Transfer a Show to a New Computer

This guide walks you through moving an active production from one CueCollab server to another — for example when switching machines between venues or replacing a failing computer mid-production.

Caution

Recordings are not included in the CueCollab showfile. You must copy them separately or they will not be available for review on the new machine. Follow all steps in order to avoid data loss.

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Before You Start

On the new machine

1. Install CueCollab. The new machine must be running the same version as the old one, or a newer version. Running an older version may fail to load the showfile. Check the current version in Administration → About on the old machine (see System Information).
2. Verify disk space. Recordings can be large. Make sure the new machine has enough free space for all video files you plan to transfer.
3. Complete the basic setup. Confirm the server starts and is reachable in a browser before proceeding.

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Step 1 — Save and export the showfile (old machine)

The showfile (.ccdb) contains all your cues, notes, ranges, recording entries, and settings. It does not contain video files. For a full explanation of showfile options, see Showfile & Backup.

1. Open Administration → Showfile & Backup.
2. In the ⋯ menu, choose Quick Backup to create a safety snapshot of the current state.
3. In the ⋯ menu, choose Export Current Showfile. This downloads the active database as a .ccdb file to your computer.

Keep this file — you will upload it to the new machine in a later step.

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Step 2 — Find your recordings folder (old machine)

CueCollab does not manage video files directly — OBS saves recordings to a folder on the server machine, and CueCollab reads them from there.

Find the recording output folder in OBS:

1. Open OBS on the old machine.
2. Go to Settings → Output.
3. Under the Recording tab, note the path shown in the Recording Path field.

This is the folder you need to copy.

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Step 3 — Copy the recordings (old machine → new machine)

Copy the entire recordings folder from the old machine to the new machine. Use a USB drive, a network share, or any other transfer method.

Note the destination path on the new machine — you will need it in Step 5.

Note

If the path is the same on both machines (e.g. both are macOS with the same folder structure), you can skip Step 5. If the path is different — for example, moving from macOS to Windows, or to a different user account — you will need to update the path in CueCollab after loading the showfile.

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Step 4 — Load the showfile (new machine)

1. Open Administration → Showfile & Backup on the new machine.
2. In the ⋯ menu, choose Import Showfile Backup.
3. Select the .ccdb file you exported in Step 1.
4. Confirm the import. CueCollab will replace the current database with the imported showfile.

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Step 5 — Update the recording path (new machine, if needed)

If the recordings folder is at a different path on the new machine, you need to update all recording entries to point to the new location.

For a full description of this tool, see Edit Recordings.

1. Open Administration → Edit → Recordings.
2. Open the ⋯ menu and choose Change File Path.
3. The dialog shows the current path(s) stored in the database for reference.
4. Enter the new folder path in the New Path text field.

Finding the folder path:

• Windows — open File Explorer, navigate to the recordings folder, click the address bar at the top of the window, and copy the full path (e.g. C:\Users\YourName\Videos\CueCollab).
• macOS — open Finder, navigate to the recordings folder, right-click any video file inside it and choose Get Info, then copy the path from the Where field (e.g. /Users/yourname/Movies/CueCollab). Note: right-clicking the folder itself shows the parent directory in Where, not the folder’s own path.

Note

Change File Path is only available when connected via localhost. It cannot be used from another device on the network. Open CueCollab in a browser on the new server machine itself to access this function.

5. Click Change Path to confirm. CueCollab updates the stored path for all recording entries at once. This does not move any files — it only updates the database references.

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Step 6 — Verify recordings are found

1. Stay in Administration → Edit → Recordings.
2. Check the list. Each row shows the filename and path. Recordings that cannot be found on disk are shown with a warning.
3. If entries still show as missing, double-check that the folder path from Step 5 matches the actual location of the video files on disk. You can also use ⋯ → Remove Missing to clean up any entries that no longer have a corresponding file.

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Step 7 — Configure OBS on the new machine

If OBS is not yet set up on the new machine, or if the recording path has changed:

1. Open OBS on the new machine.
2. Go to Settings → Output → Recording and set the Recording Path to the same folder where you copied the recordings in Step 3.
3. Connect OBS to CueCollab via Administration → Recording — add an OBS device using the WebSocket endpoint (see Recording Config for details).

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Step 8 — Save a backup showfile

Once everything is working correctly on the new machine, save a fresh showfile as a checkpoint:

1. Open Administration → Showfile & Backup.
2. Click Quick Backup to save a timestamped backup on the new machine.

The transfer is complete.