Max's Backup Brain

Why this exists

Every Resolve editor has read the thread — or written it: "Project won't open. Autobackup didn't help. Three weeks of work gone." Resolve's own backups live inside the same database that just broke, so they break with it. Separate files on your disk don't.

And the quieter problem: you notice a missing timeline days later. By then, any "keep last 5" backup has been overwritten. That's why Backup Brain keeps history in depth — everything from today, one version per day for two weeks, one per week for half a year.

What it does

• Runs by itselfA lightweight background agent (macOS) watches for Resolve and acts on its own. No window to keep open, no button to remember. Install once, done.
• Backs up only real changesBefore every export it checks whether Resolve actually saved anything. Unchanged projects cost zero time and zero disk space — no snapshot spam.
• Protects everything, not just today's projectThe daily sweep covers every project in your library — including the ones you haven't opened in months. The quit-time copy covers the library itself, even custom libraries on external drives (auto-discovered).
• History in depthGrandfather-father-son retention: everything from the last 24 hours, one version per day for 14 days, one per week for 26 weeks. Configurable. You can go back to "before the client changed their mind".
• Restores as a copy — alwaysPick a project, pick a version, restore. It imports as a NEW project; your current work is never overwritten. Checking last week's state is risk-free.
• Mirrors to a second diskOptional mirror folder on an external drive or NAS. Every version lands there too — with a warning when the drive isn't connected.
• Plain files, portableYour backups are plain .drp files and folder copies in your Documents. New machine, fresh Resolve, import — back to work.

Set up once, in two minutes

1. Drop one file into Resolve's scripts folder — the included manual shows exactly where, on Mac and Windows.
2. Restart Resolve, open Workspace → Scripts → Max's Backup Brain.
3. Enable Run automatically in the background — and forget it exists until the day it saves you.

Free version of Resolve? The included Free Edition runs a full backup cycle on every launch from the Scripts menu — morning and evening, done.

Questions, answered

Does it slow down my editing?

No. Exports take a few seconds and run alongside Resolve; the change-check skips them entirely when nothing was saved. The very first sweep of a big library takes a few minutes — after that, unchanged projects are skipped.

Does it back up my footage?

No — media files are huge and belong in your normal disk backup. Backup Brain protects your work: every cut, grade, marker and media-pool structure. Resolve relinks the footage on restore.

How much disk space?

Little, thanks to change detection and retention pruning. Library copies dedupe via hardlinks — unchanged days cost almost nothing.

What about Windows?

Everything works — the background agent is macOS-only for now, so on Windows you keep the dashboard window open while editing and it runs the same automation.

Where does my data live?

In Documents/Project Vault/ on your own machine (plus your optional mirror disk). No cloud, no telemetry, ever.