WAVEDRIVE

Settings

General Settings

The General settings panel controls WaveDrive's launch behaviour and global application preferences.

Launch at Login

Enable Launch at Login to start WaveDrive automatically when your Mac logs in. The app launches silently to the menu bar — no window is shown. This is recommended if you want sync to begin as soon as your Mac starts without having to open WaveDrive manually.

Toggle this setting from the General tab in WaveDrive Preferences. macOS manages the login item registration; WaveDrive does not require any helper app or daemon for this feature.

Sync on Launch

When enabled, WaveDrive performs a delta sync check immediately after launch to catch any files created while it was not running. This ensures your library is up to date as soon as you start working, even after a restart or update.

Show in Dock

WaveDrive is a menu bar app with no Dock icon by default. If you prefer a Dock presence — for example, to use Exposé or force-quit from the Dock — you can enable Show in Dock. This opens a minimal app window that can be hidden with ⌘H.

Notifications

Control whether WaveDrive sends macOS notifications for completed syncs, errors, and conflict copies. Notifications are disabled by default to avoid interrupting recording sessions.

Settings

Daw Configuration

WaveDrive can detect when a DAW is actively running and adjust its sync behaviour to avoid competing for disk I/O during recording or processing.

DAW configuration is per-application. Each DAW entry has its own priority level and guard behaviour, so Logic Pro and Pro Tools can be handled differently on the same machine.

DAW Detection

WaveDrive detects DAWs by monitoring the running process list. When a configured DAW process is found, the corresponding guard level is applied immediately. Detection is passive and uses negligible CPU.

The following DAWs are pre-configured:

  • Logic Pro
  • Pro Tools
  • Ableton Live
  • Reaper
  • Cubase / Nuendo
  • Studio One

Additional DAWs can be added manually by entering the process name (visible in Activity Monitor) in the Add DAW field.

Guard Levels

None

DAW presence has no effect on sync behaviour.

Throttle

Upload concurrency is reduced to one file at a time and inter-file delays are increased. Sync continues but with a lighter footprint.

Pause

All sync activity is suspended for as long as the DAW process is running. Events are still captured; the queue drains when you quit the DAW.

Settings

Activity Log

The Activity Log records every file event WaveDrive processes — uploads, downloads, skips, errors, and conflicts — so you always have a clear audit trail of what synced and when.

Accessing the Log

Open the Activity Log from the WaveDrive Preferences window (Activity tab), or click View Activity in the menu bar popover footer. The log is searchable and filterable by folder, date, and status.

Log Entries

Each log entry shows:

  • File name and full local path
  • Sync folder and direction (upload / download)
  • Status — Completed, Skipped, Error, or Conflict
  • File size and transfer duration
  • Timestamp — exact date and time of the event

Error Details

Error entries include an expandable detail row showing the HTTP status or system error code, the number of retry attempts made, and a plain-language description of the failure. For server-side errors, WaveDrive retries automatically with exponential back-off before marking the entry as failed.

Log Retention

The log retains entries for 30 days by default. You can clear the log manually at any time from the Activity tab or adjust the retention period in General Settings. Clearing the log does not affect any synced files.