Sequence Packages

A Sequence Package is an .sqbundle for continuing work in Sequence on another Mac or handing an edit to another Sequence user. It preserves editable project state rather than baking the result into a movie.

Packages are snapshots, not shared live projects. Changes made after export do not update an existing package, and importing a returned package does not merge changes into the sender's existing project.

Export a package

1. Open the variant or Multi-Cam programme you want the recipient to continue editing.
2. Select Export and choose Package as the destination. The options group is labelled Sequence Package.
3. Decide whether to enable Include source media.
4. Choose whether to Encrypt editing data. If enabled, copy the Encryption Code and keep it for this export.
5. Choose where to save the .sqbundle and start the export.
6. Wait for completion, then send the complete package to the recipient. If encrypted, send the matching code through a separate trusted channel.

Both source-media inclusion and editing-data encryption are enabled by default. Exports can be large when they include camera originals, multiple angles, or linked project families. Keep all required sources connected until the export finishes.

Choose how media travels

Include source media

Sequence copies the source dependencies required by the exported project families into the package. These can include original recording files or recording-package directories, camera angles, linked external audio, normalized audio, and media used by placed assets.

This is not a render or a trimmed-media consolidation: sources are copied without applying the edit to their contents. A short cut can therefore carry much longer original recordings, including material removed from the visible timeline. Check that you have permission to share all included material.

Sequence verifies copied contents before publishing the finished package. The source files are not moved or modified.

Leave source media out

Disable Include source media when both editors already have access to the same sources, such as a shared media drive. The package still contains editing data, but it is not self-contained.

On import, Sequence first looks for the recorded source locations. If a source cannot be found, the recipient must locate it. This applies to required audio, assets, and other dependencies as well as the main camera file. Keep a separate copy of those sources available.

Turning this option off does not let you export an incomplete project: Sequence still requires access to the source dependencies when preparing the package.

Protect the editing data

Encrypt editing data protects the package's editorial files, including transcript, history, and stored source-path information. The recipient must enter the export's encryption code to import them.

It does not encrypt copied source media or the whole Finder package. The package index, including its project name, remains readable. Do not use this option as a promise that footage, audio, filenames, or all package metadata are confidential.

Keep the code with your handoff records. Generate New Code changes the code for subsequent exports; it does not re-encrypt packages you already sent. With encryption disabled, the editorial files and source paths are readable without a code.

When Remember Speaker Voices is enabled, an encrypted package can also carry voice-matching information for people used by the included transcripts. Unencrypted packages omit that voice evidence. On the receiving Mac, voice memory must be enabled to match it to existing local people; importing does not enrol the sender's voice samples as new local profiles. Review speaker identities after a handoff rather than assuming that matching names or voices guarantee the same person.

Import a package

1. Copy the complete .sqbundle to a location you intend to keep, then double-click it to open it in Sequence. You can also add it through Sequence's media-import flow.
2. Enter the matching encryption code if prompted.
3. If prompted to Relink Source Media, select the requested original file or recording-package directory. Repeat for each missing dependency.
4. Wait for the import to finish. Sequence opens the imported editing identity in your current catalog.
5. Review the transcript, cuts, sound, layouts, and linked assets before continuing work.

Import creates new project identities in the recipient's library; it does not overwrite the sender's existing project or replace a matching local edit. The package's project families and relationships are imported together, so a failed import does not leave a partly restored family.

When a content hash is available for a regular file, the relink picker rejects a different file and asks you to choose again. Use the original source, not an unrelated file with the same name. Directory sources and sources without a recorded hash do not receive that same file-hash check.

What remains editable

A package carries the selected project's family and the related families it depends on, not the entire catalog. This can include sibling variants and more source material than the currently visible cut.

Preserved state includes:

• The shared source transcript and speaker information, variant-specific text decisions, disabled ranges, and clip ordering.
• Trims, silence decisions, markers, clip-keyword groups and assignments, and history entries.
• Selected media streams, audio roles, approved audio mixes, and visual framing decisions.
• Multi-Cam membership, programmes, angle selections, synchronization mappings, and shared external audio.
• Layers and reusable assets, including placement, source in-points, timing, volume, mute and lock settings, and linked-variant relationships.

Imported linked assets refer to the imported edits, not the sender's library. History entries travel with the edit, but a package is not a backup of the sender's complete library or every local app setting.

Keep imported sources in place

Import saves the editing state into your library, but does not automatically copy embedded media out to a separate managed-media folder. Imported projects can continue to reference sources inside the .sqbundle or the shared files you selected when relinking.

Keep that package or shared source location available after import. Do not delete the package simply because the project now appears in your library. If you relocate it or its sources later, use Sequence's relink workflow to reconnect missing media; moving files does not rewrite the editing decisions.

To return your changes, export a fresh package from the updated project. Agree which copy is the current working edit, since package exchange is not simultaneous collaboration or automatic conflict resolution.

Import errors and compatibility

Use a current Sequence release on both Macs. An unsupported package version, missing or damaged editing data, incorrect encryption code, inaccessible sources, or unsafe package paths can stop import. Keep the package intact instead of renaming or editing files inside it. If a transferred copy is incomplete, transfer the complete package again.

A Sequence Package opens in Sequence, not Final Cut Pro, Resolve, Premiere, or Avid. Use Final Cut Pro export or DaVinci Resolve export for an editable editor timeline, or Direct Export for finished video or audio.