DaVinci Resolve Proxy Workflow: Create, Link & Export

Proxy Media is the Resolve workflow to reach for when your camera originals are too heavy for smooth editing and you want lightweight files you can move, share, inspect and relink. Set the proxy resolution and codec in Project Settings, generate the files from the Media Pool, choose Prefer Proxies while you edit, then switch back to camera originals before the final quality check.

That's a different job from Timeline Proxy Resolution, Optimized Media and Render Cache. All three can improve playback, but each one goes after its own bottleneck. Below is one repeatable workflow for a single workstation, a laptop handoff or a remote edit, and it keeps your final export from turning into a guessing game.

Choose the right playback tool first

Hold off on generating hundreds of gigabytes of proxy files until you know Proxy Media is the tool your project needs. Start with the smallest intervention that matches the symptom.

Blackmagic draws the same lines in the DaVinci Resolve 21.1 Reference Manual: Proxy Media is independent and portable, Timeline Proxy Resolution changes processing resolution without creating media, Optimized Media is managed internally, and Render Cache targets effect-heavy results.

Set resolution, codec, and location before generating files

Open File > Project Settings > Master Settings. In Optimized Media and Render Cache, pick the Proxy Media Resolution and Proxy Media Format. Under Working Folders, confirm the Proxy generation location. Then look at Preferences > System > Media Storage, because its Proxy Generation Location preference can override that project folder. The Proxy Media Path column tells you where each linked file lives.

For resolution, Choose Automatically is a safe first test, since Resolve reduces sources that exceed the timeline resolution. Use Half or Quarter when you want a predictable size reduction. Eighth and Sixteenth are transport choices for unusually large originals or tight remote workflows. At those sizes, focus, key edges, fine text and compression artifacts can get too hard to judge.

Proxies can lower decoding and storage demands, but they won't get a machine past the system requirements. Check hardware and driver compatibility separately; effects can still exhaust GPU memory with proxies enabled.

For the codec, pick whatever decodes fastest on the editing machine. The smallest possible number on disk matters less. ProRes Proxy or ProRes LT is a common macOS choice, and DNxHR LB or SQ is a practical cross-platform one. The exact list depends on your operating system and Resolve build. H.264 or H.265 makes compact handoff files, but highly compressed long-GOP media can push work back onto the decoder you were trying to relieve. Test one representative clip before you generate the whole card.

Put proxies on a fast SSD with enough free space and a stable path. Skip temporary download folders, drive letters that change between workstations and cloud-sync directories that may evict files. If the project will move, plan the folder structure before generation so the same proxy root can travel with the project.

Best proxy settings by situation

Blackmagic's proxy format notes in the Resolve 21.1 manual suggest ProRes 422 HQ or DNxHR HQX when RAW playback has to keep its image quality and much smaller formats for sending media over the internet, and its remote-work examples add a laptop setup. I'd keep ProRes Proxy or DNxHR LB as the default on the editing machine and save H.265 for media that has to travel. In the Creative Video Tips proxy comparison, the tester couldn't tell H.265 and ProRes Proxy apart in playback, but that Resolve 19 test ran on an M2 Max, whose media engine decodes H.265 in hardware, and a long-GOP file leans on whatever decoder your machine has.

Half of a UHD source is 1920x1080, and at that size the offline codecs land close together. Apple's ProRes white paper target rates put 1080p ProRes Proxy at about 16 GB per hour at 24p and ProRes LT at about 37 GB, and Avid's DNxHR bandwidth table works out to about 16 GB per hour for DNxHR LB at 1080p 23.976. Keeping Original resolution on UHD footage raises ProRes Proxy to about 65 GB per hour, and an Original-size ProRes 422 HQ proxy of UHD runs about 318 GB. The Creative Video Tips test measured its 1080p H.265 proxies at about 5 Mb/s, or 2 to 3 GB per hour of footage. These are targets, and ProRes is variable bit rate, so leave a margin on the proxy drive. If a format from the table is missing from your list, the supported codecs guide shows what each platform can decode and encode.

Generate Proxy Media from the Media Pool

1. Select one representative clip in the Media Pool.
2. Right-click it and choose Generate Proxy Media.
3. Let generation finish, then test playback, scrubbing, audio sync and a short color or Fusion section.
4. If that test is clean, select the remaining source clips and generate the full set.

Resolve uses the proxy resolution and format already stored in Project Settings. Changing those settings later won't quietly rebuild old files, so generate a new proxy when you want a different resolution, codec or RAW interpretation.

A second generation doesn't overwrite the first. Resolve writes the new file to the same folder as the previous proxy, adds "_s00x" to its name and links the newest version automatically, and the manual's section on re-generating proxy media notes that older versions stay on disk for manual relinking. That's useful for comparing two Camera Raw settings, and it's also why a proxy folder keeps growing after a few regenerations.

If Generate Proxy Media fails on that test clip, confirm that the original plays in the Viewer and that the proxy folder is writable and has free space. Then change one Project Settings value at a time: set the proxy resolution to Choose Automatically, which only shrinks clips larger than the timeline, and if generation still fails, switch the format to a DNxHR or ProRes option your system lists.

When separately recorded audio is synced to a source clip in the Media Pool, Blackmagic notes that the generated proxy media carries that synced audio inside the proxy video file. Verify sync on a slate or a hard consonant before you hand the project to another editor.

Verify that Resolve is using the proxies

Generating files and playing them are two different things. In the Cut or Edit viewer, open Proxy Handling and choose Prefer Proxies. Resolve uses a linked proxy when one exists and falls back to the camera original when it doesn't. That fallback is handy, but it can hide a partial proxy set: one section plays smoothly while another is still decoding the original.

Switch the Media Pool to List view and enable the Proxy and Proxy Media Path columns. A healthy clip shows a resolution in the Proxy column; None or Offline means something's missing. Check several clips from different camera folders, because the first item in the bin tells you very little.

• None means no proxy is linked.
• Offline means Resolve has proxy metadata but can't find the expected file.
• A resolution means linked proxy media is online.

The viewer and clip badges also show whether Resolve prefers proxy media, prefers camera originals, has only proxy media available or has the proxy workflow disabled. Lean on those indicators during handoff checks. After a long edit day, your memory of which mode you picked isn't a reliable record.

Proxy Media vs Optimized Media

Both make source footage easier to play, but who owns the files is different. Proxy Media creates normal, independent files you can copy, inspect, archive and relink. Optimized Media is controlled internally by Resolve and is meant to stay with the project environment that created it.

Choose Proxy Media when the edit moves between systems, another editor needs compact files, or you want an explicit file path and status. Choose Optimized Media when Resolve can manage the substitute media inside your current setup. Resolve 21 can reuse Optimized Media across projects in the same project library, but it isn't included in Media Management or Project Archive operations, so keep it out of any portable handoff media.

Proxy Media vs Timeline Proxy Resolution

Timeline Proxy Resolution doesn't transcode your source clips. It tells Resolve to process the timeline at a lower working resolution. That makes it a great first move when playback is close to real time and the bottleneck is general processing. When source decoding is the real problem, it won't do much.

Choose Playback > Timeline Proxy Resolution and try Half or Quarter. Restore full processing resolution when you judge fine detail. Proxy Media and Timeline Proxy Resolution are independent, so you can edit with proxy files and still lower timeline processing for a heavy grade. If playback is already smooth after one change, stop there.

Proxy Media vs Render Cache

Proxies reduce source-media demands, and that's all they do: your effects still get processed live. A proxy may make an H.265 interview play cleanly while a Fusion composition, temporal noise reduction or a chain of Resolve FX keeps dropping frames. When that's the bottleneck, use Render Cache for the processed result. Another proxy set won't solve it.

A GPU Memory Full error can survive a proxy change when the real pressure comes from timeline resolution, Fusion, temporal effects or the grade. Cut back the expensive processing or cache that result. Generating another proxy set won't help here.

Render Cache is managed by the project, and it can't stand in for the original camera media on another machine. Don't copy a CacheClip folder to another workstation and call it a handoff. Use a proxy-aware archive or copy the proxy root deliberately.

Automate watch folders with Blackmagic Proxy Generator

Use the separate Blackmagic Proxy Generator when new camera files land in one or more watch folders and you want proxy creation to keep running outside the Resolve interface. Choose the proxy format, add the watched folders, and the app places generated media in Proxy subfolders beside the originals.

When you import those originals into the Media Pool, Resolve can link the matching proxies automatically. If you need a separate handoff folder, Extract Proxies copies the generated proxy files to a destination you choose, and the camera originals stay where they are.

In Proxy Generator, click Start once you've picked the watch folders and proxy format. To use Extract Proxies, stop processing first; that control isn't available while it runs. Check the copied files at the destination before you hand over the project.

Proxy Generator isn't a separate download: the Resolve 21.1.2 installer puts it in the applications folder next to Blackmagic RAW Player. It writes H.264, H.265 or ProRes proxies and picks up new files anywhere inside a watched folder's tree, so a card dump with nested camera folders still gets its proxies, with a Proxy folder beside the files in each subfolder.

The watched drive has to hold the originals and the proxies together, and the manual's Proxy Generator section shows the estimated disk space for the proxies below the Watch Folders list. The Volume column tells you which drive must stay connected, and Status moves from Waiting to Processing to Completed. The space bar toggles Start and Stop, and a watch folder can't be named "proxy" because the app reserves that name. Blackmagic's example is a separate watch folder for each card, scene or date, which keeps the Status column readable on a long shoot.

Move, link, and relink proxy files

If proxies were generated outside Resolve or moved, select the source clips in the Media Pool and choose Link Proxy Media. External proxies need identical source timecode, the same base filename, the same frame rate and a supported codec. A timecode number burned into the picture doesn't count; the file metadata itself has to match. Check duration and audio sync after linking, too.

After linking, verify the Proxy and Proxy Media Path columns. If a moved drive leaves clips with Offline status, relink to the directory that holds the matching files. Keep the proxy command away from camera originals: original relinking and proxy relinking are separate operations.

If the originals are missing too, handle proxy relinking apart from the broader Media Offline diagnosis, so Resolve gets pointed at the correct file type at each step.

Unlink Proxy Media removes the metadata relationship and leaves the file on disk. That's handy when you're testing a link, but it also means old proxy generations pile up. Write down the active proxy root before any cleanup.

Send a proxy-only project archive

Copying a proxy folder by hand works, but the manual's proxy-only archive steps do the file management for you. The resulting .dra is a self-contained folder with the project and its proxies, and any clip without a proxy, such as a graphic, travels as its original so nothing goes offline.

1. Set the proxy resolution and format in Project Settings, then generate proxies for every source clip.
2. In the Project Manager, right-click the project and choose Export Project Archive.
3. In Archive Options, check Proxy Media and uncheck Media Files and Render Cache.
4. Copy the .dra folder to an external drive, or zip it and upload it for a remote editor.
5. On the other machine, import it with Restore Project Archive in the Project Manager.
6. When the edit is done, send back a timeline, bin or project file and continue on the original system with the camera originals.

I'd make this archive the default handoff, because Resolve keeps the folder structure and swaps in originals for clips that have no proxy, a step that's easy to miss when you copy folders by hand. When the camera originals have to travel too, the media management guide covers copying, transcoding and trimming them, and projects shared through Blackmagic Cloud follow their own proxy and relink routine in the cloud collaboration handoff guide.

Switch back to camera originals before finishing

For a reliable original-media check, choose Disable All Proxies. Prefer Camera Originals can silently fall back to a proxy when an original is missing, and Disable All Proxies can't. Also turn off Playback > Use Optimized Media if Available and disable caching under Playback > Render Cache for this check. Inspect focus, noise, key edges, stabilization and texture, then restore your working playback options if you need them.

A purple timeline line warns that camera originals are missing in the proxy workflow. With proxies disabled, missing originals show up as Media Offline. Confirm the originals are online before a master export; picking Prefer Camera Originals on its own doesn't prove they're available.

Export without accidentally using proxies

In the Deliver page’s advanced video settings, leave Use proxy media off for an original-media master. Then check the independent Use optimized media and Use render cached images options, and turn both off when you want Resolve to process the originals afresh. High-quality optimized media or cache can be a deliberate delivery choice. Make that call after you've verified their format and quality, because a disabled proxy option tells you nothing about them.

Choose the final codec, container, resolution and audio layout from the DaVinci Resolve export settings hub. Your proxy choice shouldn't quietly become the delivery specification.

Before you add the final render job, run this short gate:

1. Disable All Proxies and confirm the original clips are online.
2. For the visual check, disable optimized-media playback and render caching.
3. Open several clips at 100% and inspect focus, grain, keys, and noise reduction.
4. For a fresh original-media render, turn off Use proxy media, Use optimized media and Use render cached images.
5. Render a short, difficult section and inspect the exported file outside Resolve.

If the master still stops or fails with the originals restored, work through the render-failure isolation workflow before you turn proxy media back on.

For a quick daily or a proxy-only remote review, you can switch on Use proxy media on purpose. Label that output as a proxy review, and never pass it off as an original-quality master just because the render finished. Playback preferences and Deliver-page media choices are separate checks.

Does the proxy workflow work in Free and Studio?

Blackmagic presents proxy editing as part of the main Resolve workflow, and the current DaVinci Resolve product page puts the Free download alongside those editing features. Studio adds separate AI, effects, codec, resolution and performance capabilities. You can create and use a normal proxy workflow without it.

Studio 21.1 added one proxy-specific item: the Studio 21.1 release notes list an AI tools preference to use proxy media when the originals are offline. That's the setting to look for on a proxy-only laptop running Studio, where the camera originals aren't connected. The Free 21.1 notes don't list it.

Codec availability and hardware acceleration still vary by operating system, source format, bit depth, GPU and Resolve edition. If an option is absent on your system, pick a proxy codec the current installation can generate and decode reliably. A setting copied from another platform may not exist on yours.

Common proxy workflow failures

Proxy generation is slow or makes huge files

Try a lower resolution or a lighter proxy codec on one clip. High-quality intermediate codecs trade storage for easy decoding. Highly compressed codecs save space, but they can take longer to encode and may feel sluggish on weak hardware. Make sure the proxy destination isn't a slow network volume.

Proxy status says Offline

Show the Proxy Media Path column, mount the expected drive, and use Link Proxy Media if the files moved. If the folder was renamed or a Windows drive letter changed, fix that path before you regenerate anything.

Playback is still slow with proxies enabled

First confirm that Resolve is playing proxies. If it is, the bottleneck may be Fusion, grading, noise reduction, an OFX plug-in, audio processing, storage or timeline resolution. Work through the slow playback diagnosis before you generate a second proxy set blindly.

The final export looks soft

Make the camera originals available. Turn off Use proxy media, Use optimized media and Use render cached images for a fresh original-media test, then render a short section again. If it's still soft, check timeline resolution, scaling, source resolution and the delivery codec. Switching off proxy delivery by itself can't rule out a low-quality optimized file or cache.

Unlinking did not free disk space

That's expected. Unlinking removes the relationship inside Resolve, and the proxy files stay on disk. Confirm the active Proxy Media Path, close the project, and remove only the old proxy generation you've positively identified. Keep a backup if the project is still active.

Proxy Generator sets are the exception. Its Delete Proxies option removes all proxy files and the Proxy folder from the selected watch folders, and the manual's Proxy Generator management notes say processing must be stopped before the option is available. Check which watch folders are selected before you click it, because it clears every proxy in them.

The proxy workflow checklist

• Test one representative clip before generating the full set.
• Choose a codec for easy decoding on the actual edit machine.
• Store proxies on a fast, stable path with enough free space.
• Verify Proxy and Proxy Media Path columns after generation.
• Pick Prefer Proxies while editing and Prefer Camera Originals while finishing.
• Relink moved proxies; don't regenerate until the path is ruled out.
• Check all three Deliver media options before an original-media master.
• Document and remove old proxy generations deliberately.

Once playback is stable, use the DaVinci Resolve tutorial roadmap to fit proxy setup back into the larger import, edit, color, audio and export sequence.

Proxy workflow questions

Where does DaVinci Resolve save proxy media?

Project Settings > Master Settings > Working Folders sets the Proxy generation location, and Preferences > System > Media Storage can override it. The Proxy Media Path column shows the exact file a clip expects.

Should I use Proxy Media or Optimized Media?

Pick Proxy Media when you want portable files you can inspect, copy and relink. Optimized Media is managed internally and can be reused across projects in the same project library. It isn't included in Media Management or Project Archive operations, so don't count on it as your handoff package.

Does Timeline Proxy Resolution create proxy files?

No. It lowers the timeline processing resolution on the fly. Proxy Media creates actual files on disk and links them to the camera originals.

Will Resolve export from the original files?

By default, delivery uses the originals, and proxy files stay out of the render. For a fresh original-media render, verify that the originals are online and turn off Use proxy media, Use optimized media and Use render cached images. High-quality optimized media or cache can be used deliberately after you've checked their format and quality.

Does Unlink Proxy Media delete the files?

No. It removes the metadata link. The proxy file remains on disk until you delete it deliberately.

Why are my proxies offline after moving the project?

The recorded Proxy Media Path no longer matches the mounted drive or folder. Restore the original path, or select the source clips and use Link Proxy Media to point Resolve at the moved files.

Jason Miller I run DaVinci Resolve Club, an independent publication. My guides explain editing, color, Fairlight, Fusion and delivery, with clear Free vs Studio limits.