Getting started

Track an existing drive

Already have shoots backed up on an external drive or SD card? Scan it, turn folders into Tusk projects, and optionally connect local copies already on this Mac.

Use this when your footage already lives on a backup drive and you want Tusk to treat those folders like normal projects: verified on the drive, searchable in the app, with optional local copies linked later. You do not re-copy everything through an offload first.

If you are starting from a folder on this Mac instead, use Create your first project.

Open the import wizard

With no projects yet, the welcome screen asks How do you want to start? Choose Track an existing drive and click Scan a drive. You can also open it later from the sidebar (Scan drive), from a drive on the Drives page, or from the link in the create-project wizard.

Pick the drive and select folders

Choose the connected external drive or SD card that holds your backups. Tusk scans it and fills a folder tree while the scan runs. Check each shoot or client folder you want as its own project. Folders Tusk already tracks are disabled. If you scanned this drive in the last 24 hours, Tusk can reuse that scan; click Refresh scan if you added folders since then.

Name each project

For every folder you selected, confirm the project name (Tusk prefills it from the folder name). You do not pick a local Mac folder yet. Tusk creates a placeholder until you organize local copies or set a folder yourself.

Wait for the file catalog

Tusk fingerprints every file on the drive with a BLAKE3 checksum. Primary rows show as Not on Mac; backup rows on the drive are verified. When the catalog finishes, the wizard moves to the Mac match step on its own.

Optional: find local copies on this Mac

Tusk asks whether to search for files that match what is on the drive. You can click Skip on that offer, or again while choosing search folders, to finish with drive-only projects and run Mac match later from the project page. Default search locations are Desktop, Documents, Downloads, and Movies; you can add folders or uncheck any of them. Matching uses file name (case-insensitive), size, and a checksum confirm. Files under 50 KB are skipped.

Nothing on this Mac?

If the scan finds no matches, Tusk finishes the wizard and creates your projects. You can run Mac match later from the project page.

If Tusk finds local copies

You can:

Organize files: pick a local project folder (default under ~/Documents/Tusk/), then either move matching files there and send extra duplicates to the Trash, or copy into the project folder and leave originals where they are. The drive backup is never changed.
Remember locations only: Tusk saves where those files live without moving or watching them. The project page shows a banner listing remembered paths; you can organize when you are ready.

Once matches are found, choose Organize files or Remember locations only, or use Back to change search folders. Skip is not shown on this screen.

After the wizard

Each project behaves like one you created through a normal offload: restore, delete-local, and drive tracking work the same way. Open a project to see per-file status on the drive and, if you organized or linked locals, on this Mac.

Create your first project →

Start from a folder on this Mac instead of an existing drive backup.

External drives & SD cards →

How Tusk sees connected volumes and what shows on the Drives page.

Drives overview →

Track files on a specific drive again or review what Tusk knows about each volume.

Add your first destination →