Organize, back up, and move your library
Find recordings, keep a backup, and switch storage without losing track of the active copy.
Before you begin: An available writable library · finish capture/editing and background jobs before changing storage
Follow the steps
Find the active library.
Use the footer Library location → Show Library in Finder, or Settings → Library for its path. The sandbox default is in the Mac app container; an external/USB disk can be used instead. Finder folders and library labels are different: moving an item into a library folder does not move its source audio.
Organize and find items.
Open Recordings or Compositions in the sidebar. The browser supports All types, sorting and name/transcript search. Create a folder, Command-click/Shift-click items, then Move selected to…. Folders are one level deep. Folder actions can select the destination for new recordings or combine its recordings.
Create a backup.
Use the library footer’s backup action and choose a destination for a
.tonepebblelibraryfolder. Store a separate safe copy. Backups include recordings, transcripts, markers, source stems, compositions, imported track audio and retained sources. Keep the complete folder together.Restore by importing copies.
Use Import from Library… to bring finalized items from another library or backup into the active one. It imports copies and new identities, leaving both libraries’ existing items intact. It includes drafts, history, excerpts and presets; missing dependencies or malformed documents stop publication. Isolated entries with missing audio are skipped and reported.
Switch or copy intentionally.
Open Existing Library… switches to a Recordings folder or its parent without merging or moving files. Copy Library to New Location… makes a complete Tonepebble Library folder and starts using it. The original remains, but subsequent changes go only to the active copy. Existing destination folders are not overwritten.
Recover an unavailable disk or interruption.
If Library unavailable appears, reconnect the disk and choose Check again, or choose its folder in Settings. The app does not silently replace it with an empty library. After interrupted capture, use Recover All, Interrupted or Review Recovery when offered. Only finalized/readable audio can be recovered.
Confirm the result before cleanup.
Check active path and open representative recordings and compositions from the restored/copied library. Files referenced by other drafts/history/excerpts are retained when deleting items. Trash and separate exported files/backups have their own lifetimes; emptying Trash permanently deletes its contents.
Understand recovery limits
Complete finalized takes can return to their folders. Before a first checkpoint, readable source files may be recovered separately because mixed timing cannot be reconstructed safely. Unreadable source files remain for review. Recovery is not a guarantee that everything before a crash survives.
Sessions, Recents, and folder actions
Recents remembers recently opened compositions and sessions. Open a session heading for parts, markers and missing transcription jobs. Folder actions → Rename folder updates its recordings and compositions together. Only empty folder labels can be removed; Inbox is protected. A library on a read-only disk can be imported but cannot be the active recording location.