Where DaVinci Resolve Projects Are Saved

Resolve doesn't save the project you're working on as a normal file next to your footage. It writes it into the selected Project Library. So before you move, update or clean up a drive, find that library in Project Manager and make a separate export that you can test.

Where DaVinci Resolve Projects Actually Live

A project library is the working database that holds your timelines, edits, grades, Fusion compositions, Fairlight work, bins, metadata and project settings. Your camera originals usually live somewhere else, and so do render cache, proxies, optimized media, gallery stills and automatic project backups.

Following the September 2026 Resolve 21.1 Reference Manual, this guide keeps the working library, exports, archives and media apart. Find your real location from the selected library's details, and never move database files around to match a path you saw in a tutorial.

Do Not Guess the Folder: Check the Active Library

The Resolve 21.1 manual puts local libraries in a folder called Resolve Disk Database by default, and where that folder sits depends on the operating system. You can also create a library anywhere on your file system, and an upgraded installation can keep using an older one. The library name won't tell you which drive holds it, so read its Location before you go digging through hidden folders.

On a machine that has only ever run Resolve 16 or later and kept the default library, that folder sits in hidden application data inside your user account. Blackmagic's support team gives the macOS location, and Windows and Linux follow the same layout:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/DaVinci Resolve/Resolve Disk Database
• Windows: C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Blackmagic Design\DaVinci Resolve\Support\Resolve Disk Database
• Linux: ~/.local/share/DaVinciResolve/Resolve Disk Database

Inside it, each project gets its own folder under Resolve Projects/Users/guest/Projects. Two exceptions explain most empty-folder surprises. If a Resolve version older than 16 was ever installed, the library usually stayed in the old system-wide spot: /Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/DaVinci Resolve/Resolve Disk Database on a Mac or C:\ProgramData\Blackmagic Design\DaVinci Resolve\Support\Resolve Disk Database on Windows. The Mac App Store build keeps its data in its own sandbox container under ~/Library/Containers. If Resolve opens, the Location in Project Manager settles it. If it won't open, copy the whole folder to another drive before you attempt any recovery.

Select the local library and click its circled i details icon to read Location. The manual calls the right-click reveal command Reveal in Finder; on Windows the same command may read Open File Location. Use whichever file-location control your build shows. Network and Cloud selections point to a server-backed library, so there's no matching folder on this computer to find.

Inside a local library, a path may end in Resolve Projects/Users/guest/Projects/Project Name/Project.db. That Project.db belongs to the managed library structure, and it isn't a portable DRP. Don't rename, delete, replace or hand-edit it to make a project appear. Let Resolve connect the parent library, or import an export.

The manual does document copying a complete project folder between local libraries on macOS and Windows: copy the folder into the destination library, then quit and reopen Resolve. It also says the method doesn't work on Linux. That's a narrow migration procedure, and it gives you no license to swap individual database files around. For the steps on this page, I'd stick with a tested DRP, DRA or library backup and keep the original library intact.

Find the Exact Library Resolve Is Using

If the page layout still feels new, keep our DaVinci Resolve beginner guide open beside this checklist. Project Manager sits outside the usual Edit, Color, Fusion and Fairlight pages.

1. Open Project Manager. Click the house icon at the lower right of the Resolve window, or use File, then Project Manager.
2. Show the Libraries panel. If the left column is hidden, click the Project Libraries button at the top left.
3. Select the library that contains the project. The library called “Local” isn't necessarily the one you used last year.
4. Read the exact location. Click the circled i details icon to display Location. If your build has a reveal or open-location control for local libraries, use it and compare the directory that opens with that recorded path. With several libraries on one machine, a file manager window on its own may not identify the correct folder.
5. Record the name, type, and location. Save that note with the job. For a custom or upgraded library, it's more reliable than any default path copied from the web.

To open a recorded path on macOS, use Finder > Go > Go to Folder and paste it, as covered in Apple's folder-navigation instructions. If AppData is hidden on Windows 11, Microsoft documents View > Show > Hidden items. Neither step changes which library Resolve uses.

Local libraries use a directory on your workstation. Network libraries use PostgreSQL on a server, often managed through the DaVinci Resolve Project Server application. Ask the administrator to check the library and the server connection, and remember that a shared media drive is a separate thing from the project database. Never move PostgreSQL data folders in Finder or File Explorer.

Blackmagic Cloud libraries keep project data on Blackmagic's servers. In Project Manager, check Cloud, the signed-in personal or organization account and the selected library, including Shared with me. The Blackmagic collaboration overview treats library access and media synchronization as two separate things, so opening the project doesn't prove this computer has every original clip.

Export a DRP: The Smallest Useful Safety Copy

A .drp is an exported snapshot of one project. It carries the project data and references source media wherever it already lives; the camera originals stay out of it. The plain Export Project command also leaves out Gallery stills and LUTs. Choose Export Project With Stills and LUTs when the recipient needs those project dependencies embedded, and copy or archive the source media separately.

1. Open Project Manager and right-click the project thumbnail.
2. Choose Export Project.
3. Name it with the project, the date and a short milestone, such as Documentary_2026-08-04_picture-lock.drp.
4. Save it outside the live Project Library, ideally on storage that a second backup also covers.
5. Test it: import the DRP into a test library you don't use for production, open it and check the important timelines before you rely on the export.

Export a DRP before a Resolve upgrade, before a destructive timeline change and after any session that would be expensive to lose. Project Backups give you rolling recovery; a dated DRP is a checkpoint you choose yourself and can test. If you're upgrading, work through the full safe DaVinci Resolve update checklist before you change versions.

Open or Import a DRP File

A project that already lives in your library opens from its thumbnail in Project Manager. A .drp is different: double-click it in Finder or File Explorer and Resolve opens, imports it into Project Manager and opens the project, whatever kind of library is selected. Inside Project Manager, the import options in the manual are the Import button at the bottom of the window, dragging the file into it, or a right-click on an empty area and Import. For a project made on another workstation, hold Option (Alt on Windows) while you right-click and choose Import+, which updates its Gallery path to your machine as it opens.

Two export shortcuts save a trip back to the thumbnails. File > Export Project saves the project that's open right now as a .drp. In Project Manager, Command-click (Ctrl-click on Windows) or lasso several projects, right-click one of them and choose Export Projects to save them all to one folder in a single pass.

Create a DRA When the Media Must Travel

A .dra is an archive folder that holds a project plus the media you select. In Resolve 21.1 the Archive dialog offers Media Files, Proxy Media, Only include used media, Include Render Cache, Include LUTs and Include Gallery Stills. A proxy-only archive leaves the camera originals behind, and a used-media archive can drop clips that never made it into a timeline.

1. Open Project Manager and right-click the project. Choose Archive in the current manual's interface; older builds call it Export Project Archive.
2. Pick a destination with enough free space for the media.
3. Select Media Files when original video, audio and graphics have to travel. Look at the used-media filter and the optional proxies, cache, LUTs and Gallery stills too. Decide each box deliberately, and don't assume every dependency is included.
4. Wait for the archive to finish and read any missing-media errors it reports. Put the complete DRA folder on the destination storage, then use Restore in Project Manager (Restore Project Archive in older interfaces), or drag the DRA into Project Manager. Restore imports the project and leaves the archive's media where it is, so the restored project stays linked to the media inside that DRA folder.

A DRA shouldn't be the only copy of irreplaceable camera originals. Keep an independently verified media backup and a DRP even when you make an archive. If the restored project opens and the clips are red, follow the steps in the Media Offline relinking guide.

Project Backups, Live Save, and Library Backups Are Different

Live Save incrementally updates the current project inside its library, and it's on by default. It doesn't create an independent copy of that library, and it will save an unwanted edit just as faithfully.

Project Backups store periodic recovery versions separately. Read Project backup location under DaVinci Resolve > Preferences > User > Project Save and Load; by default it's a ProjectBackup folder on your scratch disk, which is a different place from the library Location. These backups exclude stills and LUTs and load as new, independent projects. For turning them on, intervals and rollback steps, see the Resolve saving and Project Backups guide.

For a local library, open Project Libraries, click its circled i details icon and choose Back Up. Save the .resolve.backup outside the live library. The Restore control at the top of the sidebar imports it under a separate library name and location. Network/PostgreSQL libraries have the same Back Up button in their details, and the Project Server tools can back a library up without opening Resolve. Agree on the routine with the administrator, and never make a manual copy of a running database.

Cloud library Back Up works differently: the backup is made inside Blackmagic Cloud. In the Cloud library details, Restore lets you select a saved version and give it a new library name. None of that puts a .resolve.backup file on your local drive, so export a separate DRP when you also want an offline copy of the project data.

Cache, proxies and optimized media help playback, and none of them is a project-library backup. Recorded audio, custom assets and Gallery stills aren't disposable just because they sit near cache, so look at the project's configured media and working-folder paths before any cleanup. If opening or saving fails, use the non-destructive checks in our DaVinci Resolve troubleshooting guide and keep your hands off whole storage folders.

Where Resolve Saves Renders, Cache, Proxies and Stills

The project library holds the edit, but the files Resolve generates along the way land in folders set somewhere else. Most of them follow the Working Folders fields in File > Project Settings > Master Settings, and cache and stills default to hidden folders on the first volume listed under Preferences > System > Media Storage.

Before deleting anything from those hidden folders, I'd read the project's Working Folders paths, because Gallery stills are saved work while cache and optimized media can be rebuilt. Optimized media also stays on disk after the project closes, and the manual says it has to be deleted manually in your file system. Our render cache guide covers clearing cache from inside Resolve, and the LUT guide covers the LUT folders behind Open LUT Folder.

Safest Way to Move a Project to a New Computer

Use a DRA with Media Files selected when you want Resolve to gather the job's media for you. If you already have a verified media copy, import a DRP and relink to that copy. Neither one installs fonts or licensed plug-ins, so keep their installers, license details and version notes on hand separately.

1. On the old computer, export a dated DRP.
2. Copy the source media and verify it. Compare file counts and, for critical work, hashes.
3. Install the fonts and audio plug-ins you need on the destination, under their licenses. Transfer custom LUTs, Gallery stills and external graphics when the export or archive you chose doesn't already include them.
4. Install a compatible Resolve version on the new computer. Check the current Resolve system requirements first.
5. Import the DRP into a new or existing library.
6. Relink media at the highest common parent folder.
7. Check timelines, grades, Fusion comps, audio plugins, frame rate, color management and deliver presets before you retire the old machine.

To relocate an entire local library, make a library backup and test it before you change its location. Restore it to a new name and destination, open a few representative projects and verify their media. Keep the original library unchanged until the new copy and an independent backup have both checked out. Don't rename or delete live database directories to force a reconnection.

Keep Projects on an External Drive

Projects don't have to stay in hidden application folders. A new local library can sit on any drive you pick, which suits a job whose media already lives on one external SSD. The steps for creating a local library are short:

1. Open the Project Libraries sidebar. In Project Manager, click the button at the upper left of the window.
2. Add a library. Click Add Project Library at the bottom of the sidebar and open the Create tab.
3. Point it at the drive. Type a Name, click the Location field and choose a folder on the external drive.
4. Click Create. The new library appears in the local section of the sidebar. Select it before you create or import a project, so the project is saved there.

To open that library on another computer, connect the drive, open the same Add Project Library window and choose the Connect tab. Give the library a Name, set Location to the folder that already holds it and click Connect. If that computer runs a newer major version of Resolve, back the library up before you accept any upgrade prompt, as described in the upgrade section below.

I'd only keep a library on a drive that stays mounted the whole time Resolve is open, and I'd still export DRPs to a second disk, because that drive now holds the live working copy and isn't a backup by itself. When a library is no longer needed, right-click it while a different library is selected and choose Remove. The manual says that only disconnects the library, so its folder stays on the drive and can be connected again.

Project Missing? Use This Recovery Order

Start with the library list and your verified exports. Reinstalling, moving folders and deleting cache can all wait.

1. Stop cleaning or reinstalling. Don't write more data to a drive that may hold the only copy of the library.
2. Check every listed library. A blank “Local” library may simply be a newly created one. On its own it proves nothing about the old project being deleted.
3. Reconnect known storage. Make sure the external drive is mounted under the expected Windows drive letter or macOS/Linux volume path.
4. Connect the parent library. In Project Manager, use Add Project Library, then Connect and select the library root. An individual Project.db is the wrong target.
5. Look for your exported DRPs and library backups. Restore them into a separate library so the evidence stays untouched.
6. Inspect Project Backups through Resolve. When the library still sees the expected project, right-click it and choose Project Backups.
7. Relink media only after the project opens. Offline clips and a missing project are two separate problems.

Cache, Project Backups and live Project Library data are easy to mix up, and Resolve can open a different, empty library after an installation change. Those symptoms are clues. None of them is a reason to paste a random Project.db into a managed library. If the storage might be physically failing, stop using the drive and bring in a data-recovery specialist before you experiment.

Back Up Before a Project Library Upgrade

Resolve usually asks for a library schema upgrade when you move to a new major version, and a point release may or may not ask. Back up before you accept that prompt, and test the restore separately. Don't upgrade your only surviving library just to see whether a missing project turns up. A backup that completes and a restore that works are two different things.

I treat a library upgrade as a compatibility boundary. It's a bigger step than opening a file. Leave the old application and the original library untouched until you've checked the upgraded copy: its timelines, media links, grades, Fusion compositions, Fairlight work and deliver settings. An older Resolve release may not reopen a library once its schema has been upgraded.

A No-Surprises Project Backup Checklist

• Confirm the active library's name, type and exact location in Project Manager.
• Export a dated DRP after every meaningful edit session.
• Enable Project Backups and verify the destination is actually writable.
• Back up the complete library on a regular schedule.
• Keep at least two verified copies of original media on separate storage.
• Include fonts, LUTs, graphics, audio assets and plugin notes.
• Create a DRA when a self-contained handoff is worth the extra space.
• Test-import a DRP and test-restore a library backup before you delete or upgrade anything.

Before you retire the old storage, open the restored library and test an exported project with its media. Check a real timeline, a grade, a title and a stretch of audio. Keep the original copy until those checks and an independent backup are complete.

DaVinci Resolve Project Storage FAQ

Does DaVinci Resolve save projects as normal files?

Working desktop projects normally live inside the selected Project Library. A .drp is a portable project export that you save to a folder you choose, and it's a different thing from the internal Project.db file.

How do I find the Resolve Project Library on Windows, macOS, or Linux?

A default local library is the Resolve Disk Database folder in ~/Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/DaVinci Resolve on macOS, in C:\Users\username\AppData\Roaming\Blackmagic Design\DaVinci Resolve\Support on Windows and in ~/.local/share/DaVinciResolve on Linux. To confirm yours, open Project Manager, show Project Libraries, select the local library and click the circled i details icon to read Location. The manual calls the reveal command Reveal in Finder; on Windows it may read Open File Location. Follow the label in your build and confirm the opened path matches the selected library.

Why does my Project Library path differ from a tutorial?

A local library can use a folder chosen when it was created or one retained from an older installation, and OS and installation differences matter too. Network and Cloud libraries point to server-backed storage, so there's no equivalent local folder to find. For a local library, trust its recorded Location over a generic default path.

Does a DRP include video and audio files?

A normal DRP export contains project data. Your source video and audio stay out of it. Copy the media separately or create a DRA with Media Files selected. A proxy-only DRA doesn't copy the camera originals.

Can I open or move a Project.db file manually?

Don't treat an individual Project.db as a portable project. Connect the parent library, or use Resolve's export, import, backup and restore commands, so its managed structure stays intact.

Are cache and proxy files a project backup?

No. Cache, proxies and optimized media are replaceable performance files. They don't preserve the project database, and they don't necessarily contain your original-quality source media.

Should I use DRP or DRA to move a project?

Use a DRP when the media is already copied or will be relinked separately. Use a DRA when you want Resolve to package the project with selected media for a more self-contained transfer.

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.