Adobe · Photoshop desktop on Windows or macOS

Install a Photoshop Plugin From a Trusted Publisher

Source-checked 15 August 2026About 5 minutes

Answer

Open the Creative Cloud desktop app and choose Stock & Marketplace > Plugins. Find the exact plugin and select Get or its price. If its publisher supplied a.ccx file instead, leave it intact and double-click it. Then start Photoshop and open the plugin from the Plugins menu. Do not copy unknown files into Photoshop folders.

Confirm the plugin and its requirements

Use the plugin's Adobe Marketplace listing or its publisher's official download page. Before paying or installing, confirm that the listing names Photoshop, supports your installed Photoshop version and operating system, and matches the plugin name you intended to get. Stop if the publisher does not provide compatibility or installation information.

Install it from Creative Cloud Marketplace

Open the Creative Cloud desktop app and choose Stock & Marketplace > Plugins. Search for the exact plugin, open its listing, then select Get or the displayed price button. Follow the onscreen prompts and wait for Creative Cloud to report that installation is complete. If a prompt asks you to close Photoshop, save your work and close it before continuing.

Use the CCX branch only when supplied

If the official publisher supplied a file ending in .ccx instead of a Marketplace listing, leave that file intact and double-click it. Adobe's plugin installer should open; review the plugin name and publisher, select Install, and wait for the completion message. Do not extract the CCX file or paste its contents into a Photoshop folder.

Find the installed plugin

Start Photoshop after installation. Open the Plugins menu and select the plugin if it is listed there. If it is not, return to the plugin's Adobe Exchange page and read its WHERE TO FIND IT section; Adobe notes that some plugins appear as panels while others install separate files.

Verify it on a test document

Create or open a disposable test document and run one harmless plugin action. The installation is confirmed only when the named plugin opens and produces its expected result without an error; seeing an installer completion message alone does not prove that Photoshop loaded it.

If it does not work

If Stock & Marketplace is missing on a Windows on ARM computer, Adobe says that tab is currently unavailable on that hardware. Use only the plugin publisher's documented compatible installation method; do not copy a plugin from another computer.
If Adobe reports Compatible App Required, compare the plugin's minimum Photoshop version with the version actually installed. Update Photoshop only when the publisher supports the newer version; reinstalling the same incompatible package will not make it compatible.
If a CCX file opens in Photoshop or another app instead of Adobe's installer, right-click it, choose Open with, and select Unified Plugin Installer Agent as documented by Adobe. Do not rename the file to ZIP.
If Creative Cloud says the plugin is installed but Photoshop cannot find it, open Stock & Marketplace > Manage plugins and confirm the plugin is present, then check the listing's WHERE TO FIND IT instructions and that you opened the supported Photoshop version.
If Photoshop becomes unstable after the installation, choose Plugins > Manage Plugins, open the plugin's three-dot menu, and Disable or Uninstall it. Adobe warns that disabling or uninstalling can remove that plugin's customizations, so record any settings you need first.

Sources and verification

Checked against official documentation on 15 August 2026. Scope: Photoshop desktop on Windows or macOS.

Source-checked against current Adobe guidance. The page is deliberately image-free: Marketplace and CCX installations are distinct branches with exact labels, and the reader verifies the real plugin in Creative Cloud and Photoshop. The migrated screenshot was inspected but rejected because it shows an older browser-to-app prompt for one specific plugin rather than the current general workflow.