Where Does Capture One Store Catalogs and Sessions?
Capture One stores Catalogs (.cocatalog) and Sessions (.cosessiondb folders) where you create them, by default in Pictures. App settings and styles use separate Application Support folders.
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Sessions are self contained folders with Capture, Selects, Output, Trash and a CaptureOne settings subfolder. Catalogs are database bundles (.cocatalog on Mac, folder with .cocatalogdb on Windows).
New Catalogs and Sessions default to Pictures unless you pick another location. Backups and presets use fixed support paths.
Where Capture One stores this, by platform
C:\Users\<username>\Pictures\Capture One
Default parent for new Catalogs and Sessions on Windows. Session folder contains .cosessiondb plus Capture, Selects, Output, Trash. Catalog backups default to ..\Pictures\Capture One\Backups. Replace <username> with Windows user name.
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\CaptureOne
App settings, styles, presets, keywords and workspaces. Same as %LocalAppData%\CaptureOne. Styles subfolder is ..\Styles. AppData is hidden by default. Copy this folder to migrate settings.
~/Pictures/Capture One
Default parent for new Catalogs and Sessions on Mac. Full form is /Users/<username>/Pictures/Capture One. Session folder contains .cosessiondb plus Capture, Selects, Output, Trash. Right click .cocatalog > Show Package Contents to inspect internals.
~/Library/Application Support/Capture One
App settings, styles, presets and backups. Full form is /Users/<username>/Library/Application Support/Capture One. Backups subfolder is ..\Backups. Styles subfolder is ..\Styles. Library is hidden, use Finder > Go > Go to Folder.
Frequently asked questions
Should I store Catalogs on cloud sync or NAS?
Capture One recommends local or direct attached drives for active Catalogs and Sessions. Cloud sync folders (iCloud, Dropbox, OneDrive) can cause corruption unless sync is fully paused while Capture One is open. For NAS, copy locally to edit, then move back for storage.
What is included in a Catalog backup?
The .cocatalogdb database plus Adjustments folder (ICC, masks, LCC). Source images are not included unless stored inside the catalog. Create manual backups with File > Backup Catalog and set reminder frequency in Settings > General > Catalog Backup.
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