How to version and back up a DAW project, compared across DAWs
A project file does not contain your audio. Every DAW below saves a file that points at samples and recordings by path, so a safe backup takes two steps: run the DAW's collect command so every file the project uses sits inside its folder, then copy that whole folder. Versioning is the DAW's own backup history for undoing a bad afternoon, plus a copy under a new name for every version you want to keep. Feedback happens on a bounce of each version, not on the project.
The commands in each DAW
| DAW | Collect everything | Built-in history | Stems |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ableton Live | File > Collect All and Save | Backup folder, last 10 saves per set | Export Audio/Video, All Individual Tracks |
| FL Studio | File > Export > Zipped loop package | Save new version (Ctrl+N), autosaves in Backup | Export Wave file with Split mixer tracks |
| Logic Pro | File > Project Management > Consolidate | 10 backups per alternative, File > Revert to | File > Export > All Tracks as Audio Files |
| Pro Tools | File > Save Copy In, All Audio Files | Session File Auto Backup | Track > Bounce |
| Bitwig Studio | File > Collect and Save | None in the manual, so Save As with a new name | File > Export Audio, one file per track |
| REAPER | Save project as, Copy all media into project directory | .rpp-bak, optional timestamped backups | File > Render, Selected tracks (stems) |
| Cubase | File > Back up Project | Save New Version, Auto Save .bak files | Audio Mixdown with Multiple channels |
| Studio One | File > Save to New Folder, or a Zip | Save New Version, History folder | Export Stems |
No DAW collects third-party plugins. Whoever opens the project needs the same plugins installed, so list them when you send it, or bounce the tracks that depend on them.
Habits that work in every DAW
- Collect before you copy. Copying a folder without collecting it first is the most common way samples go missing, because the backup looks complete until it opens on another machine.
- Name the versions you keep. The automatic history (ten saves in Live and Logic, a set count in Pro Tools, FL Studio and Cubase) rolls over within a day of work. A copy named
v3 sent to labeldoes not. - Bounce every version you share. People give better notes on a mix they can play on their phone than on a session they have to open. Keep the project for the person who mixes it.
- Stems from bar 1. Export every stem from the same start point at the session's sample rate, so they line up in someone else's DAW without nudging.
What Aden does with each DAW's projects
Aden's desktop app (macOS and Windows) finds project files on your disk, from all the DAWs above plus Reason, GarageBand, Cakewalk, Renoise, Ardour and DAWproject exports, and syncs a project folder to a track on the Max plan. Every save is pushed, every synced file keeps its version history, and a pull never overwrites a collaborator's local edits. What the web can do with the project itself depends on how open the format is:
| DAW | What Aden reads | Plays in the browser | Recorded takes go |
|---|---|---|---|
| FL Studio, Ableton Live | Tempo, tracks, plugins, samples, notes, markers | The arrangement, edits saved back into the project | Aden Takes/ folder |
| REAPER | Tempo, tracks, FX, media, MIDI | The arrangement, edits saved back into the project | A new track in the .rpp |
| Bitwig Studio, Cubase, Studio One | A DAWproject export saved beside the project (a Studio One .song also shows its tracks and plugins) | The DAWproject's arrangement, else the linked bounce | A new track in the .dawproject, else Aden Takes/ |
| Logic Pro, GarageBand | Tempo, key, time signature, track count, files | The linked bounce | Aden Takes/ folder |
| Pro Tools | Files only | The linked bounce | Aden Takes/ folder |
The rest is the same for every DAW: export a bounce and the desktop app offers it as the next version of the track it is named after, people comment on it at a timestamp from a share link, Send for review collects approvals, and Compare switches between two versions at the same playhead. Send as a transfer zips a project into a 30-day link and tells you to run your DAW's collect command first when the folder looks incomplete.
Less admin. More music.