Where apps hide your files

DaVinci Resolve's project, cache and backup folders

Updated 2026-10-28 · 5 min read

Resolve scatters its files in three places: a project database in your Library folder, cache folders on a media drive, and backups wherever you told it. Knowing which is which tells you what to protect and what you can safely clear.

Where each kind of file goes

Projects:  ~/Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/DaVinci Resolve/Resolve Disk Database/
Cache:     a hidden CacheClip folder on your first Media Storage location
Stills:    a hidden .gallery folder in the same place
Backups:   the folder set in Preferences > User > Project Save and Load

Resolve does not save projects as loose files the way Pages does. Its default project library is a local disk database, and the first line above is where a fresh install of Resolve 16 or later keeps it, according to Blackmagic support staff on the official forum. Installs carried over from versions before 16 can still use the system-wide /Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/DaVinci Resolve/ path instead, so check both. Inside, each project has a Project.db under Resolve Projects/Users/guest/Projects/<Project Name>/. These paths are in a Library folder, which Finder hides: hold ⌥ while opening the Go menu to see your Library, or press ⇧⌘G and paste the path.

To check which folders exist on your Mac without opening anything:

ls ~/Library/Application\ Support/Blackmagic\ Design/DaVinci\ Resolve
ls /Library/Application\ Support/Blackmagic\ Design/DaVinci\ Resolve

Projects: the database is the project

The database holds your timelines, bins, colour grades and Fusion work, so treat that folder as the thing to protect. It does not contain your video. Media stays wherever your clips live, and the database only records where.

Do not copy files out of the database folder to share a project. Use the supported routes in the Project Manager:

• Right-click a project and choose Export Project to write a .drp file containing the project, not the media. This is the right way to hand a project to another Mac or archive one.
• Export Project Archive, in the same menu, also gathers the media into the archive, which is bigger but self-contained.
• Backing up a whole project library from the Project Manager writes every project in it to one .diskdb file.

If your Project Manager points at a network, PostgreSQL or cloud project library rather than the local disk one, the projects live on that server, and the folder on your Mac will not contain them.

Automatic project backups

Resolve can save rolling copies while you work. The settings are in DaVinci Resolve > Preferences > User > Project Save and Load, where Live Save and Project Backups are switched on and the backup location is chosen. Blackmagic's manual describes Project Backups as complete project files saved at intervals (without stills and LUTs). No default backup folder is documented in a source we could check, so read the path from that preference. Pointing it at a different drive from your projects is the point: a backup on the same disk fails with the disk.

Cache: CacheClip and friends

According to Blackmagic's manual, the cache is written to a hidden CacheClip folder created at the first location listed under Preferences > System > Media Storage. Users on the Blackmagic forum have found a large CacheClip still sitting on the internal drive after pointing their working folders elsewhere, because moving the setting does not move or delete the old folder. To see exactly where yours is, ask Resolve rather than guessing:

File > Project Settings > Master Settings > Working Folders

It lists the cache files location, gallery stills location and proxy generation location for the open project, and any of them can be changed there. Optimized media is written to the cache location by default. Hidden folders on a drive show with ⇧⌘. in Finder.

What	Where by default	Safe to clear?
Render cache	CacheClip	Yes, it is rebuilt on demand
Optimized media	With the cache	Yes, but regenerating takes time
Proxy media	Proxy generation location	Yes, regenerated as needed
Gallery stills	.gallery	No, these are stills you chose to save

Clearing cache without hurting a project

Do it from inside Resolve so it keeps track: choose Playback > Delete Render Cache, then All, Unused or Selected Clips. Optimized and proxy media can be cleared per clip from the Media Pool's right-click menu in recent versions. Deleting cache folders in Finder while Resolve is open can leave the project looking for frames that are gone, which shows as slow or uncached playback until it rebuilds. If you must clear it by hand, quit Resolve first and move the folder to the Trash rather than using rm.

If the drive filling up is your startup disk, change the Working Folders location first, then clear the old folder, never the other way round.

Rendered files

Exports from the Deliver page go to the location you set on that page, not into any of the folders above. If a render seems to be missing, open the Deliver page and read the job's output location in the render queue.

Moving to a new Mac

1. Export each project as a .drp (or an archive), or back up the whole library to a .diskdb.
2. Copy the media to the same drive path if you can; relinking is easier when paths match.
3. On the new Mac, right-click in the Project Manager and import the project or restore the library backup, then relink if prompted.
4. Do not bother moving CacheClip. It is only a cache.

Blackmagic support's advice to a user whose projects vanished after copying the database folder between Macs was to use a library backup instead, so avoid moving the raw folder.

Why Spotlight misses these

The database lives in a Library folder, and CacheClip and .gallery are hidden folders, so Spotlight does not return any of them. The files inside the cache also have generated names that never match a clip or project name.

Tracking the files down

Two names do the work here. Typing Project.db into Everywhere lists each project's database file, with the project's name in its folder path, and CacheClip finds every cache folder on whichever drives it landed, including an old one on the internal disk. Cache folders on external drives, even one you have since unplugged, or inside protected home folders such as Movies, appear once Everywhere has Full Disk Access; press ⌘↵ to reveal one in Finder, then Get Info to see the size before deciding what to clear.

Common questions

Where does DaVinci Resolve save projects on a Mac?

In a local disk database, by default at ~/Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/DaVinci Resolve/Resolve Disk Database/ on Resolve 16 and later. Installs upgraded from older versions may use the same path under /Library instead. To share a project, export a .drp from the Project Manager.

Where is the DaVinci Resolve cache folder on macOS?

In a hidden CacheClip folder, created at the first Media Storage location by default. File > Project Settings > Master Settings > Working Folders shows the exact path.

Is it safe to delete DaVinci Resolve cache files?

Yes, the render cache, optimized media and proxies are regenerated. Use Playback > Delete Render Cache inside Resolve, or quit Resolve before moving cache folders to the Trash.

How do I change where DaVinci Resolve stores cache?

Open Project Settings > Master Settings > Working Folders and set the cache files, gallery stills and proxy locations. Project backups have their own location in Preferences > User > Project Save and Load.