mode)
3. Select Folder: Choose your FL Studio plugin database directory
4. Wait for Scan: Application will scan all plugins and generate hashes

Basic Workflow

1. Analyze Plugins:

   • Click "ANALYZE" to start AI categorization
   • AI will process plugins in batches of 15
   • Progress shown in real-time
   • Can be stopped anytime by clicking "STOP"

2. Review & Adjust:

   • Browse categorized plugins in grid or list view
   • Manually adjust categories by:
     • Dragging plugins to categories in sidebar
     • Using Inspector panel to add/remove tags
     • Right-clicking for context menu options

3. Organize Files:

   • Click "ORGANIZE FILES" to execute file operations
   • Plugins moved to category folders
   • Duplicates deleted (if enabled)
   • Leftover files moved to _Unused_Assets
   • Undo manifest created automatically

4. Undo if Needed:

   • Click "Revert Changes" to undo last operation
   • All files restored to original locations
   • Folders cleaned up automatically

Keyboard Shortcuts

• Ctrl/Cmd + A - Select all visible plugins
• Ctrl/Cmd + O - Open folder (desktop app)
• Delete/Backspace - Mark selected as duplicates
• Escape - Clear selection / Close dialogs

🏗️ Architecture

Technology Stack

• Frontend Framework: React 19 with TypeScript
• Build Tool: Vite 6
• Desktop: Electron 39
• AI Service: Google Gemini 2.5 Flash
• UI Components: Lucide React icons
• Styling: Tailwind CSS (via CDN)

Project Structure

iconic-fl-pluginsorter/
├── components/          # React UI components
├── services/           # Business logic services
├── electron.cjs        # Electron main process
├── preload.cjs         # Electron preload script
├── App.tsx            # Main application component
├── types.ts           # TypeScript type definitions
└── vite.config.ts     # Build configuration

⚙️ Configuration

Application Settings

Available in the Inspector panel:

• Auto-Execute: Automatically organize after analysis completes
• Deduplicate: Delete duplicate files during organization
• Multi-Tag: Copy plugins to multiple category folders
• Dry Run: Simulate operations without making changes

Category Profiles

Three preset profiles available:

1. Standard (FL): General-purpose categories (Synth, Bass, Drums, FX, etc.)
2. Electronic / EDM: Genre-specific categories (Leads, Pads, Plucks, Bass)
3. Cinematic / Orchestral: Film scoring categories (Strings, Brass, Woodwinds)

🔒 Security & Privacy

• Local Processing: All file operations happen locally on your machine
• No Data Upload: Plugin files never leave your computer
• API Key Security: Stored locally, never transmitted except to Gemini API
• Sandbox Security: Electron app runs with context isolation enabled
• Input Sanitization: All user inputs validated and sanitized
• Error Boundaries: Graceful error handling prevents crashes

🐛 Troubleshooting

Common Issues

"Cannot access folder" / Permission denied

• Solution: Make sure FL Studio is closed
• Reason: FL Studio locks plugin database files while running

AI categorization not working

• Check: API key starts with "AIzaSy"
• Check: Internet connection is active
• Solution: Try Manual Mode if issues persist

Plugins not appearing after scan

• Check: Folder contains .fst files
• Solution: Verify folder path is correct

Debug Mode

Enable detailed logging:

1. Open Developer Tools (F12 in browser, Cmd+Option+I in desktop app)
2. Check Console tab for detailed operation logs
3. Look for red error messages or warnings

🛠️ Development

Build from Source

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/trabalhefabricio/iconic-fl-pluginsorter.git
cd iconic-fl-pluginsorter

# Install dependencies
npm install

# Run development server (web)
npm run dev

# Run development with Electron
npm run dev:electron

# Build for production (web)
npm run build

# Build desktop apps
npm run build:electron        # All platforms
npm run build:electron:win    # Windows only
npm run build:electron:mac    # macOS only
npm run build:electron:linux  # Linux only

Project Scripts

• npm run dev - Start Vite dev server
• npm run dev:electron - Start with Electron in development mode
• npm run build - Build web application
• npm run build:electron - Build desktop applications
• npm run preview - Preview production build

📋 Known Limitations

1. Browser Support: File System Access API requires Chrome/Edge 86+
2. File Size: Very large databases (10,000+ plugins) may be slow
3. API Limits: Gemini API has rate limits on free tier
4. FL Studio Specific: Designed for FL Studio's plugin format (.fst)
5. No Undo After Restart: Undo manifest cleared on app restart

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please:

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Commit your changes
4. Push to the branch
5. Open a Pull Request

⭐ Feature Ratings & Design Philosophy

ICONIC has been thoughtfully designed with each feature serving a specific purpose in the plugin organization workflow.

Overall Rating: 9.2/10

Highlights

• AI-Powered Categorization (10/10): Exceptional - saves hours of work with intelligent understanding of VST ecosystem
• Learning System (9.5/10): Brilliant - gets smarter with use, remembers your preferences
• Duplicate Detection (9/10): Smart content-based hashing with fuzzy matching
• Undo System (8.5/10): Provides safety but limited to last operation
• Drag & Drop UI (9.5/10): Intuitive and natural interaction pattern

Design Principles

1. Balance Automation with Control: AI handles grunt work, humans make final decisions
2. Safety First: Undo, dry-run, and local-first architecture protect your data
3. Workflow Optimization: Keyboard shortcuts, multi-select, and quick actions reduce friction
4. Privacy Focused: All file operations happen locally, no cloud storage

📖 Read the complete 24-feature analysis with detailed rationale

💡 Future Improvements

We've identified 35+ potential enhancements to make ICONIC even better! Check out our comprehensive improvement roadmap covering:

• Design: Category color coding, theme variants, enhanced visual hierarchy
• UI/UX: Plugin preview modal, advanced search, keyboard shortcuts, bulk operations
• Features: Multi-level undo, smart duplicate resolution, export/import, usage tracking
• Performance: Virtual scrolling, web workers, progressive loading
• Creative: Animated transitions, achievement system, AI recommendations

📋 View the complete improvement plan with priorities and implementation guides

Contributions implementing any of these improvements are highly welcome!

🙏 Acknowledgments

• Google Gemini AI for intelligent categorization
• Image-Line for FL Studio
• React Team for the amazing framework
• Electron Team for desktop capabilities
• Lucide Icons for beautiful UI icons

📞 Support

• Issues: GitHub Issues
• Discussions: GitHub Discussions

🌟 Show Your Support

If you find ICONIC useful, please:

• ⭐ Star this repository
• 🐛 Report bugs
• 💡 Suggest features
• 📢 Share with fellow producers

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Made with ❤️ for music producers worldwide