Where Does Sonic Pi Store Buffers and Settings?
Sonic Pi keeps buffers, samples, and logs under ~/.sonic-pi with per-version store folders, plus audio settings in a config file.
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Sonic Pi stores its workspace in a versioned folder in your home directory, which keeps upgrades from trampling in-progress work. Buffers you wrote, samples you recorded, and the GUI history all sit under ~/.sonic-pi, separated by versioned store folders.
Audio configuration rides along in the same tree rather than in system sound settings. That is convenient until hardware changes, when stale device selections cause silent failures. The logs in the same folder diagnose both boot and audio trouble quickly.
Where Sonic Pi stores this, by platform
~/.sonic-pi
Buffers, recorded samples, history, logs, and audio config, split into versioned store folders. Copy the whole tree with the app closed to migrate machines.
~/.sonic-pi
Same versioned layout on macOS. Microphone and output permissions are system-level and separate from this folder, so check both when audio fails.
%USERPROFILE%\.sonic-pi
Same folder under the user profile. ASIO and device selections go stale across machines, so re-check audio prefs after migrating the folder.
Frequently asked questions
How do I move my Sonic Pi workspace?
Copy the .sonic-pi folder with Sonic Pi closed. Buffers, cached samples, and history move together. Audio device choices live in the config, so expect to re-pick outputs on hardware that differs.
Sonic Pi will not boot or audio stutters. Where are the logs?
Check the log folder inside .sonic-pi for the GUI, server, and scsynth logs. Audio dropouts and boot failures leave their traces there, and the messages name the failing component directly.
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