diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 217baa99..056fe25d 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -8,6 +8,28 @@ Versioning](https://semver.org/spec/v2.0.0.html).
 
 ## [Unreleased]
 
+### Added
+
+- Yabridge 4.0 introduces a completely new way to load plugins that allows
+  yabridge to be updated without breaking any plugins, saves disk space on
+  filesystems that don't support reflinks, and makes the `yabridgectl sync`
+  process faster. It does this by chainloading the actual plugin libraries from
+  these new tiny, dependencyless shim libraries. The way yabridge has always
+  worked is that whenever you run `yabridgectl sync`, yabridgectl will create
+  copies of `libyabridge-vst2.so` or `libyabridge-vst3.so` for every Windows
+  plugin it finds. When your DAW then loads those plugin libraries, yabridge
+  will find the corresponding Windows plugin and starts doing its magic.
+  Yabridge 4.0 changes this process by no longer copying the full
+  `libyabridge-*.so` libraries, and instead using these shim libraries that will
+  find and then chainload the actual yabridge plugin libraries. The result is
+  that instead of having to copy large files, yabridgectl now only needs to copy
+  these small shim libraries while the actual plugin libraries stay in
+  yabridge's installation directory. That not only saves disk space, but it also
+  means that it's no longer possible for yabridge to be out of sync after an
+  update. If you use a distro packaged version of yabridge, then that means
+  yabridge can now be updated safely without requiring any action from your
+  side.
+
 ### Changed
 
 - Almost the entirety of yabridge's backend has been rewritten to get rid of all
diff --git a/docs/architecture.md b/docs/architecture.md
index 29f11181..3786bdd0 100644
--- a/docs/architecture.md
+++ b/docs/architecture.md
@@ -9,20 +9,35 @@
 
 ## General architecture
 
-The project consists of multiple components: several native Linux plugins
-(`libyabridge-vst2.so` for VST2 plugins, and `libyabridge-vst3.so` for VST3
-plugins) and a few different plugin host applications that can run under Wine
+The project consists of multiple components: a number of native Linux plugin
+libraries (`libyabridge-vst2.so` for VST2 plugins, and `libyabridge-vst3.so` for
+VST3 plugins), matching chainloader libraries (`libyabridge-chainloader-vst2.so`
+for VST2 plugins, and `libyabridge-chainloader-vst3.so` for VST3 plugins) that
+act as stubs to load the former libraries, and a few different plugin host
+applications that can run under Wine
 (`yabridge-host.exe`/`yabridge-host.exe.so`, and
 `yabridge-host-32.exe`/`yabridge-host-32.exe.so` if the bitbridge is enabled).
 
-The main idea is that when the host loads a plugin, the plugin will try to
-locate the corresponding Windows plugin, and it will then start a Wine process
-to host that Windows plugin. Depending on the architecture of the Windows plugin
-and the configuration in the `yabridge.toml` config files (see the readme for
-more information), yabridge will pick between the four plugin host applications
-named above. When a plugin has been configured to use plugin groups, instead of
-spawning a new host process the plugin will try to connect to an existing group
-host process first and ask it to host the Windows plugin within that process.
+The main idea is that when the host loads a (chainloader) plugin, the plugin
+will try to locate the corresponding Windows plugin, and it will then start a
+Wine process to host that Windows plugin. Depending on the architecture of the
+Windows plugin and the configuration in the `yabridge.toml` config files (see
+the readme for more information), yabridge will pick between the four plugin
+host applications named above. When a plugin has been configured to use plugin
+groups, instead of spawning a new host process the plugin will try to connect to
+an existing group host process first and ask it to host the Windows plugin
+within that process.
+
+The chainloader libraries are compact dependencyless shims that load the
+corresponding plugin library and forward calls to the plugin API's entry poitn
+functions. This allows the plugin library to be updated without needing to
+replace existing copies of the chainloader library. That makes using a
+distro-packaged version of yabridge more convenient soname rebuilds won't
+require a `yabridgectl sync` for yabridge to keep working. It also means that
+multiple plugins can all share the same yabridge plugin bridge library instance,
+since the same library will be `dlopen()`'d into a single process multiple
+times. This can help increase the L1i cache hit rate when using multiple
+yabridge plugins.
 
 ### Communication
 
diff --git a/meson.build b/meson.build
index 92d07f14..740962ee 100644
--- a/meson.build
+++ b/meson.build
@@ -49,6 +49,12 @@ compiler_options = [
   '-msse2',
 ]
 
+chainloader_compiler_options = [
+  # We use our process library for sending notifications from the chainloaders,
+  # but we don't need the Asio pipe support there
+  '-DPROCESS_NO_ASIO',
+]
+
 # HACK: Some stuff from `windows.h` that we don't need results in conflicting
 #       definitions, so we'll try to exclude those bits
 wine_compiler_options = [
@@ -234,6 +240,7 @@ subdir('src/common/config')
 # directory and it's much more convenient having all of the important files
 # directory under `build/`.
 # https://github.com/mesonbuild/meson/pull/4037
+subdir('src/chainloader')
 subdir('src/plugin')
 subdir('src/wine-host')
 
@@ -260,6 +267,24 @@ shared_library(
   # Wine plugin host binaries
   override_options : ['b_lto=true'],
 )
+shared_library(
+  'yabridge-chainloader-vst2',
+  vst2_chainloader_sources,
+  native : true,
+  dependencies : [
+    configuration_dep,
+
+    dl_dep,
+    ghc_filesystem_dep,
+    rt_dep,
+  ],
+  cpp_args : compiler_options + chainloader_compiler_options,
+  # LTO currently doesn't work with winelibs, so instead we'll explicitly enable
+  # it for all other targets (which is extra important for the chainloaders as
+  # they'd otherwise pull in a bunch of unused symbols) without affecting the
+  # Wine plugin host binaries
+  override_options : ['b_lto=true'],
+)
 
 if with_vst3
   # This is the VST3 equivalent of `libyabridge-vst2.so`. The Wine host
@@ -289,6 +314,24 @@ if with_vst3
     # without affecting the Wine plugin host binaries
     override_options : ['b_lto=true'],
   )
+  shared_library(
+    'yabridge-chainloader-vst3',
+    vst3_chainloader_sources,
+    native : true,
+    dependencies : [
+      configuration_dep,
+
+      dl_dep,
+      ghc_filesystem_dep,
+      rt_dep,
+    ],
+    cpp_args : compiler_options + chainloader_compiler_options,
+    # LTO currently doesn't work with winelibs, so instead we'll explicitly
+    # enable it for all other targets (which is extra important for the
+    # chainloaders as they'd otherwise pull in a bunch of unused symbols)
+    # without affecting the Wine plugin host binaries
+    override_options : ['b_lto=true'],
+  )
 endif
 
 if is_64bit_system
diff --git a/src/chainloader/meson.build b/src/chainloader/meson.build
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..195e1367
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chainloader/meson.build
@@ -0,0 +1,16 @@
+# Like for the other libraries, the actual `shared_library()` call is in the
+# main `meson.build` file so everything gets bundled to a single directory.
+
+vst2_chainloader_sources = files(
+  'vst2-chainloader.cpp',
+  '../common/linking.cpp',
+  '../common/notifications.cpp',
+  '../common/process.cpp',
+)
+
+vst3_chainloader_sources = files(
+  'vst3-chainloader.cpp',
+  '../common/linking.cpp',
+  '../common/notifications.cpp',
+  '../common/process.cpp',
+)
diff --git a/src/chainloader/vst2-chainloader.cpp b/src/chainloader/vst2-chainloader.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..a6da808a
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chainloader/vst2-chainloader.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,105 @@
+// yabridge: a Wine plugin bridge
+// Copyright (C) 2020-2022 Robbert van der Helm
+//
+// This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+// GNU General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+// along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+#include <atomic>
+#include <cassert>
+#include <mutex>
+
+#include <dlfcn.h>
+
+#include "../common/linking.h"
+#include "../common/utils.h"
+
+// These chainloader libraries are tiny, mostly dependencyless libraries that
+// `dlopen()` the actual `libyabridge-{vst2,vst3}.so` files and forward the
+// entry point function calls from this library to those. Or technically, these
+// libraries use dedicated entry point functions because multiple chainloader
+// libraries may all dynamically link to the exact same plugin library, so we
+// can't store any bridge information in a global there. This approach avoids
+// wasting disk space on copies on file systems that don't support reflinking,
+// but more importantly it also avoids the need to rerun `yabridgectl sync`
+// whenever yabridge is updated. This is even more important when considering
+// distro packaging, because updates to Boost might require the package to be
+// rebuilt, which in turn would also require a resync.
+
+// TODO: Order to check in: See Discord
+
+namespace fs = ghc::filesystem;
+
+using audioMasterCallback = void*;
+using AEffect = void;
+
+// These functions are loaded from `libyabridge-vst3.so` the first time
+// `VSTPluginMain` gets called
+AEffect* (*yabridge_plugin_init)(audioMasterCallback host_callback,
+                                 const char* plugin_path) = nullptr;
+
+/**
+ * The first time one of the exported functions from this library gets called,
+ * we'll need to load the corresponding `libyabridge-*.so` file and fetch the
+ * the entry point functions from that file.
+ */
+bool initialize_library() {
+    static void* library_handle = nullptr;
+    static std::mutex library_handle_mutex;
+
+    std::lock_guard lock(library_handle_mutex);
+
+    // There should be no situation where this library gets loaded and then two
+    // threads immediately start calling functions, but we'll handle that
+    // situation just in case it does happen
+    if (library_handle) {
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    // FIXME: Hardcoded path
+    library_handle = dlopen(
+        "/home/robbert/Documenten/projecten/yabridge/build/libyabridge-vst2.so",
+        RTLD_LAZY | RTLD_LOCAL);
+    assert(library_handle);
+
+#define LOAD_FUNCTION(name)                                                 \
+    do {                                                                    \
+        (name) =                                                            \
+            reinterpret_cast<decltype(name)>(dlsym(library_handle, #name)); \
+        assert(name);                                                       \
+    } while (false)
+
+    LOAD_FUNCTION(yabridge_plugin_init);
+
+#undef LOAD_FUNCTION
+
+    return true;
+}
+
+extern "C" YABRIDGE_EXPORT AEffect* VSTPluginMain(
+    audioMasterCallback host_callback) {
+    assert(host_callback);
+
+    initialize_library();
+
+    const fs::path this_plugin_path = get_this_file_location();
+    return yabridge_plugin_init(host_callback, this_plugin_path.c_str());
+}
+
+// XXX: GCC doens't seem to have a clean way to let you define an arbitrary
+//      function called 'main'. Even JUCE does it this way, so it should be
+//      safe.
+extern "C" YABRIDGE_EXPORT AEffect* deprecated_main(
+    audioMasterCallback audioMaster) asm("main");
+YABRIDGE_EXPORT AEffect* deprecated_main(audioMasterCallback audioMaster) {
+    return VSTPluginMain(audioMaster);
+}
diff --git a/src/chainloader/vst3-chainloader.cpp b/src/chainloader/vst3-chainloader.cpp
new file mode 100644
index 00000000..8b476050
--- /dev/null
+++ b/src/chainloader/vst3-chainloader.cpp
@@ -0,0 +1,143 @@
+// yabridge: a Wine plugin bridge
+// Copyright (C) 2020-2022 Robbert van der Helm
+//
+// This program is free software: you can redistribute it and/or modify
+// it under the terms of the GNU General Public License as published by
+// the Free Software Foundation, either version 3 of the License, or
+// (at your option) any later version.
+//
+// This program is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
+// but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
+// MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the
+// GNU General Public License for more details.
+//
+// You should have received a copy of the GNU General Public License
+// along with this program.  If not, see <https://www.gnu.org/licenses/>.
+
+#include <atomic>
+#include <cassert>
+#include <mutex>
+
+#include <dlfcn.h>
+
+#include "../common/linking.h"
+#include "../common/utils.h"
+
+// These chainloader libraries are tiny, mostly dependencyless libraries that
+// `dlopen()` the actual `libyabridge-{vst2,vst3}.so` files and forward the
+// entry point function calls from this library to those. Or technically, these
+// libraries use dedicated entry point functions because multiple chainloader
+// libraries may all dynamically link to the exact same plugin library, so we
+// can't store any bridge information in a global there. This approach avoids
+// wasting disk space on copies on file systems that don't support reflinking,
+// but more importantly it also avoids the need to rerun `yabridgectl sync`
+// whenever yabridge is updated. This is even more important when considering
+// distro packaging, because updates to Boost might require the package to be
+// rebuilt, which in turn would also require a resync.
+
+// TODO: Order to check in: See Discord
+
+namespace fs = ghc::filesystem;
+
+using Vst3PluginBridge = void;
+using PluginFactory = void;
+
+// These functions are loaded from `libyabridge-vst3.so` the first time
+// `ModuleEntry()` gets called
+Vst3PluginBridge* (*yabridge_module_init)(const char* plugin_path) = nullptr;
+void (*yabridge_module_free)(Vst3PluginBridge* instance) = nullptr;
+PluginFactory* (*yabridge_module_get_plugin_factory)(
+    Vst3PluginBridge* instance) = nullptr;
+
+/**
+ * The bridge instance for this chainloader. This is initialized when
+ * `ModuleEntry()` first gets called.
+ */
+std::unique_ptr<Vst3PluginBridge, decltype(yabridge_module_free)> bridge(
+    nullptr,
+    nullptr);
+/**
+ * The number of active instances. Incremented when `ModuleEntry()` is called,
+ * decremented when `ModuleExit()` is called. We'll initialize the bridge when
+ * this is first incremented from 0, and we'll free the bridge again when a
+ * `ModuleExit()` call causes this to return back to 0.
+ */
+std::atomic_size_t active_instances = 0;
+std::mutex bridge_mutex;
+
+/**
+ * The first time one of the exported functions from this library gets called,
+ * we'll need to load the corresponding `libyabridge-*.so` file and fetch the
+ * the entry point functions from that file.
+ */
+bool initialize_library() {
+    static void* library_handle = nullptr;
+    static std::mutex library_handle_mutex;
+
+    std::lock_guard lock(library_handle_mutex);
+
+    // There should be no situation where this library gets loaded and then two
+    // threads immediately start calling functions, but we'll handle that
+    // situation just in case it does happen
+    if (library_handle) {
+        return true;
+    }
+
+    // FIXME: Hardcoded path
+    library_handle = dlopen(
+        "/home/robbert/Documenten/projecten/yabridge/build/libyabridge-vst3.so",
+        RTLD_LAZY | RTLD_LOCAL);
+    assert(library_handle);
+
+#define LOAD_FUNCTION(name)                                                 \
+    do {                                                                    \
+        (name) =                                                            \
+            reinterpret_cast<decltype(name)>(dlsym(library_handle, #name)); \
+        assert(name);                                                       \
+    } while (false)
+
+    LOAD_FUNCTION(yabridge_module_init);
+    LOAD_FUNCTION(yabridge_module_free);
+    LOAD_FUNCTION(yabridge_module_get_plugin_factory);
+
+#undef LOAD_FUNCTION
+
+    return true;
+}
+
+extern "C" YABRIDGE_EXPORT bool ModuleEntry(void*) {
+    // This function can be called multiple times, so we should make sure to
+    // only initialize the bridge on the first call
+    if (active_instances.fetch_add(1, std::memory_order_seq_cst) == 0) {
+        assert(initialize_library());
+
+        // You can't change the deleter function with `.reset()` so we'll need
+        // this abomination instead
+        const fs::path this_plugin_path = get_this_file_location();
+        bridge =
+            decltype(bridge)(yabridge_module_init(this_plugin_path.c_str()),
+                             yabridge_module_free);
+        if (!bridge) {
+            return false;
+        }
+    }
+
+    return true;
+}
+
+extern "C" YABRIDGE_EXPORT bool ModuleExit() {
+    // We'll free the bridge when this exits brings the reference count back to
+    // zero
+    if (active_instances.fetch_sub(1, std::memory_order_seq_cst) == 1) {
+        bridge.reset();
+    }
+
+    return true;
+}
+
+extern "C" YABRIDGE_EXPORT PluginFactory* GetPluginFactory() {
+    // The host should have called `InitModule()` first
+    assert(bridge);
+
+    return yabridge_module_get_plugin_factory(bridge.get());
+}