Guide
The command line
Everything the app does, the livesaver command does too, and more: project status in Finder, a catalog of your sets to search, and codemods. Every command only plans unless you pass --apply.
Samples
# what livesaver found: Live, User Library, packs, where it searches
livesaver env
# read-only: missing and external samples, per set
livesaver doctor ~/Music/Projects
# a dry run of "Collect All and Save" for every project
livesaver collect ~/Music/Projects
# really do it (quit Live first)
livesaver collect ~/Music/Projects --apply
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
--search <dir> | another folder to search (may be repeated) |
--no-default-search | search only the --search folders |
--ignore <dir> | a folder that is not searched |
--exclude <dir> | a folder whose sets are left alone |
--pack-limit <MB> | pack files above this size stay in the pack (default 50; 0 never copies) |
--match-library-path | also accept a library file with another fingerprint, as an uncertain match |
--certain-only | leave uncertain matches out |
--min-live <version> | leave out sets that were last saved with a Live older than this major version (10 leaves out Live 9 and older): they are not checked, listed or fixed |
--report-dir <dir> | write the reports there |
--json | print the whole result as JSON |
See Fix missing samples.
Plug-ins
# installed plug-ins: formats, native or Rosetta, versions
livesaver plugins list
# missing, Rosetta only, native alternatives, unused
livesaver plugins audit ~/Music/Projects
# VST2 → VST3 for verified plug-ins
livesaver plugins upgrade ~/Music/Projects [--apply]
See Plug-ins.
Runs and undo
# past runs, with their reports
livesaver runs
# restore the sets of a run; copies nobody uses go to the Trash
livesaver undo <run>
# the app: scan, review, fix and undo in the browser
livesaver web
# the app on livesaver's site, connected to this livesaver
livesaver web --pair
See History and undo.
Search your library
livesaver index reads every set once into a catalog; later runs read only the sets that changed. livesaver find then answers at once:
livesaver index ~/Music/Projects
livesaver find plugin:serum bpm:120..128 stage:arranged missing:samples
livesaver sql "SELECT name, tempo FROM sets ORDER BY seconds DESC LIMIT 5"
| Term | Matches sets … |
|---|---|
kick "night drive" | whose name, project, plug-ins, samples or locators contain the words |
plugin:serum format:vst2 | that use a plug-in (by name or id), or a plug-in format |
sample:snare device:lfo | that use a sample or a Max device of that name |
stage:arranged | at a stage: empty, session, sketch, arranged, elaborated |
missing:samples missing:plugins rosetta:yes complete:yes | by completeness |
bpm:120..128 length:>3:00 bars:>=64 tracks:<8 | by numbers |
live:12 modified:2024 modified:>2025-06 | by Live version or date |
project:studio path:archive has:locators duplicate:yes | by place or features |
-stage:empty | negated |
Project status in Finder
(On a Mac. On Windows status measures and reports the same, and marks nothing: see livesaver on Windows.)
# progress and completeness as Finder tags and comments
livesaver status ~/Music/Projects [--apply]
# sort projects into folders by their decision tag …
livesaver reorg plan ~/Music/Projects
# … after you checked the plan
livesaver reorg run <plan.csv> [--apply]
# sets saved into another song's project …
livesaver move plan ~/Music/Projects
# … move into a project of their own
livesaver move run <plan.csv> [--apply]
status measures every set (length of the arrangement, automation, missing samples and plug-ins) and marks sets and project folders in Finder with a tag for progress and a one-line comment with the facts. Your own tags and anything you write in a comment after ‖ stay untouched.
Codemods
Change many sets at once with a few lines of TypeScript, with the same backups and undo:
livesaver run set-tempo ~/Music/Projects --option bpm=124 [--apply]
See Codemods.
Settings
livesaver finds Live, your User Library and your packs by itself. What you want different goes into ~/.config/livesaver/config.json; livesaver init writes one for your setup.
{
"searchRoots": ["~/Music/Ableton", "/Volumes/Samples"],
"vendorLibraries": ["/Users/Shared"],
"packLimitMB": 50,
"status": { "projects": "~/Music/Projects" }
}
| Key | What it is |
|---|---|
searchRoots | the folders searched for samples |
vendorLibraries | folders with installed libraries, where a vendor's re-saved file is accepted |
preferredRoots | folders that win when identical copies lie in several places |
packLimitMB | pack files above this size stay in the pack |
userLibrary, factoryPacks, appResources | where Ableton's own folders are, if they are not found |
status | names and folders for status and reorg; projects is the folder the app starts with |
The app starts with these settings, and remembers the folders of its last scan. Settings › Reset to the command line's settings goes back to them.
In the browser
The app also runs on its own, as a page in your browser. It reads the folders you give it and changes nothing: good for a first look, or on a computer where you cannot install anything. In Chrome and Edge it can also fix samples and upgrade plug-ins, if you switch that on: see Fixing in the page.
livesaver on Windows
livesaver is made and tested on a Mac. Windows is new: it is built from what Ableton documents about Live on Windows and from the way sets that were saved on Windows store their files. No one has tried it on a Windows computer with Live yet. This page says what is there, what differs from a Mac, and what is not known.