Backups and show packages

What this does: Cues keeps dated copies of every show while you work. Roll a show back, or bring a deleted one back. A show package carries a show and every file it uses to another Mac in one file.

Automatic backups

What	Rule
When	About once an hour while you work, and on a show’s first save.
Also	Right before a restore, and before a package import replaces a show. These ignore the hour.
Where	On this Mac. File → Restore from Backup… lists them.
Kept	The newest 24, plus one a day for the last 14 days. Older ones are removed.
Media	Not copied. Reclaim space keeps every file a backup uses.
Session peers	Never. A joined show is the host’s; back it up on the host.

• A backup never fails a save. If the hourly one cannot be written, the save still lands.
• The safety backup before a restore or Replace is different. If it cannot be written, the restore or import stops.
• Separately, Cues keeps the last four saves of each show as .bak files in the shows folder. Restore from Backup… does not list them.

Details: Technical reference

Deleting media

Media Library Delete does not check backups. The file sits in the Trash for 30 days, then it is gone. A backup that used it then restores with a missing file. Keep the file, or relink it after a restore.

Restore a show

1. Open the show.

2. File → Restore from Backup…. The Restore from backup dialog lists its backups, newest first.

3. Read each row:

   • The date and time, and how long ago: just now, 5m ago, 3h ago, 2d ago.
   • n tracks · n cues · <size>.
   • What restoring would change: +Drop · −Outro · 14 fewer cues, or Same tracks and cue count as now.
   • Daily marks a day’s first backup.

4. Pick one. Click Restore. Or double-click the row.

5. The toast reads Restored <name> to <date>. The state before is the newest backup.

• Restore replaces the open show in place. Its current state is backed up first, so another restore undoes it.
• Kept from now, not from the backup: the Helm Cloud link, the cloud versions, and the MA3 desk list and policy.
• Undo history is cleared.
• An unreadable backup shows Unreadable and cannot be picked.

Bring back a deleted show

Delete Project… removes the show file only. Its backups stay.

1. File → Restore Deleted Show…. Works with no show open.

2. The Restore deleted show dialog lists each show that has backups and no show file. Each reads n tracks · n cues and Last backup <date> (<ago>) · n backup(s).

3. Pick the show. Pick a backup. Back returns to the list.

4. Click Restore. It “Brings the show back and opens it.”

No deleted show has a backup. means there is nothing to bring back.

Export a show package

A .helmpkg is one file: the show and every file it uses.

1. Open the show. Press ⌘S first if you just edited a lane.

2. File → Export Show Package… (⇧⌘S). Or the Project page’s ⋯ menu → Export .helmpkg….

3. Pick where. The default name is <show>.helmpkg.

4. The busy notice shows Exporting <name>, the file it is on and n of N. The app is locked until it finishes.

5. All files found: the toast reads Exported <name>: n files, <size>. Some missing: Exported, with files left out lists them under Not on disk, left out (n).

What goes in:

In	Not in
Track audio and attachments	Waveforms and peaks: they rebuild from the audio
Clips on every lane	Cloud-only media with no copy on this Mac
Every Media Library file on this Mac, used or not	Backups
Branding images
Files used by saved cloud versions

• No size warning. A show with 40 GB of video makes a 40 GB package. There is no free-disk check either.
• A file left out can be relinked later.

Import a show package

1. File → Import Show Package…. Or the Project page’s ⋯ menu → Import .helmpkg…. Or, with no project open, the Import Project card on the Project page.

2. Pick the .helmpkg. The busy notice shows Importing <name>.

3. Every file is checked. One damaged file stops the import and removes what it added.

4. A show with the same id already here opens This show is already here:

   • In the package: Exported <ago> by Helm Cues <version>, and its tracks, cues, files and size.
   • On this machine: Last saved <ago>, and the same counts.
   • Replace (red) overwrites the show here. It is backed up first: File → Restore from Backup… puts it back. This Mac’s cloud link, versions and MA3 desk list are kept.
   • Keep both imports it as a separate show, <name> (imported). No cloud link.
   • Cancel, Esc or a click outside stops.

5. The show opens.

   • Clean import: the toast reads Imported <name>: n files checked.
   • Files missing, or an old package: an Imported <name> box shows n files (d already here), then any Missing on the exporting machine (n) with “Relink them in the Media Library.”

• A file already on this Mac is not copied twice.
• Missing files: relink them. See Media and lanes.
• An imported show is never linked to the cloud unless it replaced one that was.
• Older packages import unchecked and say Made before checksums: the files were not checked.
• On a session peer: Export and Keep both work. Restore and Replace are refused.

When it goes wrong

• No backups yet. A save takes one at most once an hour. The show has not been saved since backups began, the backup could not be written, or this Mac is a session peer. The .bak copies in the shows folder may still help.
• Invalid parameter: this is the session host's show; restore it on the host. This Mac is a peer. Restore on the host.
• Restored the wrong one. Restore again and pick the newest backup: it is the state from just before.
• Import failed · … does not match the package manifest … — the copy is damaged. The package was damaged in transit. Copy it again and re-import. Its media was removed; after a Replace the safety backup stays.
• … this package was made by a newer Helm Cues (format n); update to import it. Update this Mac. See Updates.
• … not a Helm show package. The file is not a .helmpkg, or it is cut short.
• … that show is the session host's; keep both instead. You are following a session on this show. Pick Keep both, or leave the session.
• Exported, with files left out. Those files are not on this Mac. Locate them in the Media Library, then export again.
• The package is huge. Every Media Library file on this Mac goes in, used or not. Delete unused media first, or carry the media on a drive and relink.
• The package is missing my last lane edit. Lane edits save half a second after the change. Press ⌘S, then export again.
• A restored show has a missing file. The file was deleted from the Media Library and its 30 days in the Trash ran out. Relink it from another copy.