DaVinci Resolve Fusion Macros and Templates: Build, Save, Install

Quick answer: build and test the node tree, select the nodes that belong in the reusable item, then right-click one and choose Macro > Create Macro. In Resolve 21, choose the controls to expose, keep the necessary image connections, and arrange the live Inspector Preview. Test with Copy Macro, then save as a Macro, Group or Edit Template. The right save choice depends on whether you need a Fusion node, editable internals or an item in the Cut/Edit Effects Library.

A saved file and an installed template are not the same thing. A custom Fusion macro will not automatically appear under Edit-page titles. If a valid .setting file seems to vanish, check its destination before rebuilding the effect.

Choose Macro, Group or Edit Template before you build

If you're still learning what each node does, start with the Fusion beginner workflow. The macro process assumes the comp already works. Packaging a broken comp only makes the failure easier to repeat.

Build a clean source comp

Make the smallest node tree that produces the finished result. Name the important nodes, remove abandoned branches, and test different clips, frame sizes, durations, and aspect ratios when those inputs can change. A reusable lower third shouldn't be approved after one name at one duration. A reusable effect should survive a different source clip without relying on a hidden mask or a fixed frame number.

The nodes you include depend on the template category. In Blackmagic's title example, select the creative nodes but exclude MediaIn and MediaOut. Its transition example includes both MediaIn nodes and MediaOut; its generator example includes MediaOut; its simple effect example includes MediaIn and MediaOut. Do not apply the title rule to every template. Start from an existing working template of the category you need when the boundary is unclear.

For a normal custom Fusion tool, check its image input and output before packaging. Keep the source comp as an editable reference. If the new macro has no usable image connection or produces a blank frame, compare it with that source before changing the design.

Create a Fusion macro in Resolve 21

1. Open the clip or Fusion Composition on the Fusion page.
2. Build the complete effect and confirm the final branch reaches MediaOut.
3. Select only the nodes that belong inside the reusable item.
4. Right-click one selected node.
5. Choose Macro > Create Macro.
6. Give the macro a short, searchable name that will still make sense in six months.

Blackmagic's Resolve 21 New Features Guide documents the redesigned Macro Editor and its live Inspector Preview. That preview is more than decoration: it lets you judge what an editor will actually see while you're still choosing and organizing parameters.

Expose fewer controls than the node tree contains

The Export column includes parameters and input connections. Do not uncheck everything indiscriminately: the macro still needs the image inputs and output appropriate to its job. Beyond those connections, expose only the controls the next editor needs. For a lower third, that might be Styled Text, font, size, text color, background opacity and position. A title does not need every Text+ setting in its Inspector.

Rename controls for the person using the template. Background Opacity is clearer than an internal channel name; Title Position distinguishes a title transform from other transforms in the comp. Set defaults and ranges for that specific parameter. A narrow opacity range can make sense, but do not constrain a position control so tightly that the title cannot reach the edge of the frame.

Organize the live Inspector Preview

In Resolve 21's preview, drag controls into the order you want, move them between pages, or add and rename pages. Separator, Spacer and Nest organize the Inspector without editing a settings file by hand. A Nest is a collapsible section; use it for settings people rarely touch.

• Keep the first page for the settings changed on almost every use.
• Put related controls together: text, layout, color, timing, or advanced repair.
• Use one separator when two groups would otherwise run together.
• Use a nest for genuinely optional detail, not for the core controls the editor needs immediately.
• Leave a new page for a real second task, not because the first page looks busy.

For title templates, test the same Inspector with a short name, a long name, and a two-line name. If you need the full Text+ workflow before packaging it, use the Resolve text and Text+ guide.

Test the macro before saving it

Open the Macro Editor's three-dot menu and choose Copy Macro. Paste the work-in-progress item into the Fusion node tree and test the exposed controls there. Blackmagic added this loop so you don't have to save and import a new file for every small change.

Check four things before you commit the file:

1. The output matches the original comp at the default values.
2. Every visible control changes what its label promises.
3. No essential input, mask, image, or text control was hidden.
4. Minimum and maximum values don't trap the editor or break the design.

Paste the test into a fresh comp and connect the inputs it requires. Compare its default output with the original, then try the exposed controls. This catches problems that can stay hidden when the macro sits beside the source nodes and still depends on them.

Also test a shorter and longer timeline duration. A finished animation will not necessarily adapt just because you packaged it. Anim Curves can scale animation with the duration; Keyframe Stretcher can preserve the entrance and exit while stretching the hold between them. Choose the behavior your template needs and check both ends after trimming.

Save to the destination you actually need

The current three-dot menu separates the destinations:

• Save As Macro: creates one custom node with the controls you exposed.
• Save As Group: stores an expandable container of the individual nodes.
• Save to Edit Template: places the result in the Cut/Edit Effects Library as a Title, Generator, Effect, or Transition.
• Choose Thumbnail: adds a recognizable thumbnail.
• Show in Folder: opens the saved location instead of making you guess it.

To reuse a saved custom tool in Fusion, right-click in the Node Editor and choose Add Tool > Macros, then select it. Keep its .setting file in the active Macros location shown by your save dialog; Show in Folder confirms where it went. The Macros folder is not the same as Templates/Edit/Titles. For an Edit Template, choose its category when saving, then add a fresh instance from that category to the timeline and check the Inspector.

For an ordinary timeline transition, use the transitions guide to solve handles, duration, alignment, and playback. A Fusion Transition template is a different task: it builds the reusable effect that later appears in that library.

Install .setting and .drfx templates correctly

Install a loose .setting file in its intended category. For a valid .drfx bundle, double-click the file in your operating system or drag it into the Fusion page, then confirm Resolve's installation dialog. These are alternative routes. Renaming an arbitrary downloaded file to .drfx does not turn it into a valid bundle.

The Macro Editor's Show in Folder locates a macro you have already saved. To find a template category instead, open the Fusion page Effects Library, expand Templates > Edit, right-click the category and choose Show Folder. That is safer than guessing an installation-specific path. The user-level Edit template roots in the Resolve 21 Reference Manual are:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/DaVinci Resolve/Fusion/Templates/Edit/
• Windows: %AppData%\Blackmagic Design\DaVinci Resolve\Support\Fusion\Templates\Edit\
• Linux: ~/.local/share/DaVinciResolve/Fusion/Templates/Edit/

Append Titles, Generators, Effects or Transitions. Create a missing category folder only inside the verified template root. Quit and reopen Resolve after manual placement, then look in the corresponding Effects Library section. If your installation uses a different location, follow Show Folder; do not modify the application package just because an older tutorial suggests it.

Package a .drfx without losing its assets

A bundle is useful when you want to distribute several templates together. Follow the documented structure rather than renaming a single settings file:

1. Create an Edit folder with the category subfolders you need, such as Titles and Transitions.
2. Put each .setting file in its matching category. Include the permitted icons and associated assets it needs.
3. ZIP that directory structure, then change the archive extension from .zip to .drfx.
4. Install the bundle in a test setup and check a fresh instance. Bundling a file does not fix a hard-coded media path or install a required third-party plugin.

Resolve keeps the installed bundle together; it does not unpack it into loose templates. Removing the installed .drfx removes the templates inside it. Keep your editable source files separately, and distribute fonts, plugins or other assets only when their licenses allow it.

Fix a Fusion template that is not showing

1. Confirm the destination. A Fusion Macro belongs in Fusion's macro list; an Edit Template belongs in the Cut/Edit Effects Library.
2. Confirm the category. A title in Effects will not appear under Fusion Titles. Move it to the folder that matches its construction.
3. Confirm the extension. Check that the file didn't become .setting.txt or an invalid bundle after download or extraction.
4. Confirm the folder level. The file belongs inside the category folder, not beside Edit and not inside an extra duplicate Edit/Edit tree.
5. Restart Resolve. Manual additions are indexed when the application starts.
6. Search the correct library. Look under Titles, Generators, Effects, or Video Transitions according to what you saved.
7. Test the underlying requirements. A template can load but still fail if it depends on missing fonts, media, third-party plugins, or Studio-only tools.

Do not copy a missing item into several system and user folders at once. Keep one known file and change one thing per test. The correct extension is .setting, singular—not .settings. If the item appears but renders incorrectly, installation has succeeded; investigate its image connections, fonts, assets and required tools instead.

Update a reusable template without breaking working edits

Keep a known-good copy before replacing a working template. Save a material redesign under a new name such as Lower Third v2, add a fresh instance to a test timeline, and compare it with the old one. Replacing a file is not a promise that every existing timeline instance will update safely. Use the Macro Editor's Open command to load an existing macro for revision, or its Node Editor Macro submenu entry.

Check the new version on a different clip and a different duration. If it uses fonts, external media, plugins, or Studio-only nodes, document those requirements where the template is distributed. A macro wrapper doesn't remove the licensing or installation requirements of the tools inside it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a Fusion macro in DaVinci Resolve?

A Fusion macro packages one or more selected nodes as one custom node and exposes only the parameters you choose. It's useful when the internal setup should be reused without presenting the whole node tree every time.

What is the difference between a Fusion macro and a group?

A macro behaves as one custom node with selected controls. A group is a container whose individual nodes can be expanded and edited later. Use a group when future access to the internal construction matters.

How do I make a Fusion template appear on the Edit page?

In Resolve 21's Macro Editor, choose Save to Edit Template and select Title, Generator, Effect, or Transition. For manual files, place the .setting file in the matching Templates/Edit category folder, quit Resolve, reopen it, and search that Effects Library category.

Why is my Fusion template not showing in DaVinci Resolve?

Check the destination, category folder, extra folder levels, file extension and whether Resolve was restarted after manual placement. Use Show Folder in the Fusion Effects Library to locate the category, or Show in Folder in the Macro Editor for an already saved macro. Test one known file instead of copying it into several locations.

Where is the Fusion Templates folder on Windows?

The current user-level Edit template root is %AppData%\Blackmagic Design\DaVinci Resolve\Support\Fusion\Templates\Edit\. Add Titles, Generators, Effects, or Transitions according to the template type.

Can I edit a Fusion macro after saving it?

Yes. The Resolve 21 manual says an existing macro can be opened from the Node Editor's Macro submenu and re-edited in the Macro Editor. Save a backup or a versioned copy before changing a tool used in real projects.

Do Fusion macros and templates work in DaVinci Resolve Free?

The macro and template workflow is part of Fusion, but the wrapper doesn't make every node, plugin, font, or asset universally available. A template that depends on a Studio-only tool or third-party plugin still carries that requirement.

Use the Fusion task hub for the next compositing job. Keep this guide for the handoff: turning a working comp into a reusable tool with controls someone else can understand.

Jason Miller I run DaVinci Resolve Club as an independent publication: hands-on edits, color grading breakdowns, Fairlight sessions, Fusion tests, and honest notes on where Resolve gets in the way.