Where Does Avid Media Composer Keep Projects and Media?
Media Composer splits projects (.avp/.avb) from Avid MediaFiles at drive roots. Default paths on Windows and Mac, plus moving them.
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Media Composer keeps projects and media strictly apart. A project folder holds the .avp project file, its .xml settings and .avb bins. Rendered and captured media goes to Avid MediaFiles folders, always at the root of whatever drive holds them. Lose track of either half and the project opens to offline media.
The defaults hide in shared locations, not your home folder. Project folders can live anywhere, so check the Project Selection window at launch when inheriting a suite. Moving machines means copying both halves and rebuilding the media databases by relaunching.
Where Avid Media Composer stores this, by platform
C:\Program Files\Avid\Avid Media Composer\Avid Projects
Default internal projects folder. Media on the system drive lands in C:\Users\Public\Documents\Avid Media Composer\Avid MediaFiles; other drives keep Avid MediaFiles at their root.
/Users/Shared/Avid Media Composer/Avid Projects
Same shared-folder logic as Windows. System-drive media sits in /Users/Shared/AvidMediaComposer/Avid MediaFiles. Keep the folder at the drive root when moving it.
Frequently asked questions
How do I move a Media Composer project to another computer?
Copy the project folder, then copy the Avid MediaFiles folder keeping it at the destination drive's root. Also copy any AMA-linked originals separately. Relaunch Media Composer to rebuild the media databases automatically.
Why is there an Avid MediaFiles folder at my drive root?
That is by design: Media Composer only recognizes media in Avid MediaFiles at a drive's root (except the system-drive fallback above). Don't rename it or nest it deeper, or every clip goes offline.
Notice an outdated path? Let us know.