Everything you need to get started with DAWShare and collaborate on music projects.
DAWShare is a version-controlled file sharing platform built for music production teams. It lets you push and pull DAW project folders (Logic Pro, Ableton Live, Pro Tools, and more) to a shared server, with automatic versioning, deduplication, and encryption.
The system has three main components:
Tip: Saving to Keychain is strongly recommended. It enables automatic web login without entering your Master Key each time. You can retrieve your Master Key later from Keychain Access by searching for "DAWShare".
Download the Windows installer from your team's administrator. Run DAWShare2 Installer and follow the same steps as macOS above.
Use the web interface to browse projects, view version history and notes, manage collab members, and trigger sync operations. The desktop app is required for actual file transfer — end-to-end encryption means file bytes can only be encrypted and decrypted on a device holding your Master Key, never in the browser.
DAWShare uses invite-only registration. Your administrator will provide a platform invite code. The installer handles registration directly — no browser needed:
Important: Your Master Key is hashed on the server and cannot be recovered from us. If you lose it and didn't save to Keychain, you can use "Forgot Key" on the login page (requires a verified email) or contact your administrator for a reset.
From your Profile page, click Send Verification Email to verify your email address. A verification link is sent (valid for 24 hours). Verifying your email enables the self-service "Forgot Key" recovery feature.
For web login security, you can enable TOTP-based 2FA from your Profile page:
If you saved your Master Key to Keychain, the desktop app can auto-login to the web interface using a secure one-time token (expires in 60 seconds, single use). No manual key entry is needed. If you didn't save to Keychain, you'll log in manually on the web with your Master Key.
To sync from a second machine, run the DAWShare installer on the new device and choose Master Key at setup. Enter your Master Key and the app will link the device to your account and recover your project folder mappings from the server automatically.
You can also use the QR Code option when viewing your Master Key in the app to transfer it to another machine without typing the full key.
A Collab (short for collaboration group) is a workspace shared among team members. Each collab has its own:
From the web interface, click the Collabs icon in the navigation bar. Click Create Collab and enter a name. You'll be set as the owner.
On the collab page, you'll find an Invite Code. Share this with team members so they can join. Codes can be regenerated if compromised.
Projects are created automatically the first time you push a folder from the desktop app.
Pushing sends your local project folder to the server, creating a new version.
For existing projects, the app remembers your folder location. It performs a dry-run comparison first and tells you how many files changed. You can add optional notes describing what changed before confirming the push.
Only changed bytes transfer over the wire (delta sync via rsync). A 2 GB project with a few tweaked audio files syncs in seconds, not minutes.
The entire contents of your selected folder are synced, excluding:
.DS_Store files (macOS metadata).dawshare marker files (internal tracking).musicapps-project-folder filesPulling downloads the latest version (or a specific version) from the server to your local folder.
Tip: You can pull a specific older version from the project's version history page, not just the latest.
The top navigation bar appears on every page. Each icon button is described below.
| Icon | Label | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Projects | View all projects in the current collab | |
| Recent Projects | Quick-access dropdown of projects you've recently visited | |
| Collabs | Manage collabs, view members, join or create collabs, and share invite codes | |
| Help | Tips, keyboard shortcuts, app settings, and links to this User Guide and the FAQ | |
| Terms of Use | Opens the Terms of Use in a new tab | |
| Profile | Your account settings, 2FA, email notifications, device management, and sync preferences | |
| Logout | Sign out of the web interface |
When viewing a project, the toolbar at the top provides these actions:
| Icon | Label | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Sync from Local Folder (Push) | Opens the desktop app to sync your local project folder to the server, creating a new version | |
| Sync to Local Folder (Pull) | Opens the desktop app to download the latest version from the server to your local folder | |
| Check Out Project | Lock the project while you're working. Others will see it's checked out and by whom | |
| Check In | Release the lock after you've finished working and pushed your changes | |
| Activity Log | View all push, pull, and management events for this project | |
| View Local Backups | Browse files that were automatically backed up before previous pulls | |
| Rename Project | Change the project name | |
| Prune Old Versions | Delete older versions to free storage, keeping only the most recent N versions | |
| Mark as Final | Lock the project permanently as a finished product. No further versions can be added | |
| Reopen Project | Undo finalization and allow new versions to be added again | |
| Delete Project | Permanently delete the project and all its versions. This cannot be undone |
Each version row in the history table has these actions:
| Icon | Label | Description |
|---|---|---|
| View Files | Browse the project's files for this version. Click audio files to preview them in the browser | |
| Delete | Delete this version (only available when more than one version exists) |
DAWShare 2 is end-to-end encrypted, so all file transfers go through the desktop app — that's where your encryption key lives. To push a project, open it in the web app and click Sync; the desktop app launches, encrypts the project locally, and uploads only the changed chunks. The web app itself does not move file bytes by design.
Before a pull overwrites files in your local project folder, DAWShare automatically backs up any files that will be changed. Backups are stored in a timestamped subfolder:
~/DAWShare Backups/ProjectName/YYYY-MM-DD_HH-MM-SS/
You can view and access your backups from the project page in the web interface by clicking the View Local Backups button.
If you prefer not to keep local backups (to save disk space), you can disable them in your Profile settings on the web interface. When disabled, pulls will still overwrite files but won't create backup copies.
DAWShare provides a check-out system to prevent conflicting edits:
Think of check-out like putting a "Recording in Progress" sign on a studio door — it tells others to wait before making changes.
Stay informed about activity in your collabs without checking the web interface. From your Profile page, you can enable or disable notifications for each event type:
| Notification | When it fires |
|---|---|
| New Version Uploads | A collaborator pushes a new version to any project in your collabs |
| New Projects | A new project is created in one of your collabs |
| Project Check-out/in | A collaborator checks out or checks in a project |
| New Collab Members | Someone joins one of your collabs |
Tip: Verify your email address from your Profile page to ensure notifications are delivered. Unverified email addresses may not receive notifications.
Your session may have expired or your Master Key may be incorrect. Re-open the app from the sync button in the web interface to generate a fresh session. If the issue persists, check that your Master Key in Keychain is correct by searching for "DAWShare" in Keychain Access.
DAWShare uses rsync to detect changes by comparing file timestamps and sizes. If your DAW only modifies file contents without changing the timestamp, try saving the project again or touching the modified files.
dawshare:// links natively. If prompted, click "Allow" to open the appInitial pushes transfer the entire project. Subsequent pushes only send changed files (delta sync). If syncs remain slow, check your network connection and the size of the project. Large sample libraries will take longer.
If you switch to a new machine or accidentally delete ~/.dawshare_projects.json, DAWShare can recover your folder mappings from the server. The next time you try to sync a project, the app will check the server for your last known folder path and offer to use it.