Libraries
A library is one folder: what is inside it, how to open and switch libraries, and what to back up.
A library is one folder on your Mac. Your originals, the index, the thumbnails and the settings all live inside it, so the whole thing can be copied, backed up or moved.
What is in the folder
| Item | What it is | Back up |
|---|---|---|
library.db | The index: clips, properties, tags, highlights, saved views, the meaning index and the AI call log | Yes |
originals/ | The imported video files, filed by year and month. The app never modifies them, except for the lossless trim and split you ask for. | Yes |
thumbnails/ | One JPEG per clip. A cache. | No |
renders/ | Highlights cut out as files for dragging. A cache. | No |
settings.jsonc | The library's settings, safe to edit by hand. See Settings. | Yes |
CLAUDE.md | The guide the app writes for Claude Code. Your own notes below its section are kept. See Claude Code. | Yes |
Deleting thumbnails/ or renders/ costs time, not data. The app makes thumbnails again with Library › Rebuild Metadata, and renders again on the next drag.
Open, create, switch
One library is open per app at a time. Every window shows the same library.
| Action | Where |
|---|---|
| Make a new library | File › New Library… (⇧⌘N), or New Library… on the welcome screen. See Create a library. |
| Open a library | File › Open Library… (⌘O), or Open Existing… on the welcome screen. Pick the folder that holds library.db. |
| Open a recent one | File › Open Recent, or the Recent Libraries list on the welcome screen. The list keeps the last ten. |
| Drop a folder | Drop a library folder anywhere on the welcome screen. |
| Close the library | File › Close Library (⇧⌘W). The welcome screen comes back. |
| Another window | File › New Window (⌘N), with its own shelf, selection and filters. |
Open Library… only opens a folder that is already a library. An empty folder is offered to the New Library sheet with "Create Library Here". Any other folder is refused, so a wrong click never turns a folder of files into a library.
The app reopens the last library on launch. If you closed it before quitting, the welcome screen shows instead. A recent library whose folder is missing shows a Missing tag and a Locate… button, for pointing the app at the folder's new place.
The title bar shows the library's name and its path. Click the path to show the folder in Finder.
Moving a library
Paths inside the index are relative to the folder, so the folder can live anywhere: an external drive, a network share, a synced folder.
- Close the library.
- Move or copy the whole folder.
- Open it from its new place. Use Locate… on the welcome screen if it was in your recents.
Do not move files inside originals/ by hand. The index points at them by path.
Several libraries
Keep one library per client, per year, or per kind of footage. Each has its own properties, settings and description, so the AI tags each one in its own words. Switch with File › Open Recent.
The command line and other tools
The betterlibrary tool opens the same folder. Whatever it writes, an open app picks up at once. See The command line.
Work the library through the app or the tool, never by editing library.db directly.