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Rendering & export

Sources, bounds, formats, stems, the render queue, and project archiving.

Last updated 16 Sept 2026Development build referenceSource on GitHub

Rendering runs your project offline through the same playback and FX engine you hear during playback, and writes the result to disk. This page covers the Render dialog top to bottom, the queue and delivery tools, and the project-level export and cleanup commands. Shortcuts are from the default OpenStudio keyboard profile; Ctrl is Cmd on macOS.

The Render dialog

Open it with File → Render… or Ctrl+Alt+R. Work down the dialog: pick a source, set the bounds, choose where the file goes and what it is called, pick a format, then decide on processing and what happens afterwards. Add to Queue defers the job instead of rendering now.

The OpenStudio Render dialog — Source and bounds at the top, output and format in the middle, processing options below.

Source and bounds

Source	Current status
Master mix	Full mix of all tracks through the master bus
Selected tracks (stems)	One file per selected track
Master mix + all stems	The master mix plus a stem for every track
Selected media items	Filters the source to selected audio clips
Selected items via master	Filters the source to selected audio clips
Razor edit areas	Each razor-area time range rendered as a separate stem from the track that owns it

Selected-item sources

Selected-item sources filter the render to the selected audio clips. Select audio items first; the app rejects an empty audio selection. The via-master option includes master processing.

Bounds	Range rendered
Entire project	Project start (0 seconds) to the last clip end
Custom range	Start and end times you enter
Time selection	The current time selection
Project regions	Each region as a separate file
Selected regions	Each selected region as a separate file

Tail adds a number of milliseconds after the end time so reverb and delay tails are not cut off. An include-metronome option is available if you want the click in the file.

Output directory and file names

Browse to an output Directory, then type a File name. Wildcards are replaced per file, which matters for stem and region renders where one job writes many files.

Wildcard	Replaced with
`$project`	Project name
`$track`	Track name (stem renders)
`$region`	Region name (region renders)
`$date`	Current date, YYYY-MM-DD
`$time`	Current time, HH-MM-SS
`$index`	Zero-padded sequential index

Formats, sample rate, and channels

Format	Notes
WAV	Uncompressed, with bit-depth selection
AIFF	Uncompressed, with bit-depth selection
FLAC	Lossless compressed, with bit-depth selection
MP3	FFmpeg-encoded at the selected bitrate
OGG Vorbis	FFmpeg-encoded at the selected quality

FFmpeg

MP3 and OGG use FFmpeg as a separate process. On Windows an audited FFmpeg runtime is bundled with the installer. On macOS and Linux OpenStudio uses a system ffmpeg on your PATH; if it is missing only the FFmpeg-backed operation fails, and WAV, AIFF, and FLAC still render.

Choose the Sample rate the file should have; the offline engine renders at that rate and converts source files as needed. Channels is stereo or mono.

Processing, secondary output, and post-render

Option	What it does
Normalize	Peak-normalizes the output to 0 dBFS
Dither	Applies TPDF or first-order noise-shaped dither before integer bit-depth output
Secondary output	Runs a second pass in another format after each primary file, with its own bit depth or codec quality
Add to project after render	Imports the rendered files back into the project as new clips

Placeholders in the current build

Resample Quality remains disabled because backend support is pending. Metadata entry and Online render are not offered by the current Render dialog.

Render in place and consolidate track are also available, alongside track freeze; see Mixing & routing for freeze.

Render queue, region matrix, and DDP

Add to Queue in the Render dialog stores the job instead of running it. Open View → Render Queue to manage and batch-process queued jobs.
File → Region Render Matrix… is a grid of tracks against regions. Choose the intersections to render and one output format for the batch.
File → DDP Disc Image Export… packages a source WAV with project regions as CD track markers. Render a 44.1 kHz, 16-bit stereo WAV first; this dialog does not render the mix for you.

Delivery workflows need real-world validation

The region matrix, DDP export, and batch conversion have code and UI, but the project's own feature audit lists them as needing focused release smoke tests and hardware validation before strong claims are made. Check the output before sending it to a plant.

Archive, MIDI export, batch conversion, and cleanup

Session archiveFile → Archive Session… writes a ZIP beside the saved project. Save first: it reads the on-disk project and collects existing top-level audio clip files. It does not rewrite media paths or collect every take, NAM capture, IR, or plugin dependency, so it is not a complete portable session. Extract with a ZIP tool; there is no in-app Unarchive command.

Export MIDIFile → Export Project MIDI… writes one standard MIDI file containing all MIDI clips in the project.

Batch converterFile → Batch File Converter… converts a set of audio files to a chosen output format in one pass.

Clean project directoryFile → Clean Project Directory… lists files absent from the top-level audio clips’ paths. It does not account for every take, original pitch-edit source, NAM capture, IR, or plugin dependency. Review each entry and back up the folder before deleting; a listed file may still be needed.

InterchangeRPP/AAF import and RPP/EDL export are not available as supported app workflows. Exchange audio stems or MIDI instead.

Live capture of the master output is not exposed as a supported command in the current File menu. Use Render for a mix file.

Import and export format support

Direction	Formats
Import	WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP3, OGG Vorbis, MIDI, and audio extracted from video where FFmpeg is available
Export	WAV, AIFF, FLAC, MP3, OGG Vorbis, MIDI, and DDP

MP3/OGG export, video extraction, and other FFmpeg conversions need the bundled Windows runtime or a system ffmpeg on macOS and Linux. If a render comes out silent, check the bounds cover the clips, the source is what you meant, and no track or clip is muted; the full checklist is in Troubleshooting.