Your DAW froze. DAW Defrost knows which plugin did it.
DAW Defrost is a Mac menu bar app that watches your DAW while you work. When Ableton Live, Logic Pro, or any major Mac DAW stops responding, it takes a snapshot of the frozen app, reads which plugin's code the session is stuck inside, and shows you the name. About 30 seconds after the freeze, you know exactly what to update, bypass, or uninstall. No log files, no guessing, no reinstalling plugins one by one.
Why does my DAW keep freezing on export?
Usually one third-party plugin. After a macOS update, an old plugin version can start leaking threads or deadlocking, and the whole session locks up when you export or render. The DAW can't tell you which plugin it was, and force-quitting erases the evidence: macOS only writes a crash report when an app actually crashes, not when it hangs.
That's the gap DAW Defrost fills. It captures the evidence while the freeze is happening.
This is a real example from the session that made us build it. An export froze, and DAW Defrost's engine found that a single plugin had spawned 1,104 of the session's 1,630 threads and pushed the DAW to 19.8 GB of memory. A healthy session runs a few hundred threads. One plugin update later, the export worked.
How does DAW Defrost work?
- It sits in your menu bar and quietly checks your DAW every 15 seconds, asking macOS "is this app still responding?" It uses no meaningful CPU and never touches your audio.
- When the DAW stops responding for 30 seconds, DAW Defrost snapshots the frozen process and reads which code every thread is stuck in.
- A popup names the third-party plugin responsible, with a full report saved to your Documents folder.
CULPRIT: FrostVerb 2 (v1.0.3)
It owns 1,104 of Ableton Live's 1,630 threads.
1,104 threads FrostVerb 2 (v1.0.3)
88 threads SampleSynth (v1.5.2)
58 threads TapeMachine (v1.2.1)
Live memory: 19.8G Threads: 1,630
Illustration of the verdict popup. Plugin names changed; the thread and memory numbers are from a real captured freeze.
Which DAWs does it support?
- Ableton Live, Logic Pro, Pro Tools, FL Studio
- Cubase, Nuendo, Studio One, Reaper
- Bitwig Studio, Digital Performer, Reason, GarageBand, MainStage
It auto-detects whichever DAW is running, including more than one at once. For Logic Pro and GarageBand it also inspects Apple's separate plugin host processes, where Logic sometimes runs third-party plugins.
Common questions
Will it slow down my DAW?
No. It asks macOS one lightweight question every 15 seconds. It never touches the audio path and does nothing at all until a freeze happens.
Does it fix the freeze?
No, it names the cause. Once you know which plugin froze the session, the fix is usually a plugin update from the vendor, or bypassing that plugin on the track before export.
What if I miss the popup or want more detail?
Every investigation saves a full technical report to Documents ▸ DAW Defrost Reports. There's also a Check Now button in the menu for on-demand checks, useful when playback stalls but the DAW still responds.
Does it need the internet?
No. Everything runs on your Mac. Nothing is uploaded anywhere.
What does it require?
An Apple silicon Mac (M1 or later) running macOS 13 or newer. The app is notarized by Apple and installs from a standard DMG.
What does it cost?
$19 one time, and Session BPM is included in the same purchase. No subscription.