Unable to Install plugin using CCX Installer (Error code -1)

Premiere Pro
,
1

We’re developing a UXP panel plugin for Premiere Pro, and one of our team members is consistently unable to install the plugin via the .ccx installer, while other members cannot reproduce the failure. Looking for any insight into what might be happening under the hood or guidance on how to debug this deeper.

Environments where install fails:

  • Windows 11 Pro for Workstations 25H2, Creative Cloud 6.10.0.253, Premiere Pro 26.3.0
  • macOS Sequoia 15.7.2, Creative Cloud 6.10.0.253, Premiere Pro 26.0.2

Environments where install succeeds:

  • Multiple test machines running the same Premiere Pro version (26.3.0) unable to reproduce on any test machine

Symptom:

  1. User double-clicks the packaged .ccx file.
  2. The Creative Cloud Desktop (CCD) app opens/focuses.
  3. Almost immediately (a few seconds after double-clicking), CCD displays the error message:
    “Plugin could not be installed. Please try again. Error code -1.”
  4. No further detailed reason is surfaced in the CCD GUI.

Troubleshooting already performed:

  • Quit all Creative Cloud apps and reinstalled — no change
  • Verified .ccx file integrity (checksum matches source)
  • Tested across multiple independent machines, both OS families
  • Confirmed the issue is not related to a non-ASCII (Japanese) Windows username specifically — tested successfully on a machine with a Japanese account name

Questions / Request for Help:
Since Error -1 is a generic failure code:

  1. Which specific log files should we inspect to find the true underlying root cause or stack trace? (e.g., UnifiedInstall logs, CCXProcess, Vulcan, ExManCmd, or specific AppData / Library log paths?)
  2. Has anyone encountered an immediate Error -1 upon double-clicking a .ccx file before?
  3. Could this be caused by environment-level blocks—such as folder permission issues, Antivirus/EDR active scanning, or Proxy/VPN network restrictions during the package unpack/validation phase?

Any guidance or tips on log debugging tools (like Adobe Log Collector) for this specific scenario would be greatly appreciated!

2

-1 stands for unknown error https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/apps/troubleshoot/plugin-installation-issues/plugin-installation-errors-in-apps.html

What language or version of English is he using in his app?

3

He set the creative cloud desktop language and app language to Japanese

4

And other members language?

5

He tried Japanese and English (North America)

6

Hi @euchfator ,

Thanks for taking out the time and reporting the issue! Can you please collect the logs from the machine where it is failing using the log collector tool https://helpx.adobe.com/in/creative-cloud/apps/troubleshoot/diagnostics-repair-tools/run-log-collector-tool.html and send them over to vvarshne at adobe dot com, along with your ccx package for investigating this further?
Thank you!

7

Hi,

Thanks for looking into this.

On the CCX package, it will take a little longer, as we need to strip out some sensitive information before we can share it.

In the meantime, is there any more detailed information available on the -1 error than what’s in the Adobe documentation?. That would help us narrow things down on our side while the package is being prepared.

Thanks!