Answers to common questions about DAWShare.
DAWShare is a version-controlled file sharing platform built for music production teams. It lets you push and pull DAW project folders to a shared server with automatic versioning, file-level deduplication, and end-to-end encryption — files are encrypted on your device before upload, and the server never holds the keys to decrypt them.
DAWShare is DAW-agnostic. It syncs folders, so it works with any DAW that saves projects as files or folders: Logic Pro®, Ableton Live®, Pro Tools®, FL Studio®, Cubase®, Studio One®, REAPER®, GarageBand®, Reason®, Bitwig Studio®, and more.
It can also sync standalone audio folders (stems, bounces, multitracks) — anything that lives in a folder.
Dropbox® and Google Drive™ can sync a shared folder. But they sync continuously and silently, and for DAW projects that causes real problems — partial-write uploads, "conflicted copy" files, per-30-second auto-save spam, broken Logic/Pro Tools® packages, and a separate full-size copy of every saved version eating each collaborator's storage quota.
DAWShare is built for the way you actually save a session:
The web interface works on any platform with a modern browser. The desktop sync app is available for macOS® and Windows®.
Because DAWShare is end-to-end encrypted, the desktop app is required to push or pull project files — only your device holds the encryption key needed to encrypt or decrypt. The web app is the dashboard you use to browse projects, manage members, view version history, and trigger sync; the actual file transfer happens through the desktop app.
DAWShare deduplicates files across versions. If you push a 2 GB project and only change 3 audio files in the next version, only those 3 files count as new storage. Typical projects use 30–50% less storage than the raw sum of all versions.
Default quotas are 1 GB per project and 10 GB per collab, configurable by your administrator.
When you push a project, DAWShare uses rsync to compare your local files against the previous version on the server. Only the bytes that actually changed are transferred over the wire. This means a 2 GB Logic Pro® project where you only tweaked a mix setting syncs in seconds, not minutes.
Yes. Every push creates an immutable version. From the project page, you can browse any version's files, preview audio, and pull that specific version to your local folder.
DAWShare excludes a few system files automatically:
.DS_Store (macOS® metadata).dawshare (internal tracking marker).musicapps-project-folderEverything else in your project folder is synced.
You can browse projects, version history, notes, and audit logs from the web alone. But pushing or pulling project files requires the desktop app — that's where your encryption key lives, and end-to-end encryption means the browser cannot encrypt or decrypt files on its own.
This is by design: if the browser could move files on its own, your encryption key would have to live in the browser too, and we'd no longer be able to honestly claim that only your device can decrypt your music.
Using tried and true secure technology with SSH, your projects sync directly with our servers over a secure tunnel via a local connection. Your data never travels over an unencrypted channel. The SSH tunnel creates a private, encrypted pathway between your computer and our server, and all file transfers happen through this secure connection.
Sync sessions are further protected by time-limited tokens that expire after 15 minutes, so even if a token were intercepted, it would be useless almost immediately.
Your Master Key is your password. It is reported to you once and it is hashed on our servers so we don't know what the plain text Master Key is. This is used as your key to unlock access to sync your projects with our servers.
Because we only store a one-way hash of your Master Key, it cannot be recovered if lost. We recommend saving it in a password manager or your Mac's Keychain (which the installer offers to do automatically). If you do lose it, your administrator can issue a new one from the admin panel.
Yes. It is incredibly simple to register your web account with a free authenticator app like Microsoft® or Google® Authenticator. This helps to lock down your web account so only you have access. Whenever you login through the web you just enter the authenticator code on your phone and we know that it is you.
You can enable 2FA from your Profile page in just a few seconds — scan a QR code with your authenticator app and enter the confirmation code. Recovery codes are also provided in case you lose access to your phone.
Yes — and more importantly, they're encrypted on your device before they ever reach our servers. The server stores ciphertext only and never holds the keys needed to decrypt it. Even a full server breach — or a subpoena, or a rogue insider — cannot expose your audio or session data.
Files are chunked and encrypted with XChaCha20-Poly1305 (an authenticated stream cipher) using the per-collab symmetric secret. The collab secret is shared between members through end-to-end encrypted invite links; it's wrapped with each member's wrapping key (derived from their Master Key + per-user salt) before storage. Authentication uses an HKDF-derived auth_hash — the Master Key itself never leaves your device.
Yes. Every action is logged: pushes, pulls, version commits, project creation and deletion, check-outs, collab management, and authentication events. Logs include user identity, timestamp, and action details. Collab owners and admins can view grouped audit logs filtered by project or user.
No — and that's by design. DAWShare uses end-to-end encryption: every file is encrypted on your device before upload using a key only you and your collaborators hold. The server stores ciphertext it cannot decrypt, so no malware scanner could read the content even if we ran one.
Malware protection happens at the endpoints that actually open the files. Your own OS-level antivirus scans new files when they land in your synced folder, just as it would for any other download. If you're worried about a specific collaborator's files, treat their downloads the same way you'd treat any external file delivery.
A Collab is a collaborative workspace shared among team members. Each collab has its own projects, encryption key, member list, and storage quota. Think of it as a shared studio — everyone in the collab can access the same projects.
Each collab has an invite code visible to the collab owner. Share this code with team members — they enter it on the Collabs page to join. Codes can be regenerated if compromised.
DAWShare creates sync sessions that serialize pushes. If two users try to push simultaneously, the second push will complete after the first, creating two separate versions. Use the check-out feature to coordinate and prevent conflicting edits.
Checking out a project signals to other collaborators that you're actively working on it. Others will see who has the project checked out and are advised not to push conflicting changes. Think of it like a "Recording in Progress" sign on a studio door. Check in when you're done to release the lock.
DAWShare uses invite-only registration. Your administrator will provide a platform invite code. The macOS® installer handles everything — it prompts for the invite code, your desired username, and email, then creates your account directly without needing a browser. After registration, your Master Key is displayed and optionally saved to your Mac's Keychain.
If you already have a Master Key (e.g., provided by your administrator), choose "Master Key" during installation and enter it to link your existing account.
If you saved your Master Key to Keychain during installation, you can find it in Keychain Access by searching for "DAWShare". Otherwise:
We recommend storing your Master Key in a password manager or Keychain for safekeeping.
During installation on macOS®, DAWShare offers to save your Master Key to your Mac's Keychain. This enables:
Keychain storage is strongly recommended but optional. If you skip it, you'll need to enter your Master Key manually each time and SSH will prompt for the passphrase after each reboot.
From your Profile page, click "Send Verification Email". You'll receive an email with a verification link (valid for 24 hours). Verifying your email enables the "Forgot Key" self-service recovery feature. If you change your email address, you'll need to verify the new address.
Run the DAWShare installer on your new machine with your existing Master Key. The installer generates a new SSH key for the device and registers it on the server. Each device gets its own key — you can have multiple devices connected to the same account.
The app will automatically recover your project-to-folder mappings from the server when you next sync. You can manage all your registered devices from the SSH Keys section on your Profile page.
Yes. Run the installer on each device with your Master Key. Each device gets its own SSH key, registered to your account. You can see all your connected devices on the SSH Keys section of your Profile page, where you can label them (e.g., "Studio iMac", "MacBook Pro") and revoke access for any device.
Your projects are safely stored on the server. You can pull any version at any time to restore your local files. DAWShare also stores folder-to-project mappings on the server, so if your local configuration is lost, the app can recover it automatically.
Yes. From your Profile page, you can enable email notifications for:
Each notification type can be toggled independently.
Marking a project as final locks it to prevent further version uploads. This is useful for finished, released, or archived projects. All existing versions remain accessible for download and browsing. If you need to make changes later, you can reopen the project from the project page.
Yes. Click "View Files" on any version to browse the complete file tree. You can search for specific files, see file sizes and types, and click on audio files to preview them directly in the browser — no download needed.
Yes. Before a pull overwrites files in your local project folder, DAWShare automatically backs up any files that will change. Backups are stored in a timestamped folder at ~/DAWShare Backups/ProjectName/. You can browse backups from the project page in the web UI.
Yes. You can disable automatic backups in your Profile settings on the web interface. When disabled, pulls will still overwrite files but won't create backup copies. This can save disk space if you don't need the safety net.