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# DaVinci Resolve Smart Bins and Power Bins Guide
- URL: https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-smart-bins-power-bins/
- Published: 2026-08-28T06:13:04.000Z
- Updated: 2026-08-28T06:13:04.000Z
- Description: Use Smart Bins for automatic metadata filters and Power Bins for reusable assets across projects. Includes Resolve 21 setup, rules and fixes.
- Author: Jason Miller
- Tags: Workflow, Tutorials

**Quick answer:** use a **Smart Bin** when you want Resolve to keep finding clips that match metadata rules inside a project. Use a **Power Bin** when you want to place reusable assets manually and reach them from other projects in the current Project Library. Use a regular Bin when the material belongs to one project and you want to file it yourself.

That distinction matters because the three bin types solve different problems. A Smart Bin is a saved query, not a folder full of copied clips. A Power Bin is a shared Media Pool area, not a search rule and not a backup of the files on disk.

Blackmagic's [current Media page](https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/products/davinciresolve/media?ref=davinciresolveclub.com) describes Smart Bins as metadata-driven and Power Bins as a place for reusable graphics, logos, titles and clips. This guide turns that definition into a Resolve 21 workflow and keeps the project-library boundary visible.

If you are still building the basic project structure, the [Resolve beginner guide](https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-tutorial-beginners/) covers importing and the main editing pages. This page owns one narrower job: choosing, building and repairing the right kind of bin.

## Smart Bins vs Power Bins vs regular Bins

| Bin type        | How clips get there                          | Scope                                                                                 | Best use                                                                              |
| --------------- | -------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Regular Bin** | You drag or import items manually            | Current project                                                                       | Camera days, interviews, audio, timelines and project-specific graphics               |
| **Smart Bin**   | Resolve evaluates metadata rules dynamically | Current project's matching media; the rule can be shown in all projects               | Good takes, one codec, one frame rate, interview keywords, offline clips or timelines |
| **Power Bin**   | You add reusable items manually              | Projects in the current Project Library, with user limits in multi-user installations | Logos, slates, music beds, sound effects, title generators and recurring graphics     |

The useful test is simple. If the membership should change when metadata changes, choose Smart. If the same asset should be available when you open a different project, choose Power. If neither is true, a regular Bin is usually clearer.

## Show Smart Bins and Power Bins in Resolve 21

1. Open the Media Pool on the Media or Edit page.
2. Open the Media Pool options menu, the three-dot control in the panel.
3. Enable **Show Smart Bins** and **Show Power Bins**.
4. Expand the new sections in the Bin list.

![DaVinci Resolve 21 Media Pool options menu with Show Smart Bins and Show Power Bins enabled](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a9/29/a929429b-cfab-4467-b902-a0cd9c90feac/content/images/2026/08/show-smart-power-bins.webp)

Use the Media Pool options menu in the panel itself. The Smart Bins and Power Bins sections then appear separately in the Bin list.

The July 2026 [DaVinci Resolve 21 Reference Manual](https://documents.blackmagicdesign.com/UserManuals/DaVinci%5FResolve%5F21%5FReference%5FManual.pdf?ref=davinciresolveclub.com) uses this Media Pool options path for both sections. Older tutorials that send you to a top-level View menu can therefore point at the wrong place for a current layout.

Resolve 21 also lets the Cut page view and create Smart Bins from the Media Bin dropdown in the upper left of its Media Pool. Click the plus button beside the Smart Bins group to start a rule there. For the full three-section overview and Power Bin management, the Media or Edit page Media Pool remains the clearest workspace.

## Create a Smart Bin that proves the rules work

Start with a field that Resolve already knows. **Good Take**, frame rate, codec, clip type and resolution avoid the empty-metadata problem that makes a first Smart Bin look broken.

1. Show the Smart Bins section.
2. Right-click its background and choose **Add Smart Bin**.
3. Name the rule by its result, such as **Good Takes**.
4. Choose **Media Pool Properties > Good Take > is true**.
5. Click **Create Smart Bin**.

![DaVinci Resolve 21 Create Smart Bin dialog with Good Take is true and Match All rules](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a9/29/a929429b-cfab-4467-b902-a0cd9c90feac/content/images/2026/08/create-smart-bin-rules.webp)

A single known field is the best first test. Once the bin populates, add metadata rules one at a time and watch which change removes a clip.

Mark one clip as a good take and confirm that it appears. If it does, the Smart Bin engine is working. You can then replace the test with the rule the project needs.

### Match All, Match Any and nested criteria

**Match All** narrows the result because every enabled row must be true. For example, `Keywords contains interview` plus `Good Take is true` returns only selected interviews. **Match Any** widens the result because one matching row is enough. It can collect `Keywords contains drone` or `Keywords contains aerial`.

The Add Criteria button creates another row. Option-click it on macOS, or Alt-click on Windows, to add a nested match group when you need all of one group and any of another. Build that only after simple rules work. A clever rule that nobody can diagnose is worse than two obvious Smart Bins.

### Automatic Smart Categories are different

Resolve can create automatic categories for Timelines, Photo Albums, Keywords, Collections, People, Shot, Scene and Offline Clips. The controls live under **Preferences > User > Editing > Automatic Smart Bins**.

Keyword, Shot and Scene categories have a useful shortcut: drag selected clips onto an existing automatic Smart Bin to assign that bin's property to the clips. The current manual explicitly limits this behavior to those three categories. Dropping clips onto an arbitrary custom Smart Bin does not file them or rewrite their metadata.

For footage that needs richer labels before rules become useful, the [Slate ID and Slate Finder guide](https://davinciresolveclub.com/davinci-resolve-slate-finder-slate-id/) explains the separate ingest and metadata-assisted search route. Smart Bins should consume trustworthy metadata, not compensate for random naming.

## What “Show in all projects” actually shares

The checkbox makes the **Smart Bin definition** persistent. Resolve places that rule in the User Smart Bins folder inside every project in the current Project Library. It does not merge the projects' Media Pools or make one project's clips visible inside another.

A persistent `Good Takes` rule can therefore appear in Project A and Project B. Project A shows its clips that have Good Take enabled; Project B evaluates the same rule against Project B's clips. An empty result in the second project can be correct if its media has no matching metadata.

## Build a Power Bin for reusable assets

1. Show the Power Bins section from the Media Pool options menu.
2. Right-click inside the section and choose **Add Bin**.
3. Create a small structure such as Brand, Audio and Titles.
4. Import or drag only assets you genuinely reuse.
5. Open another project in the same Project Library and verify the Power Bin there.

![DaVinci Resolve 21 Power Bins with Brand, Audio and Titles available across projects in one library](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a9/29/a929429b-cfab-4467-b902-a0cd9c90feac/content/images/2026/08/power-bin-library.webp)

Power Bins are manual and library-scoped. Keep reusable assets here; keep camera originals and one-off project media in regular project Bins.

Good candidates are an approved logo, a network slate, a title generator, a short sound-effects set and a music bed whose license covers the work. A complete camera card is usually a poor candidate. It bloats the shared view and hides the few assets that were meant to save time.

The boundary is the current Project Library. Switching to another library can show a different set of Power Bins. In a multi-user installation, the manual further limits visibility to projects belonging to the particular user. Do not describe Power Bins as an account-wide cloud asset manager.

### Power Bins do not replace source storage

Power Bins hold Media Pool references. Keep their source files in a stable folder that will not be renamed or unplugged by accident. If the source path disappears, the item can go offline just like other linked media. The [Media Offline relink workflow](https://davinciresolveclub.com/media-offline-davinci-resolve/) owns that repair.

When you use a Power Bin asset in a project, Resolve still needs a project-level media reference so the timeline and archive can describe what it uses. That behavior is not pointless duplication; it keeps the project self-contained at the metadata level while the source file remains on disk.

## Export and back up Power Bins without false security

Resolve 21 can import and export Power Bins as `.drb` bin files. Use that feature when you want a restorable copy of the bin structure and references or need to transfer the curated bin into another environment.

A `.drb` file does not turn linked logos, music and graphics into embedded media. Back up the source folder separately. For a whole project, use the [Resolve save and archive guide](https://davinciresolveclub.com/how-to-save-work-davinci-resolve/); for the distinction between a project database, DRP and media location, use the [project location guide](https://davinciresolveclub.com/where-davinci-resolve-projects-saved/).

## Fix Smart Bins or Power Bins that look missing or broken

![DaVinci Resolve 21 Smart Bin and Power Bin diagnostic checks in the Media Pool](https://storage.ghost.io/c/a9/29/a929429b-cfab-4467-b902-a0cd9c90feac/content/images/2026/08/smart-power-bin-diagnostic.webp)

Diagnose the layer that failed: panel visibility, rule and metadata, Project Library scope, or the linked source path.

### The section is not visible

Open the full Media Pool and check its three-dot options menu. Enable the missing section there. If the menu itself is absent, widen the panel or open a Bin in a new window so the Media Pool controls are not collapsed by the workspace layout.

### A Smart Bin is empty

Open the rule and disable criteria one at a time. Check the exact field on a clip in the Metadata Editor. Then check whether Match All is excluding the clip because one row is false. A rule based on Keywords, Scene or Description cannot match a field that was never filled.

### The rule appears in another project but the clips do not

That is expected when **Show in all projects** is enabled. The saved rule travels; clip contents do not. Add or tag media in the second project and let the rule evaluate that project's Media Pool.

### Power Bins disappeared after switching projects

Confirm that the new project belongs to the same Project Library and user context, then re-enable Show Power Bins in the Media Pool options. If you moved to another library or computer, import the exported `.drb` and restore the source-media paths as needed.

### A Power Bin item is offline

Find the actual source file before reorganizing bins. Relink or replace that file reference. Recreating the Power Bin does not restore deleted media.

## Smart Bins and Power Bins FAQ

### What is the difference between Smart Bins and Power Bins?

Smart Bins dynamically show clips that match metadata rules in the current project. Power Bins are manually populated reusable assets available across projects in the current Project Library.

### Why can’t I see Smart Bins or Power Bins?

Open the Media Pool options menu and enable Show Smart Bins or Show Power Bins. If the three-dot control is hidden, widen the Media Pool or open a Bin in a new window.

### Do Smart Bins and Power Bins work in DaVinci Resolve Free?

Blackmagic documents both as general Media Pool features and does not label them as Studio-only in the current workflow documentation. Their organization behavior is not presented as a Studio paywall.

### Does “Show in all projects” share Smart Bin clips?

No. It shares the Smart Bin rule through the User Smart Bins folder. Each project shows only its own media that matches that rule.

### Can I back up Power Bins?

You can export and import Power Bins as `.drb` files. Back up the referenced source media separately because the bin file is not a copy of the logos, audio, titles or clips on disk.

### Why is my Smart Bin empty?

The rule may point at an empty metadata field, use Match All too narrowly, or compare the wrong value. Test one known property first, then add criteria one at a time.

### Does deleting a Smart Bin delete my clips?

No. The current Resolve manual states that deleting a Smart Bin removes the saved filter, not the gathered media associated with it.

Once the three bin types have clear jobs, the setup stays small: regular Bins hold the project, Smart Bins answer repeatable searches, and Power Bins carry only the assets worth reusing. The [Resolve workflow hub](https://davinciresolveclub.com/tag/workflow/) connects this organization layer to ingest, sync, proxy, playback and delivery.