FAQ

Basics

What is FilmCan?
Professional backup for camera cards. Copies to multiple drives with optional hash verification.

Is it free?
Yes. GPL-3.0 licensed.

Supported macOS?
13.0 (Ventura) and later.

Compatibility

Does it work with my camera?
It should work with any camera that mounts as storage (RED, ARRI, Sony, Canon, Panasonic, Blackmagic, GoPro, etc.).

Network drives?
Not officially supported. Local drives are recommended.

Verification

How do I verify backups?
Choose a Verification mode in Options, Fast (default) checks the hash computed during the copy; Paranoid re-reads every file from disk. FilmCan uses xxHash128.

Can I stop and resume?
Yes. Stop is clean (no partial files), and running again skips files already backed up to every destination and still present, only the rest is copied. See Stop & Resume.

Hash lists?
Yes. Created automatically unless Verification is Off. See Hash Lists.

Organization

Organize by date?
Yes. Use Destination Presets.

Shoot past midnight?
Use Smart Date to set a custom day boundary.

Technical

Which copy engine?
The FilmCan Engine handles every backup. (rsync was retired from the UI in 1.2.0.) See Copy Engines.

Config location?
~/Library/Application Support/FilmCan/configs.json
~/Library/Application Support/FilmCan/presets.json
~/Library/Application Support/FilmCan/history.json

Will I lose data if I reinstall or upgrade?
No, not in normal reinstall/upgrade flows. FilmCan keeps movies, presets, and history in ~/Library/Application Support/FilmCan/, outside the app bundle.
If you use cleanup tools that remove Application Support, data can be deleted.

Does it upload anything?
No file uploads. Transfers stay local; optional notifications (ntfy/webhook) only send status metadata.

Troubleshooting

Can't access files
Enable Full Disk Access:
System Settings > Privacy & Security > Full Disk Access

Slow or failed backup
See Troubleshooting.

Report a bug
See Report a bug for bug reporting.