# Sync Sync lets you synchronize files between your local Mac and PostLab Drive, without leaving PostLab. Sync is especially useful when your workflow requires syncing files from shared storage – such as an Avid NEXIS – to PostLab Drive. ### Add a Sync Job In PostLab, go to `Preferences > Sync` and click `➕` to add a Sync job. ![](/files/ptThQFxx7sFczcSaUyWn) Give your Sync job a helpful `Name`, then make sure it's `Enabled` ☑️. Click `SOURCE`, then select the folder *from* where your files will sync. Click `TARGET`, then select the folder *to* where your files will sync. Next, decide if the sync should be `One-way` or `Bi-directional`. Click the `>` (or `<>`) to change the sync type. ![](/files/8kuu1xnou1JAvDGcYE2w) #### One-way (>) `One-way` jobs sync the contents of the `SOURCE` to the `TARGET`. By default, all new Sync jobs are `One-way`. #### Bi-Directional (<>) With `Bi-Directional` jobs, files on the `SOURCE` sync to the `TARGET`, and vice versa. ![](/files/l33gEhZJthwj3VGreJoE) {% hint style="danger" %} When setting up a `Bi-directional sync` between multiple Team Members, if there's a lot of data involved, it's best practice to push all data to Drive using a `One-way` job first. If multiple Team Members do an initial upload to Drive at the same time, don't upload into the same folder **to prevent sync conflicts**. Instead, have each Team Member upload their files into a subfolder, then appoint someone on your Team to consolidate those into a single folder. Once the initial upload to Drive is complete and someone consolidates those subfolders into one folder, change the Sync job(s) to `Bi-directional`. {% endhint %} #### #### Sync Options Fine-tune your job with these sync-specific options: | Option | Sync Job Type | Description | | ------------------------------------- | --------------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | `Optimize for small files` | `One-way`, `Bi-directional` | If the files to sync consist primarily of smaller files (e.g. `.txt`, `.xml`), Sync performance will improve when enabled. | | `Archive deleted files` | `One-way` | Files that are deleted on the `SOURCE` will be archived on the `TARGET` in a new folder called `-ARCHIVE-` and sifted into subfolders based on when it was deleted. Subfolders are created using this naming convention - `YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS`. | | `Archive replaced files` | `One-way` | Files replaced on the `SOURCE` will be archived on the `TARGET` in a new folder called `-ARCHIVE-`. Subfolders are created using this naming convention - `YYYYMMDD-HHMMSS`. | | `Ignore files or folders matching...` | `One-way`, `Bi-directional` | A comma-separated list of folders or files Sync will ignore. The default values are `-ARCHIVE-, .Trashes, .TemporaryItems, Render Files, *.lck`. | {% hint style="success" %} It's good practice to set up separate Sync jobs for mutable (projects, bins) and immutable files (media, assets). That way, syncing media doesn't hold up tiny changes to bins. {% endhint %} ### Syncing To perform your sync, make sure the `SOURCE` and `TARGET` volumes are connected and available. Next, make sure your job is Enabled ☑️ then click `OK`. Toggle `Drive Sync` from `OFF` to `ON` and Sync is now fully operational. ![](/files/Fgfutrtraz4Xe7ByfIoc) {% hint style="info" %} Once you enable Sync or launch PostLab with Sync enabled, it will attempt a sync cycle every 60 seconds. (A sync cycle occurs when Sync attempts to execute any Enabled ☑️ jobs.) {% endhint %} ### Modify a Sync Job To modify an existing Sync job, toggle Drive Sync from `ON` to `OFF`, double-click a job in the list, then change the job settings. ### Delete a Sync Job Toggle Drive Sync from `ON` to `OFF`, select a job in the list, then click `➖`. ## Questions ### Why should I use Sync when I can upload directly to PostLab Drive? Sharing files from your on-premise shared storage can be tricky and traditionally slow. With Sync, you can keep those files in your on-premise shared storage and sync them to Drive. Once the files are on Drive, you can either use Drive as your shared storage in the cloud or set up another Sync job for each Team Member to sync those files from Drive to a local volume. ### What if Sync isn’t working? [First, make sure `Drive Sync` is toggled to `ON`.](#syncing) [Next, confirm all of your Sync jobs are `Enabled` ☑️ and listed as green 🟢.](#syncing) If a job reports a grey ⚪️ status, it’s disabled and needs to be Enabled ☑️. If a job’s `SOURCE` or `TARGET` becomes unavailable, Sync will list that job with a red 🔴 status and exclude it from the next sync cycle until both the `SOURCE` and `TARGET` are available. {% hint style="info" %} A `SOURCE` or `TARGET` is rendered unavailable when the folder or volume used in a Sync job is renamed or disconnected from your Mac. {% endhint %} Make sure the `SOURCE` and/or `TARGET` volume(s) are connected, mounted, and named as expected in the Sync job. Once they’re available, the job will report a green 🟢 status and Sync will execute it on the next sync cycle. ### I just realized `-ARCHIVE-` is a special folder and I deleted it from Sync's `Ignore files or folders matching...` list. How do I tell Sync to ignore it again? Copy/paste `-ARCHIVE-` back into the `Ignore files or folders matching...` list, separating it from the other entries with a comma. You can also copy/paste the default values for `Ignore files or folders matching...` from here: `.Trashes, .TemporaryItems, -ARCHIVE-, Render Files, *.lck`. --- # Agent Instructions: Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation dynamically by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the current page URL with the `ask` query parameter: ``` GET https://docs.hedge.video/postlab-classic/sync.md?ask= ``` The question should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. 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