macOS

macOS 11.x (Big Sur) and newer

Final Cut Pro

FCP 10.3.x and newer

Office Hours

We don't guarantee a reply within 24 hours on working days, but it has rarely happened that we were not able to send a reply within a fraction of that. Our response time is typically under an hour, with 90% of emails responded to within 15 minutes.

Please don't email us to ask if we received your email if you didn't get a response within 24 hours, as that will only add to the response time as we then suddenly have two emails waiting for a reply 😁

Evenings, Weekends, and Holidays

During evenings, weekends and holidays, we monitor our inboxes for issues we classify as blockers: things that prevent you from working, not being able to log in to one of our services, not receiving your shiny new license key, etc. Not a blocker? Your email gets snoozed until Monday morning — then you'll be the first.

Remember, support outside office hours is a courtesy, not a privilege.

Arctic 25.1

Send to PostLab!

Arctic 24.3

Final Cut Pro 11

Arctic 24.2

Final Cut Pro 10.8 & Importing from FCLM

Arctic 24.1

Legacy Versions

Why is there a hand icon over a Library?

That Library is open and in use on another Mac. Hover over the hand icon to determine which Mac has that Library open.

Can I tell Arctic to rescan a Source for FCP Libraries?

Yes. Control-Click a Source, then choose Force scan for new libraries.

Why can’t I find something in Arctic’s scan results?

First, make sure all filters are enabled (purple, not gray).

Next, clear the 🔍 Search field, ensuring all search parameters are enabled (yellow, not gray).

Finally, Arctic stores its scan results in an internal database. On occasion, that database may become damaged. If this happens, you can safely reset Arctic’s database with these steps:

1. Quit Arctic.

2. Press and hold Option-Command while relaunching Arctic.

   • Once Arctic launches, release those keys.

3. Arctic will scan all Sources connected to your Mac once more.

Why do I need to reindex Spotlight?

If some Libraries are still missing from an Arctic scan, you may need to reindex Spotlight on your Mac.

How can I reset Arctic’s preferences?

If all else fails, you can reset Arctic’s preferences using this command in Terminal.app:

defaults delete video.hedge.Arctic.Mac

Why can't I activate Arctic?

You're likely trying to use a Final Cut Library Manager license key. Both apps use a license key in this format: ABCD-EFGH-IJKL…, but an Arctic license key contains seven groups of characters while an FCLM license has around twenty.

Confirm you're trying to activate Arctic instead of Final Cut Library Manager, then activate Arctic using the corresponding license key.

How can I migrate my existing Final Cut Library Manager data to Arctic?

1. Quit both Final Cut Library Manager and Arctic.

2. In Finder, head to Go > Go to Folder... (or Shift-Command-G).

3. In the dialog box that appears, copy/paste this path: ~/Library/Application Support/Final Cut Library Manager.

4. Copy the contents of that Final Cut Library Manager folder to ~/Library/Application Support/Arctic.

How do I uninstall Final Cut Library Manager?

In Finder, drag-and-drop Final Cut Library Manager.app from /Applications to the Trash, then empty your Trash.

To perform a comprehensive uninstall:

2. Drag-and-drop Final Cut Library Manager from /Applications to AppCleaner then click Remove.

3. In Finder, empty your Trash.

If needed, you can also use these steps to uninstall Arctic.

Need help?

Final Cut Library Manager customers can receive a discounted upgrade for Arctic.

Arctic scans the volumes connected to your Mac and displays a list of Final Cut Pro (FCP) Libraries (.fcpbundle files) it detects on those volumes.

Arctic can help you inspect, filter, and search the contents of your Libraries.

Arctic can also generate media reports to help you track which media was used in a Library.

Finally, Arctic enables you to clean your Library safely for:

• Preparing Libraries for archival purposes

• Removing reproducible Library data in preparation for PostLab use

• Reducing a Library’s size, recovering storage space

Getting Started

1. Connect or mount any volumes containing FCP Libraries to your Mac.

2. Launch Arctic to scan those volumes, called Sources.

3. Locate the Library listed in Arctic, then inspect or clean that Library.

Sources

A Source can be any volume connected to your Mac, such as:

• Direct-attached storage

• Network-attached storage with a shared folder mounted over SMB, AFP, or NFS

• FUSE-based volumes, such as a LucidLink Filespace

• A subfolder from any of these eligible volumes

Click the ➕ in the lower-left corner to add a Source.

To remove a Source, Control-Click a volume in the list, then choose Remove from List.

Inspecting

Arctic shows you how much storage these items use inside a Library .fcpbundle:

• Original Media Files

• Optimized Media Files

• Proxy Media Files

• Optical Flow Files & Stabilization Files ("Data")

• Render Files

Click a Library in Arctic’s scan results to see a per-category breakout of what’s inside each Library and how much storage each category of items consumes.

Arctic also displays a color-coded bar graph for each category, which you can contextualize by clicking:

1. Fixed - displays that bar at 100%, regardless of the storage space consumed

2. Proportional - resizes a bar in proportion to the percentage of the storage used in that Library

Finally, you can inspect the contents of individual Events by clicking the disclosure arrow next to that Event.

Cleaning

Arctic allows you to safely clean any temporary, reproducible data stored in your Library, such as:

• Optimized Media Files

• Proxy Media Files

• Optical Flow Files & Stabilization Files ("Data")

• Render Files

To clean a Library:

1. Select the desired Library from Arctic’s scan.

2. Click the checkbox(es) under the column(s) for the items you wish to remove.

1. Once you complete your selections, click the broom 🧹, read the confirmation dialog, then complete your cleaning or Cancel.

Filtering

You can filter an Arctic scan by two categories: Library and Media Status.

Library

• Show only libraries that are currently open in FCPX

• Show only libraries that have alerts

• Show other libraries items

• Show cache items

• Show external media folders

• Show external media items

Media Status

• Show online items

• Show offline items

• Show missing items

Enable/disable individual filters to include/exclude results from your Sources, or Option-Click an individual filter to display results based on that single filter.

Searching

You can 🔍 Search Arctic’s results, then refine those results by:

• Search library names

• Search event names

• Search project names

• Search media filesnames and also their custom names, notes and keywords created in FCP

• Search Finder comments for libraries and events and also the project notes created in FCP

• Search exported projects

You can also enable/disable individual search parameters to include/exclude results.

Reporting

Arctic can generate reports for the media used in your Libraries. These media lists are exported as Comma Separated Values (CSV) files you can store along with the associated Library and media for archival purposes.

1. Select the desired Library from Arctic’s scan.

2. Control-Click that Library and choose Export Media List to CSV….

3. Choose where to save your media list (the CSV), then Export To CSV.

Creating Library Templates

Do you have a Library with a frequently used set of Events, Keywords, media, etc.? Select that Library in the list, Control-Click it, and choose Create Template from Library….

Installers

Preflight Checks

Using LTO on a Mac requires a range of drivers to be installed properly. Getting your drivers sorted out can be a bit of a hassle, especially on Big Sur and later macOS versions.

Canister's Preflight Checks functionality tries to help you as much as possible by detecting any missing, outdated, inconsistent, or incomplete drivers when LTO hardware is detected.

Upon each app start, Canister will do a complete systems check - looking for Thunderbolt devices, Host Bus Adapters, and SCSI devices. On the software side, Canister checks for all required frameworks and drivers.

In a nutshell:

🟢 Everything green - you're good to go, and Canister will automatically continue.

🟠 Orange indicates a part of your setup is not 100% up to date, but it's fine to continue as is.

🔴 Red means your setup won't do. Preflight Checks will tell you how to resolve it, if possible.

Downloads

For reference, here's a list of all drivers and dependencies. Thanks to Canister Preflight Checks, you don't need these - we'll serve you the ones you need based on your system.

That said, sometimes it helps to have direct links. We regularly update this list of drivers, so there's no need to worry about checking if they're the latest version.

Hardware

Each Thunderbolt-based LTO drive consists of three devices:

1. The Thunderbolt-to-PCI board

2. A Host Bus Adapter (or "HBA"), a device translating PCI to SCSI

3. The LTO drive itself

Non-Thunderbolt LTO drives, connected via SAS or Fibre Channel, will connect to a HBA that lives in an external box or as a PCI card inside your computer.

The only part of your hardware that requires a driver is the HBA.

Since Big Sur's release, Apple no longer ships drivers for HBAs. HBA drivers are macOS kernel extensions. Starting with Big Sur, kernel extensions require additional steps to install. On top of that, Apple silicon devices require you to change security settings to allow those extensions to run. Configuring these settings is expected behavior with Apple silicon, but cumbersome nonetheless.

We've tried to smooth out the process as much as possible, but be prepared for a bunch of successive reboots and raised eyebrows 🤷‍♂️

Host Bus Adapters

HBAs come in different flavors, and (to make life easy) not all work with LTFS.

• Most brands, including recent mLogic units, use ATTO. Three possible ATTO drivers make matters easy: 6G, 12G PCI-3, and 12G PCI-4 ("GT").

• Most MagStor units use Areca, but sometimes they use ATTO.

• Old mTape units also house Areca cards (eg. ARC-1320). These tend to be incompatible with newer builds of LTFS.

• Some brands might use HighPoint "RocketStor" HBAs which are not suitable for use with tape.

• Older LSI HBAs do not work on a Mac. These cards are also sold under HP's brand name.

Symply

OWC

MagStor

If Canister detects a MagStor LTO Thunderbolt device, it will ask you to input its serial and serve you the correct driver for the HBA inside. Not all units are made equal, so don't rely on memory. Through our partnership with MagStor, we have an up-to-date list of products, serials, and HBAs.

Locate your serial on the back or bottom of your unit.

mLogic

Other Vendors

If your setup is not mentioned above, you'll need to install your HBA driver by hand. In most cases it's easiest to ask the vendor for support.

Installing drivers

Installing drivers (AKA kernel extensions or system extensions) can be a tedious ordeal, thanks to Apple. If you run into trouble, grab a coffee, carve out some time, and we'll walk you through the process with this documentation.

Apple silicon and Reduced Security

On Apple silicon, you'll first need to set your Mac's security policy to "Reduced Security" to be able to load signed kernel extensions. If you're on Intel, you can skip to Installing the HBA driver.

1. Shut down your Apple silicon Mac.

2. Press and hold down the power button until your Mac boots. Your Mac will either send you directly into macOS' Recovery environment, or you'll see an Options button leading to that.

3. Log in with your user account and select the disk you want to use.

4. In the menu bar, go to Utilities, then select Startup Security Utility.

1. Click Security Policy...

1. Select Reduced Security, then enable: Allow user management of kernel extensions from identified developers .

1. Click OK.

2. In the menu bar, select Shut Down.

3. Turn the Mac back on (press but don't hold the power button this time) and log in.

Installing the HBA driver

Now, install the driver for your HBA that Canister provides.

During installation, you'll see a System Extension Blocked or System Extension Updated dialog appear.

Confirm which version of macOS you're using with Canister, then follow these steps to approve the HBA driver to load in macOS:

After rebooting, macOS might prompt you to Open System Settings or Open Security Preferences and do the whole thing again (and sometimes, a third time.)

Next, launch Canister. If Canister detects the driver isn't loaded, it will tell you to Allow driver in system settings to trigger macOS to show the much-coveted Allow button.

When successful, Canister will show you this:

Is there a 🟢 next to LTO? You may proceed to installing theSoftware bits 🥳

If not, keep reading. We suggest finding a cozy spot and a big bag of patience.

Troubleshooting kexts

We've found multiple workarounds and listed them in order of success rate. If one doesn't work for you, be sure to try the other suggestions.

Install macFUSE first

Manually load the kernel extension

First, look up your driver's name in /Library/Extensions :

• For ATTO 6G, use ATTOExpressSASHBA2.kext

• For ATTO 12G (PCI-3), use ATTOExpressSASHBA4.kext

• For ATTO 12GT (PCI-4), use ATTOExpressSASHBA5.kext

Then, try loading the kernel extension manually in Terminal:

You'll need to enter your password. Then, open the Security & Privacy pane again – it should show you the Allow button.

Remove the kernel extension

If you finished the installation, and your LTO drive works but stops working after each reboot, forcing you to load the kernel extension over and over again, there's likely a remnant of an older ATTO driver of your system. Here's how to remedy that:

Suppose you finished the installation, and your LTO drive works. However, after each reboot, it stops working, forcing you to load the kernel extension over (and over) again. There's likely a remnant of an older ATTO driver in your system. Here's how to remedy that:

1. In Finder, hit Shift-Command-G, then go to /Library/Extensions .

2. Delete any ATTOSASHBA*.kext in that folder (password required, most of the time).

3. In Terminal, copy/paste this: sudo kextcache --clear-staging (password required).

4. Reboot if macOS doesn't already force you to.

5. Reinstall the ATTO driver your LTO machine requires.

Talk to IT

If any of the Terminal commands above return errors like system policy prevents loading, your computer is very likely under IT management policies that prevent kernel extensions from loading. Talk to your IT department first; they'll know what to do.

Reset the Local Kernel Extension Database in macOS

Starting in macOS Big Sur, the local kernel extension (i.e. kext) database in macOS may not retain your decisions on approving third-party system or kernel extensions to load in macOS. If macOS doesn't load a kernel extension despite multiple approvals from you, you can safely reset macOS' kext database, which revokes approval for all third-party kexts installed on your system volume.

Once you reset the local kext database, you can log back into macOS and approve any/all system or kernel extensions installed on your Mac.

1. Save any open work and quit any open apps.

2. Power down your Mac.

4. Choose your system volume, log in with a macOS Administrator account, then launch Terminal.

5. Use this command to reset your Mac's Kernel Extension database:

   1. kmutil trigger-panic-medic --volume-root /Volumes/(SYSTEM VOLUME)

      • If your system volume has a space in its name (e.g. Macintosh HD), enclose the volume name in quotation marks (e.g. "/Volumes/Macintosh HD").

   2. Press the (Return) key.

      • If you entered this command correctly, you'll see this response, All third party kexts have been unapproved and uninstalled from /Volumes/(SYSTEM VOLUME).

6. Restart your Mac.

Once you log into macOS, you'll likely be greeted with multiple dialog boxes saying...

• System Extension Updated

• System Extension Blocked

...along with confirmation that you triggered the Panic Medic Boot.

You've successfully reset your local kext database in macOS.

Reinstall macOS

Do you keep running into non-loading kernel extensions? Then there's something wrong with your macOS install, likely due to upgrading your OS instead of doing a fresh install. At this point, it's just faster to reinstall macOS. Less daunting than it sounds and won't take long, thanks to APFS:

Software

Now that you have installed your HBA drivers, the biggest hurdle is behind you. Let's move on:

Installing macFUSE

To make LTFS work, you'll first need to install macFUSE. LTFS uses it to represent the data onto the tape as a volume on your computer. It's also a kernel extension, so yes, more reboots.

Confirm which version of macOS you're using with Canister, then follow these steps to approve macFUSE to load in macOS:

Not getting that Allow button?

Use this command in Terminal (all on one line):

Again, you'll need to enter your password, then open the Security & Privacy pane – it should show you the Allow button.

Installing LTFS

When Canister detects an HBA and LTO drive, it will deduce which LTFS you need. LTFS has a dependency called ICU to support international characters, so Canister will tell you to install ICU first. Then, you install LTFS. No reboots are needed; it's pretty straightforward.

Installing Catalogs

Up until 23.2, Catalogs requires additional drivers. Preflight Checks will prompt you to install Apple's Command Line Tools ("CLT") first:

If the Catalog installer states "The Installation failed"

Sometimes, macOS won't properly finish the Catalogs installer, stating the installation failed. If so, CLT most likely wasn't installed properly or completely. Reinstalling CLT will fix that:

1. Delete the folder /Library/Developer/CommandLineTools. (If this folder isn't present, CLT wasn't installed anyway.)

2. Reinstall Command Line Tools by using the following Terminal command: xcode-select --install

3. When done, run this command to make sure the installation is correct (all on one line):

PATH="/usr/local/bin:/usr/bin:/bin:/usr/sbin:/sbin:/usr/libexec"; export PATH; m4 --version

1. It will output some text, which should look like this:

GNU M4 1.4.6 Copyright (C) 2006 Free Software Foundation, Inc. This is free software; see the source for copying conditions. There is NO warranty; not even for MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.

Written by Rene' Seindal.

1. Then, rerun the Catalog installer.

Still not successful? Send us your Catalog installer log.

1. Immediately after installation, go to Finder and hit Shift-Command-G.

2. Go to /tmp.

"My LTO was showing up, but now it won't."

If your LTO drive previously worked, but your Mac no longer can see an LTO drive, neither can Canister.

There are typically two situations you can end up in:

Looking for LTO drives...

Your Mac doesn't detect any LTO SCSI device. Canister will keep scanning until it finds one.

Possible causes include:

• You have an mLogic device, but your Thunderbolt cable probably isn't connected properly.

• Your device requires a Thunderbolt cable, but you are using USB-C type instead.

• You're using an LTO drive with a separate HBA, but the HBA likely isn't detected. Check if it's listed under System Information > SAS. If not, install its driver.

Looking for LTO devices

Your Mac somehow lost the connection to the LTO drive. Your best bet is to power cycle all gear, including the Mac.

Once the power cycle completes, check if all devices are listed in the System Information.app. You should see at least two entries on the SAS page:

• A Host Bus Adapter, like ATTO or Areca

• A Ultrium LTO SCSI, device made by IBM, HP (or HPE), Quantum, or Tandberg

"I give up"

Can't get up and running? Running in circles?

Generations

Every few years, the Ultrium Consortium (consisting of IBM, HP, Quantum, and tape manufacturers Sony and Fuji) releases a new version of LTO. These versions are known as generations. Each generation holds more TB per tape, and sometimes newer drives are also faster.

As any generation older than LTO-5 does not support LTFS, we don't take these into consideration.

Tape Capacities

With all the marketing that surrounds LTO, it's good to set things straight from the get-go; the advertised tape capacity is not a realistic value.

The advertised capacity is a raw byte count, and doesn't account for file system overhead and the space the index partition will require.

As not having enough free space for the indexes results in unmountable tapes, Canister reserves 5% of the free space for indexes. The result is a more realistic free space calculation, as shown in the last column.

If required, you can decrease this reserved amount of space using this Terminal command:

defaults write nl.syncfactory.Canister.Mac ReservedTapeIndexPercentage -int n

where n stands for the percentage integer, e.g. 5 for 5%.

WORM Media

As Write Once Read Many ("WORM") tapes cannot be partitioned, they are incompatible with LTFS. Be sure to use rewritable tapes with Canister.

NanoPure™ Support

In the event of a poor result you might consider retiring the tape, or contacting your hardware vendor for a thorough diagnostic check.

Tape Initialization

Up to LTO-9, tapes do not require initialization. When inserting a new LTO-9 tape into a drive for the first time, the LTO drive will spool through the whole tape. This process can take as long as two hours and is indicated on the Single Character Display as a lowercase c. For convenience, some vendors like Symply sell pre-initialized media.

If your drive is of an older generation that LTO-9, you can simply insert a tape and continue with formatting.

Migrating

While the LTO consortium touts a 30-year lifespan for tapes, their hardware definitely won't last that long. That's why it makes sense to migrate your archive to a newer generation once every few years. How often depends on the size and value of your archive.

Here's how many tapes you can migrate to a newer generation:

Installers

Preflight Checks

Setting up an LTO drive can be daunting, even for experienced users. Canister's Preflight Checks function tries to help as much as possible by conveniently linking to the relevant bits and pieces.

Upon each app start, Preflight queries WMI (Windows Management Instrumentation) for a list of compatible LTO drives. On the software side, it also helps to setup LTFS and its dependencies.

In a nutshell:

🟢 Everything green - you're good to go, and Canister will automatically continue.

🟠 Orange indicates a part of your setup is not 100% up to date, but it's fine to continue as is.

🔴 Red means your setup won't do. Preflight Checks will tell you how to resolve it, if possible.

Downloads

For reference, here's a list of all drivers and dependencies that we host for Windows. We regularly update this list, so there's no need to worry about checking if they're the latest version.

Hardware

Each Thunderbolt-based LTO drive consists of three devices:

1. The Thunderbolt-to-PCI board

2. A Host Bus Adapter (or "HBA"), a device translating PCI to SCSI

3. The LTO drive itself

Non-Thunderbolt LTO drives, connected via SAS or Fibre Channel, will connect to an HBA in an external box or as a PCI card inside your computer.

The only part of your hardware that requires a driver is the HBA.

Host Bus Adapters

First, ensure your LTO drive is visible in Device Manager. That will require you to manually install the appropriate driver for your host bus adapter (HBA). LSI cards tend to be recognized automatically by Windows, but ATTO and Areca HBAs generally require a driver download.

Once your HBA is functioning, your LTO drive should appear in the Cassette/Tape drives list.

Installing LTFS

Installing IBM LTFS on Windows is a straightforward process. Follow the steps below in order, then reboot the system.

"I give up"

Can't get up and running? Running in circles?

Canister is so simple to use that most users don't need anything to get started. If you don't have a tape drive at hand, check out this video:

Each time a tape is mounted, Canister will create a Catalog for it. This makes it easy to see what's on a tape without having to mount it first.

The LTO Archive drive

Creating Catalogs

Canister automatically creates a Catalog the first time it mounts each tape, and updates existing Catalogs upon each consecutive mount. Also, after each Archive transfer the Catalog for that tape is updated automatically.

Importing Databases with NeoFinder

Finding files using Catalogs

Retrieve from Finder

On macOS Canister installs a Finder extension that allows you to retrieve a file or folder directly from the Catalog. Right-click the folder you want to retrieve and select "Retrieve" to launch Canister. This will trigger Canister to check if the correct tape is mounted and automatically select the required files. Then, Canister will ask to specify a location to retrieve to.

Catalog History

Canister creates a Catalog when mounting a tape and updates it after each Archive. Catalog history is stored for safe keeping as described below.

Editing and removing Catalogs

Use the steps below to clean up the Catalog, or remove test entries:

Changing the Catalog location

Migrating Catalogs

In the event you need to move to a new computer, Catalogs can be moved as follows:

Archiving

Copying data to tape is called Archiving, as its goal is to be an independent copy of data that doesn't rely on other backups to be retrievable. Archiving with Canister is simple:

First, select the disk or folder you want to archive by either dragging in a folder from Finder or by browsing to a Source Folder. Then continue, and mount a tape. Next, confirm the transfer(s).

Canister will order the files-to-be-archived logically so that they won't end up on your tape in a fragmented order.

Collections

Like with OffShoot, Canister allows you to combine folders and files into a Collection to be used as the source for your transfer.

To create a Collection, either multi-select files and folders in Canister's source browser, or simply drag and drop a selection from Finder/Explorer into the drop zone provided.

Duplicate Detection

Canister automatically applies Duplicate Detection to all transfers. When a file is identical in name, size, and modification date, it is skipped. When a file has been changed, the already stored file will be renamed by appending its modification date and hidden. That means all previous versions of a file will always be available for retrieval at a later time.

Incremental Backups

As Canister comes with Duplicate Detection, it will detect what is new or has changed and only copy those files and folders to tape. Keep in mind that due to the linear nature of LTO, this will cause your data to be stored in different sections of the tape and thus will impact retrieval time as the tape head has to make a lot more movements to access a folder's contents across a tape.

Simultaneous Transfers

Canister can write to multiple drives at once. If the tapes used are of equal generation and thus speed, it will be as fast as writing to a single tape. However, there may be a bit of deviation as tape drives often have slightly different speeds.

Shoeshine Prevention

When selecting files to be archived, often files that appear to be consecutively and part of the same folder are not actually stored in consecutive order on disk. When working with LTO files must be lined up and written in consecutive order to prevent shoe-shining upon retrieval. Canister handles this for you, ensuring files that live together in a folder will also live next to each other on your tape.

Illegal Characters

Many legacy systems use a deny-list of characters, severely complicating many workflows. To solve that without relying on a database and thus introducing vendor lock-in, Canister utilizes percent-encoding for all illegal and unsupported characters. You cannot only use any of the forbidden characters / * ? < > " | \ : but also use any internationalization in all file and folder names. Canister will know when it needs to replace them and when not to.

Upon retrieval, Canister automatically converts percent-encoded characters back to Unicode. If you make use of illegal characters heavily and plan to retrieve a Canister-made LTO with a different mechanism or app, it's easy to use a percent-decoding script after doing the retrieval.

Verification

By default, each archive is fully verified by reading back the files after being transferred. Verification can be skipped at any time by clicking the x button next to the progress bar.

By default, Canister uses XXH64BE for verification. For legacy workflows, it's also possible to use MD5. Or, disable verification altogether in Canister's Preferences.

Additionally, Canister for Windows has the ability to verify duplicates identified during the archiving process. This is a huge time saver when something goes wrong with your LTO drive. Simply set the same source and both Canister's Duplicate Detection and Verification engine will work together to ensure you get a Transfer Log with a complete set of checksums.

Choose files to Skip

Canister provides a simple way to skip files based on their extension. This option is located in Settings > General. System level junk eg. .DS_Store, thumbs.db are always ignored, so no need to add these by hand.

Compression

Although touted as a big feature for LTO, don't expect any wonders from it. LTO compression only works well for text files and not at all for video or photo material, so never expect to be able to save more data to a tape than the bare capacity.

Encryption

Canister currently does not support hardware-based LTO encryption.

Retrieving files from a tape is easy; you can either retrieve a full tape or cherry-pick contents to retrieve just a few files.

Select the Retrieve tab. If no tape is loaded, do so first:

Mount the tape:

To retrieve the tape in full select the tape icon, and a border will appear. Click Next and then select a destination, and continue.

To retrieve a specific file, folder, or a collection of files and folders, click the drive menu (three horizontal lines) and select Select Files...

By default, the full tape's contents are selected. Unselect the root of the tape to deselect everything, and then navigate to what you need to be retrieved.

Canister will show you the size of your selection:

When done, click Next to select a Destination:

And continue...

When done, the progress bar turns green:

Open the accompanying Transfer Log if needed:

Retrieve with Finder

Canister makes it easy to retrieve files using Catalogs. In the LTO Archive, select a file or folder on a tape, right-click and select the "Retrieve..." Finder extension.

Retrieve with Full Path

When checked, files and folders selected for Retrieve will be copied to the destination, including the recreation of full paths as they exist on tape. This is useful when restoring projects that are sensitive to path changes.

Example:LTO-42/Production X/0001.mov is to be retrieved to ~/Desktop

• Without Retrieve with Full Path enabled, 0001.mov will be copied directly to your Desktop.

• With Retrieve with Full Path enabled, after retrieving 0001.mov your Desktop will be populated with a Production X folder containing 0001.mov.

Before using a LTO, it needs to be formatted. When Canister detects a non-formatted tape it will prompt to format the tape.

Tape Initialization

Up to LTO-9, tapes do not require initialization. When inserting a new LTO-9 tape into a drive for the first time, the LTO drive will spool through the whole tape. This process can take considerable time. If you do no have this luxury, some vendors like Symply sell pre-initialized media.

If your drive is of an older generation that LTO-9, you can simply insert a tape and continue with formatting.

Formatting

Each LTO tape needs to be formatted before usage, kind of like with a hard disk. If a tape is not yet formatted, Canister will prompt you to do so:

Each LTFS-formatted tape requires a name and may use an optional serial. A serial must be 6 characters.

If you do not have a system in place to track tapes using the serial, we suggest allowing Canister to prepopulate the serial using the date. This simple mechanism results in a value like 240724 for July 24th, 2024, and gives context for when a tape was created.

Erasing Tapes

Due to LTO's linear nature, files written on tape cannot be deleted without erasing the whole tape. Erasing a tape can be done in-app through the LTO menu:

Renaming Tapes

As of Canister for Mac 23.1 it's possible to rename tapes without formatting. In order to rename, the tape cannot be mounted. Changing a tape's serial is not possible without a format.

Discovery Channel-Compatibility

Some years ago, the Discovery Channel created a delivery spec for LTO. This specification requires the party delivering LTO to Discovery Channel to add a specific XML file to the root of the tape. This XML file needs to be written to the index partition instead of the data partition of LTFS tapes. A specific LTFS setting is required when formatting a tape to make this possible. As this setting is not obstructing any non-Discovery Channel workflow, all tapes formatted by Canister adhere to this spec.

Netflix-Compatibility

When delivering tapes to a major studio such as Netflix, it's best practice to disable LTO hardware compression. The Netflix-Compatibility option does just that and is available when you Format or Erase a tape.

NanoPure™️ Support

In the event of a poor result you might consider retiring the tape, or contacting your hardware vendor for a thorough diagnostic check.

When a source is too big for a single tape, Canister's Spanning engine comes in handy. This feature makes it quick and easy to Archive datasets that are larger than a single tape.

Getting Started

Adding new data to spanned tapes

It's likely that you won't fill up the last tape in a spanning set. Therefore, you can add anything you want to that last tape at a later time - no previously archived data will be affected. If the to-be-archived files fit, Canister will add it to the tape. If not, you'll enter the Spanning flow described above.

Spanning Questions

Spanning is an advanced feature that tends to lead to a few workflow questions. Be sure to check the FAQs below before reaching out to support.

Do I need to preformat my tapes?

No, Canister will ask you to format at the relevant points in the Spanning workflow. Insert the next tape, then follow the prompts.

How should I name my tapes?

This comes up quite a bit; the best bet is to name each tape sequentially, for example:

1. Archive_pt1

2. Archive_pt2

3. Archive_pt3

Is there a tape/item limit when Spanning?

Canister doesn't enforce any limits, however Spanning is best used with dataset that requires between 2-4 tapes.

Why? Because Spanning requires Canister keeping the entire source index in memory, which is a heavy lift. The chance of something going wrong on the hardware side of LTO increases exponentially the longer your LTO drive operates. As an upper limit we recommend Spanned Archives containing less than one million items.

How do I redo Spanning if something goes wrong?

As with all things LTO, hiccups happen. While with hard disks it's easy to redo something, due to LTO's linear nature errors tend to be showstoppers - at least temporarily. While Spanning, the chance that a tape runs into an issue or that an archive fails for some reason is, of course, compounded.

Canister gets around this problem by using its Dupe Detection implementation to the fullest: in case an error happens with any tape during a spanning archive, simply start over. It's important to feed Canister the tapes in the order they were finished, then let Duplicate Detection skip items already existing on each part.

Can I incrementally update a Spanned Archive?

While Canister supports Dupe Detection, due to LTO's linear nature, we don't recommend incremental updates to a Spanned Archive. File changes are likely to end up distributed over multiple tapes, which will get complicated when retrieving.

Why does Canister leave free space at the end of each Spanning Part?

Splitting files between multiple tapes is not a standard LTFS feature. As a result, each tape is likely to have a small pocket of space at the end.

Can I perform Simultaneous Spanning?

Canister for Mac does not support Spanning while creating simultaneous archives. Canister for Windows follows a different flow, which allows the next tape to be inserted for each drive.

Canister creates a range of log files for archival purposes, and console output for troubleshooting.

Transfer Logs

For each Transfer, whether it's an archive or retrieve, a Transfer Log is created.

Manifests

To create a manifest of a tape, containing paths and names of all files stored, use Create Manifest option in the LTO disk menu.

Canister's Console

Besides Transfer Logs, both Canister and LTFS events are recorded in the Console Log. This console output is essential to tackle issues with tapes, drives, and drivers.

Get a live overview of Canister transfers in progress – plus receive push notifications on completed transfers wherever you are.

Requirements

• Canister 23.2 or newer

• A modern web browser

How to use

1. Go to Settings > Connect.

2. Toggle Enable Connect to ON.

3. Copy the Connect Code by clicking the clipboard icon.

1. Enter the Connect Code into the Connect site.

2. Start a transfer in Canister, and your transfers will appear on the Connect site.

Receive Notifications

Connect can send push notifications about completed Canister transfers to a network-connected device.

2. Click Allow in the notifications popup on your device.

3. When the grey bell turns blue, Connect will send you notifications for completed transfers.

Enable Push Notifications from the Connect site on mobile devices

• iOS 16.4 and newer:

  2. Save Connect as a web app by tapping the share button in the iOS toolbar, scrolling to the bottom of the menu, and tapping Add to Home Screen.

  3. Open the web app and click the notification bell icon.

  4. Enable Notifications for this website when prompted.

Change connection name

By default, Connect will display the Computer Name.

The connection name can be changed in Canister > Settings > Connect > Computer Name.

Revoke access

Use the Revoke Access button in the settings panel to cancel all connections to the Connect site. A new Connect Code will be generated automatically.

On the Connect site, you can delete a connection to a device by hovering over the device listed under Connections, then clicking X next to it.

How many LTO decks can I operate with a Canister license?

Canister supports multiple tape decks being connected to the same computer, and they can all be used at the same time.

I have multiple computers with each its own tape deck.

How do I add Windows Support to my License?

I have a tape library, do I need Canister Pro?

Yes, Canister Pro is required to work with tape libraries. Support for tape libraries is currenly limited to macOS.

My license key won't activate the latest Canister

Canister itself doesn't have any requirements in terms of CPU and RAM, but LTFS does like ample resources.

Which versions of macOS and Windows are supported?

Occasionally, your LTO drive is going to have a bad day. Users that are eligible for updates and support should reach out to the Canister Support Team for assistance - we got you 👊

Forensics

Sometimes, the above won't suffice. In such a case we ask you to send us all forensic data. These files are only used to help diagnose your issue, and are deleted afterwards.

zip -ATrq ~/Desktop/CanisterForensics.zip ~/Library/Application\ Support/Canister/.ConsoleHistory ~/Library/Application\ Support/Canister/Transfer\ Logs ~/Library/Application\ Support/Canister/Warning\ Logs

Do you really need all of that? Yes.

LTO issues tend to become very technical very quickly. That's why there's not much we can do without logs files and console output. We're not a strict bunch, but LTO is an exception: if you have an issue that we feel requires us to have a look at these files, we will not help until you send them over. And no, a remote session won't do.

Which LTO hardware does Canister support?

Canister supports a wide range of LTO configurations from a variety of vendors. For most Macs, SAS-based units tend to be connected via a Thunderbolt, while PCs and Mac Pro's come with the option to install a PCIe HBA directly into the host system's motherboard.

Milage may vary with Fibre Channel-based drives. Canister does not detect which driver your FC device requires - you'll have to find that out yourself.

Which macOS versions does Canister support?

Canister supports macOS 10.15 Catalina and newer. Both Intel and Apple silicon are supported.

While legacy downloads are available for older macOS versions, note that legacy means unsupported - if you run into issues, your best bet is to upgrade your OS. Also, your legacy OS might not work with the latest LTFS version - be sure to source a version that works with your OS from the LTO vendor.

Which LTO generations does Canister support?

All generations from LTO-5 and up are supported. As Canister works with LTFS, LTO-4 and older are not supported.

Is Canister compatible with Apple silicon?

My license, starting with id, doesn't work.

What about the mLogic LTFS Utility?

The mLogic LTFS Utility was a light version of Canister 20.1 that used to be included with every mLogic purchase. With the changes Big Sur brought along, the app was end-of-life'd and replaced with Canister.

The mTape app is no longer supported nor available for download. It does not work on Big Sur or newer macOS versions, nor on Windows. The mTape app uses a license provider that is no longer in business, so we can not help with deactivations.

Can I delete files from a tape?

The short answer is, "No, LTFS does not support file deletions." The only way to remove data from a tape is to erase it.

The long answer: it's possible to remove files from the index partition (by accessing a tape with Finder or Terminal and deleting files), but this will only make them vanish from the index; it will not clear the space used by the deleted files. As rolling back a tape will make the deleted files available again, it's not a security mechanism either, so don't bother.

Should I keep any free space, like with a hard disk?

No need to; Canister already does this for you. Canister reserves 5% of a tape's size for the index to ensure there's room for data overflow.

Can I rename a tape?

Yes, as of Canister for Mac 23.1 it's possible to rename tapes without formatting. Changing a tape's serial is not possible without a format.

What is the difference between formatting and erasing?

It's the same thing. People tend to refer to formatting when a tape is new and erasing when a tape is used but needs to be wiped clean. The process itself is identical.

Does Canister perform a "Long Wipe" before erasing?

No, this takes several hours and is not required to reuse a tape. If required, a long wipe can be initiated using this Terminal command: mkltfs -d 0 --long-wipe -f

Why does my LTO drive stop writing periodically?

By default, LTFS, and therefore Canister, will stop to sync the Tape Index every 5 mins. This provides a balance between safety and speed. If you prefer to sync only on unmount, this behavior can be manually overridden using the steps below.

Why does my LTO drive sometimes stop and partially eject the tape?

IBM have advised us that this is normal. Your drive's onboard computer works hard to ensure the read/write heads stay “on track”. Sometimes that means adjusting the tape tension to take up slack. Bottom line: as long as there are no error codes on the SCD, it’s situation normal. Until LTO drives landed on the Desktop, nobody noticed their foibles - now they do 🙂

What's the difference between LTFS and TAR?

The difference between TAR and LTFS is that LTFS is a file system. That means your OS already has the tools included to work with LTFS, which in turn means no vendor lock-in for you. With TAR, you're always relying on a vendor's app to work and will be in trouble if that vendor happens to go out of business. With LTFS, that will not happen, and it's why Canister only supports LTFS.

Can tapes made on Windows be read on macOS?

Yes, and vice versa. If a tape was made with LTFS, it's fully useable on both macOS and Windows, with and without Canister.

Is it possible to add multiple folders in one transfer?

Yes, since the release of 23.1 Canister supports Collections: any combination of files and folders (a Collection) can be dragged from Finder into the Source dropzone to be archived to tape. Canister 24.1 adds Pick & Mix, which allows you to update a Collection with more folders and files.

Is it possible to skip or disable verification?

You can safely skip verification by clicking the [X] next to a transfer when the copy part finishes. Disabling verification altogether can be done in the Preferences:

I'm moving to a new computer, what do I need to migrate?

Next, zip and move the Canister directory to your new system. This includes all Catalogs and Transfer Logs.

Can I daisy chain Thunderbolt LTO devices?

Yes, that's fine to do. You can also add Thunderbolt adapters to it without issue. If your source is also a Thunderbolt storage device try to use a separate Thunderbolt bus for that, to ensure optimal bus usage.

When doing simultaneous backups, can I mix LTO drives?

Yes, as long as they originate from the same LTO drive vendor (IBM, Quantum, HP) and thus use the same LTFS driver.

For example, if you have multiple LTO drives from different manufacturers that support LTO-8, and since LTO-8 cartridges are all made by IBM, as long as you use the same cartridge, you can use all of your LTO drives when doing simultaneous backups.

Can Canister duplicate tapes by copying files directly from tape to tape?

No. This approach is inherently error-prone and can undermine the integrity of what’s written to tape. Instead, use an intermediate SSD or NVMe to retrieve the contents of a tape, then archive those contents to the next tape.

How do I know when my drive needs cleaning?

If your machine shows a C on its display, all you have to do is insert the cleaning cartridge supplied by the manufacturer. The cleaning process will begin automatically, and once complete, the tape will eject by itself. After that, you're good to go. There's no need or usefulness to loading your cleaning cartridge in any other case.

Does Canister connect with any external services while in use?

When Canister launches, it automatically checks for updates and retrieves an updated list of LTO- related dependencies from Hedge's file servers.

My IT dept. doesn't want to lower security when installing macFUSE or HBA drivers

Some opsec teams get scared when they encounter macOS's requirement of reducing security when installing kernel extensions.

The short version: there's no way around it, as LTFS requires FUSE and you'll also need to install a kext for your HBA.

The long version (for your opsec team): it's not a bad thing at all actually, and not about more or less security. As named by Apple, “Reduced security” is a bit misleading, as it does not accurately describe what this kind of change actually represents.

• Despite the unfortunate wording of “Reduced security,” kexts do not reduce a system’s security. If improperly developed, a kext could only affect system stability and reliability, but not the system’s security.

• A given kext cannot be installed into the operating system unless it is approved and signed by Apple. It is not possible to run arbitrary code in the form of kext.

• As noted, LTFS uses a kext called macFUSE, which has been battle-tested for over 15 years and proven to be exceptionally reliable.

• Enabling kernel extensions simply brings the system on par with any x86-based (i.e. Intel) Mac system. You've been living with "reduced security" for decades already.

• After changing the setting, and installing FUSE (and likely a kext for your HBA as well), the setting can be changed back.

Disabling SIP

Does your IT department refuse to install macFUSE? Do they insist it requires System Integrity Protection to be disabled on your Mac? Do they say kernel extensions (i.e. KEXTs) are legacy, and there should be a system extension to replace them? Send them this:

System Integrity Protection (SIP) does not block kernel extensions (KEXTs) from running. Also, SIP is not related to whether LTO is working or not and, thus, should never be disabled.

With Big Sur, Apple introduced system extensions as a replacement for kernel extensions. At this stage, those aren't mature enough to replace KEXTs, especially for those used by pro storage devices. If that were so, developers would've ported their KEXTs to system extensions today. Until system extensions are on par with KEXTs, this will be the status quo for the foreseeable future.

Also, Apple did not completely kill off KEXTs. Instead, with Apple silicon, they introduced Security Policies. The default setting prevents even Apple-authorized KEXTs from being installed out of the box. When installing a trusted KEXT like macFUSE, a Mac's Security Policy must be changed to allow signed kernel extensions to load. Changing that Security Policy is also required for every RAID controller and HBA that lives inside storage.

Modifying a Mac's Security Policy is straightforward. It takes one minute, and we documented the process in detail here:

Installing drivers

"Tape changed to read-only by LTFS"

This error is LTFS's way of reporting something is wrong with either the tape or hardware.

Whenever LTFS drops a tape to Read-Only mode, it does so because too many write errors are reported by the writing part of the tape head in the drive. This results in Canister having to fail the Archive, as there's an external issue that needs solving.

Possible causes

• Faulty tape media (error code 6)

• Faulty/dirty/worn LTO drive head (error code 5 or 6)

• Out-of-date LTO firmware

• A too-high operating or environmental temperature

When it comes to troubleshooting, the steps below should be followed in order:

1. Check the Single Character Display (SCD) on the front of the drive. Sometimes all you need to do is insert the cleaning tape, but only if you see a C. Other codes are documented below.

3. Try with another tape, ideally from a different batch. Every tape surface comes with irreparable faults, with faults often recurring within a batch, so make sure to rule this out.

If the problem persists, the next step is to request a diagnostic from the drive vendor.

My LTO device displays an error code. What does it mean?

Every LTO drive is essentially a computer, and as such follows its own instructions and error handling. Most drives have a single-character display (SCD) to tell you how it's doing. It's behind a black see-through panel so you won't see it except when booting (a countdown shows) or when an error is stated.

Anytime there is a number or letter visible on the front of your LTO drive, the software is not able to communicate with the drive. Refer to this list of SCD error codes to find out how to resolve the issue at hand. As these are hardware errors, get in touch with your vendor to sort out the issue if needed.

"Medium consistency check failed"

This error means LTFS has detected the last known tape index is faulty, and thus cannot mount. If mounting does not succeed due to index issues, LTFS will itself do a recovery, and then throw this error if that's unsuccessful.

This error is often caused by a disconnected Thunderbolt cable or a power loss. If this tape has no valuable data on it, it's by far the easiest to just reformat it. If that's not possible, you can try a Repair action in Canister.

Canister's Repair option triggers a full recovery, which can also be done directly in Terminal:

ltfsck -f 0

After a full recovery, a _ltfs_lostandfound folder is created on the tape. LTFS has created binaries of all non-referenced data and added them to the index. This is not really useful stuff, but it's an indicator that a rollback is needed to get to the data.

It's also possible to do a deep recovery. First unmount the tape, then do…

ltfsck --deep-recovery 0

If none of this helps, it's time for a rollback.

Rollbacks

For each change on a tape, LTFS creates a new index. These are called "generations." Consider them snapshots, and it's possible to roll back to a previous snapshot. When you find a snapshot that works, you can continue with that and archive new data to tape.

In Terminal, list the rollback points. Note: this process takes time! Go grab some coffee.

ltfsck -l 0

Creating a rollback list is done top down, starting with the most recent one. Monitor the timestamps to find the desired rollback point, and cancel with Command-C.

Then, roll back to that generation:

ltfsck -g 57 -r 0

Here, 57 is the generation number, and 0 is the drive ID. If you have one LTO drive, it's always 0.

When the process is done, mount the tape and you'll see its contents restored.

My tape mounts, but it suddenly contains a lost_and_found folder

If your tape is showing a lost_and_found folder, the tape has been Repaired, only somewhat unsuccessfully.

When a tape cannot be mounted, LTFS will report if a Repair is needed. If the Repair process locates data on the tape's data partition that is not referenced in the index partition, it's added as "lost and found" data. This is raw data and does not expose file names, so for most purposes, it's quite useless. Only if you know what should be on that tape and what is missing you would be able to cross-reference file sizes and rename the files in that folder through Terminal's mv command.

Canister 25.2

Verify Duplicates, on Windows. If a file is found to already exist on tape, Canister will use checksum verification to check if the files are identical or not. This is a huge time saver when something goes wrong with your LTO drive, so it's enabled by default.

Canister 25.1

Queuing, Spanning & Independent Transfers for Windows.

Canister 24.2

Introducing Canister Pro for Mac, including an innovative Tape Library Manager, firmware update notification for Windows, Choose files to Skip and more.

Canister 24.1

Pick & Mix Collections, Ethernet LTO drive support, plus a swathe of updates for Windows.

Canister 23.2

Support for Windows, Connect and NanoPure media.

Canister 23.1

Collections for Canister, and more.

Canister 22.3

A "Retrieve with Finder" extension, support for Ventura, and more...

Canister 22.2

Official support for MagStor drives, and more.

Canister 22.1

Spanning allows you to archive more data than fits on a single tape. Canister will ask you to add another tape when the first is full, and continues doing so until all data is archived.

Canister 21.2

Meet Preflight Checks: each time Canister starts, it runs a full diagnostics of your LTO setup and points out what is missing or needs updating.

Canister 21.1

Canister gains Duplicate Detection, skipping files that already exist on tape. Files with identical names, but different sizes or modification dates will replace the existing file, keeping the original available as a hidden file.

Canister 20.2

A new licensing system, and a boatload of improvements.

Canister 20.1

Canister 19.1

Canister 18.1

First Canister release 🎉

From time to time, we'd like your feedback on new features before making them available to everyone. This Beta Track is available to all users with a Canister license eligible for updates and support.

Getting started

Feedback & Bug Reports

We like to hear when something is working well, but perhaps more importantly, we need to know when something isn't. Feedback can be sent in-app via the Contact Support button. Bonus points for notes on how to reproduce any unexpected behavior.

Can't activate Arctic?

Final Cut Library Manager (FCLM) used a different license key format than Arctic:

• Arctic - ABCD-EFGH-IJKL...

• Final Cut Library Manager - FCLM...

You must use an Arctic license key to activate Arctic. You cannot activate Arctic with a license key for FCLM.

Still stuck?

• The version of macOS you're using:

• The Arctic version you installed:

• Screenshots (or a screen recording!) of what you're experiencing

• Some details on what led up to your experience

Sending us your database

Sometimes, we request you to send us your Arctic database to have a better look. Use this Terminal.app command to generate a zip on your Desktop, which you then can send to us:

EditReady supports any file in a QuickTime or MXF wrapper plus a wide range of vendor-specific formats, including many RAW codecs:

• Apple Intermediate

• ARRIRAW

• Blackmagic RAW (BRAW)

• Canon RAW

• Codex HDE*

• DNxHD

• DNxHR

• DVCProHD

• H.264

• H.265 (HEVC)

• Phantom CineRAW**

• ProRes

• ProRes RAW

• RED RAW (R3D)

• Sony RAW

• Sony X-OCN

Note on Blackmagic Camera Support

Clips can be added to EditReady by selecting Open under the File menu, or by dragging clips into the EditReady window. Your clips will appear with thumbnails in the EditReady window. You may toggle between List View and Thumbnail view using the selector in the toolbar.

If you'd like to convert all of your clips, simply click the Convert All button on the right. If you'd only like to convert some clips, you can select them by clicking the flag icon (or selecting Flag Clip from the Clip menu). Then click Convert Flagged.

EditReady includes a variety of presets for popular editing formats like ProRes and DNxHD. You can customize these further by creating custom presets.

Regardless of the preset you select, you have the option of adjusting the destination folder and destination file name. See Naming your Files for details.

Multiple Windows

You can open multiple windows by selecting New Window from the File menu. This allows you to easily queue different batches, with different settings.

Monitoring Progress

After starting a batch, the sidebar will toggle to the Progress tab, which will show you progress information for each clip. The top of the EditReady window will show you progress information for the overall batch (or batches).