Home Product Installation & Activation Photoshop Plugin Installation Guide (.ccx)

Photoshop Plugin Installation Guide (.ccx)

Last updated on Aug 11, 2025

Installing Photoshop Plugins

Photoshop plugins are add-on tools that extend the program’s functionality, offering new creative effects and features beyond the default set. Installing them is straightforward, but the process can vary slightly depending on your Photoshop version and the plugin’s format.

Below are the detailed steps for installing a .ccx file through various methods. If you’re having issues with the default method of automatic installation, please see the alternate methods and troubleshooting guide later in the article.

Installing Plugins Automatically

Photoshop plugins automatically install through Creative Cloud upon opening of the .ccx file:

  • Download the .ccx file from the source you purchased the plugin.

  • Double-click the .ccx file.

  • The Creative Cloud desktop app will open automatically and begin installing the plugin.

  • Once installed, you’ll see a confirmation in Creative Cloud under Stock & Marketplace > Plugins.

  • Optionally Restart Photoshop to ensure the plugin loads. It will now appear in the relevant menu (often Plugins, Filter, or Window > Extensions).

Note: If double-clicking the .ccx file doesn’t work or you get an error, please read below.

Common Errors & Troubleshooting

  • “Plugin not compatible with this version of Photoshop”

    • Check that your Photoshop meets the plugin’s minimum version requirements.

    • Update Photoshop via the Creative Cloud app if needed.

  • macOS security warning (“can’t be opened because it is from an unidentified developer”)

    • Go to System Preferences > Security & Privacy > General and click Open Anyway for that plugin.

  • Error -2:

    • Make sure the .ccx Installer file and the Photoshop and CreativeCloud app are all on the same drive partition. (Error code -2 sometimes means the .ccx file is on a different drive or partition than your “UnifiedPluginInstallerAgent” which opens the .ccx installers.) - Try copying the plugin file to your desktop and installing from there.

    • Try copying the .ccx Installer file to Desktop (or to the “Downloads” folder) and then installing it from there.

    • Right-click on .ccx Installer file, Open With: “UnifiedPluginInstallerAgent.app”

    • Ensure that the Creative Cloud app is running the latest release. Try logging out of the Creative Cloud desktop app and restarting the computer. Then log back into Creative Cloud via the desktop app and try again.

Having trouble installing automatically? Installing manually is sure to work. Read below:

Installing Plugins Manually

Installing a Photoshop plugin manually is very easy and takes only a few minutes. See the applicable steps below ↓

For Windows

  1. Install an unarchiving program like WinRAR or 7ZIP (both of which are universally trusted).

  2. Navigate to the plugin (.ccx file) you wish to install.

  3. Right click on the plugin and open with WinRAR or 7ZIP to extract it:

    1. If using WinRAR, select ‘Extract Here’ to extract the files within the .ccx to the same folder.

    2. If using 7ZIP, select ‘7ZIP>Extract to..’ and extract the files within the .ccx to the same folder the .ccx file is in.

  4. Extracting the .ccx file will result in a folder being created with the same name as the .ccx file.

  5. Navigate to the location you have Photoshop installed (Typically, /Program Files/Adobe/Adobe Photoshop [Version]) and then open up the ‘Plug-ins’ folder within the Photoshop directory.

  6. Drag or copy the plugin folder we extracted earlier into the ‘Plug-ins’ folder in the Photoshop directory.

  7. Upon relaunch of Photoshop, you should see the plugin installed in the Plugins menu.

For Mac

  1. Install an unarchiving program like Unarchiver from the app store (my personal recommendation).

  2. Navigate to the plugin (.ccx file) you wish to install.

  3. Right click on the plugin and select ‘Open With’ and then ‘Other'

    It will open up a dialogue where you can select an application from the applications folder to open the file with. Find and select ‘The Unarchiver’ then click ‘Open’.

    It will extract the contents of the .ccx into a folder in the same directory.

  4. Navigate to the file location where you have Photoshop installed (Typically, Macintosh HD > Applications > Photoshop [version]) and then open up the ‘Plug-ins’ folder within the Photoshop directory.

  5. Drag or copy the plugin folder we extracted earlier into the ‘Plug-ins’ folder in the Photoshop directory.

  6. Upon relaunch of Photoshop, you should see the plugin installed in the Plugins menu.

Alternate Install Methods

Installing Photoshop Plugins Using ZXP/UXP Installer

You may also install a Photoshop plugin using this software kindly created by the guys at AEScripts to easily install a UXP file. Please see the following webpage to get started:

https://aescripts.com/learn/zxp-installer

Installing Photoshop Plugins Via Command Line

Please see the following article:

https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/help/working-from-the-command-line.html

You can install via the command line directly with the UPIA tool.

Windows:

cd "C:\\Program Files\\Common Files\\Adobe\\Adobe Desktop Common\\RemoteComponents\\UPI\\UnifiedPluginInstallerAgent"

UnifiedPluginInstallerAgent.exe /install /path/to/plugin.ccx

Mac:

`cd "/Library/Application Support/Adobe/Adobe Desktop Common/RemoteComponents/UPI/UnifiedPluginInstallerAgent/UnifiedPluginInstallerAgent.app/Contents/MacOS"

./UnifiedPluginInstallerAgent --install /path/to/plugin.ccx`

For example:

C:\Program Files\Common Files\Adobe\Adobe Desktop Common\RemoteComponents\UPI\UnifiedPluginInstallerAgent\UnifiedPluginInstallerAgent.exe" /install "C:\Users\doronstudio\Desktop\DITHERTONE-PRO-1.0.0.ccx

You may also refer to the FAQ section of the following article: https://blog.developer.adobe.com/how-to-install-uxp-plugins-using-command-line-tools-a6a62ca4cb1a

Plugin Compatibility

Our plugins are compatible with:

  • Adobe Photoshop CC 2023 and newer on Mac (Intel and Apple Silicon) and Windows.

  • Plugins may not work with Photoshop Elements or non-Adobe image editors unless specifically stated by the developer.

Always check the plugin’s included documentation for any version-specific requirements.