Move recordings to an external destination

Move recordings to a destination when you want to free space on this Mac without losing the audio. Recordstead verifies the encrypted external copy before removing the local original. Transcripts, summaries and the meeting list stay on this Mac, so a destination alone does not back up your meeting library.

Open Destinations

Open Settings… (⌘,) › Storage › Recordings storage, then click Choose…, or Manage… if a destination is already active. In Destinations, use Add destination… and choose one of the types below. You can manage these connections even when Then is set to Delete.

You can also right-click a meeting with a local recording and choose Recording ▸ Set up destination… when no destination is active.

External volume

Choose External volume…, give the destination a name, use Choose… to select a folder on the mounted drive, then Save. Keep that drive mounted when moving or reading its recordings. A folder on a mounted network share depends on that share being reachable too.

S3-compatible storage

Choose S3-compatible… and enter the details supplied by your storage provider:

Endpoint: the hostname, optionally with a port, without https:// or a path. Recordstead uses HTTPS.
Region and Bucket: the region and an existing bucket.
Path prefix (optional): a folder-like prefix within that bucket.
Access key ID and Secret access key: credentials scoped to the intended bucket and prefix.

Click Test connection, check the result, then Save. The test writes, reads and deletes its own test object, so the credentials need those permissions. It does not delete archived recordings.

SFTP

Choose SFTP… and enter Host, Port, Username and Remote path. Under Authentication, choose Password, or Private key (Ed25519) and provide Private key path and Key passphrase (optional).

Click Test connection. Check the displayed host-key fingerprint with your server administrator before clicking Trust & Save. The test writes, reads and deletes its own test file in the destination, without touching archived audio. A later change to the trusted server key requires explicit confirmation; verify why the key changed before accepting it.

Finish setup

Select the destination you want to make active. This controls future moves; recordings already moved keep their existing locations. Credentials are stored in your Mac's Keychain, not sent to Recordstead.

If saving fails, the form stays open with the error. Correct it and save again. Changing connection fields clears the previous test result, so test the revised details before relying on them.

Choose when to move recordings

In Settings… › Storage › Recordings storage, set Keep on this Mac by age or by the number of recent recordings to keep. Set Then to Move to destination.

Only completed, transcribed meetings with local original audio count toward the rule. A recent-recordings limit counts meetings, not separate tracks; temporary downloads, derived files and recordings already stored externally do not count. Meetings awaiting transcription retain their audio regardless of age.

Ready to move counts eligible meetings, including recordings accumulated before you changed the rule. Click the compact Move Now button beside the count to move them immediately; Recordstead recalculates the candidates before starting. Changing the setting does not itself start a transfer.

Otherwise, Recordstead checks shortly after launch and every six hours while it is running. The same section shows the current operation, unresolved errors and Last attempt. A successful transfer shows a brief confirmation. Changing the active destination or retention rule clears the previous configuration’s error from this section; it does not itself transfer recordings. Cancel stops the current automatic batch. If the destination is unavailable, local originals remain on this Mac; reconnect it and use Move Now, or wait for the next scheduled check.

Move a meeting manually

Right-click a meeting with local audio, open Recording, and choose the move command naming the active destination. This works without enabling the automatic move rule. Select several meetings to move their recordings together, then read the overall result: a partially completed batch is not reported as full success.

A meeting's row shows transfer progress. Use Recording ▸ Cancel Transfer in its context menu to stop its transfer. Cancellation preserves any local original not already successfully moved and any verified external copies. Retry an incomplete move to finish the remaining work; confirmed copies do not need to be uploaded again. Interrupted transfers are retried after reopening the app when their destination is available.

Listen, export or process moved audio

For remote storage, right-click the meeting and choose Recording ▸ Download before listening. Export Audio, re-transcription and speaker correction fetch the tracks they need automatically. Playback from a mounted external volume reads directly; operations that require a local file use the same download cache.

Downloads remain encrypted and are available only after their contents have been verified. They are temporary copies: downloading does not move the original back to this Mac or change its destination.

The cache expires six hours after its last use, with no separate lifetime setting. Playback, export and processing protect files while they are in use; finishing use starts the six-hour clock again. Cleanup checks at launch, on wake and once a minute while Recordstead runs. If the app is closed, expired copies are removed when it next opens. Storage counts these downloads separately from local originals. An exported audio file is separate from the cache and remains in your export folder.

Edit, disconnect or reconnect an archive

Use the pencil beside a destination to edit its name or credentials. Leave the secret blank to keep the saved value; connection tests also use that saved secret. Changing the server, bucket, prefix or folder creates another connection and does not rewrite the locations of existing recordings or move the archive for you.

Use the trash button to disconnect. The confirmation counts affected meetings; Disconnect removes the connection and credentials but preserves file references and external audio. Disconnecting the active destination pauses automatic moves. Another destination is not selected automatically.

To reconnect, add the connection pointing at the archive's current location. Recordstead checks files against meetings still in your library. You can repeat that check with the magnifying-glass button beside the connection-test and edit icons. Its tooltip explains: “Find recordings already stored here and restore access for meetings in your library. Use after reconnecting or moving an archive.” Use it when files have become available since the last check; ordinary listening does not need it. Content must match; a matching name or size is not enough. Verified matches restore access without adding duplicate meetings, and a meeting can have more than one confirmed external copy.

If you moved an archive yourself, preserve its file names and relative layout beneath the new folder or prefix. An empty location or unrelated files cannot restore access. Reconnection does not import arbitrary recordings or recover meetings you deleted from Recordstead.

Result

Your moved recordings remain at the selected destination, and their meetings stay in Recordstead. Listening and processing can use temporary local copies without turning them into permanent local originals.

If something fails

What happened	What to do
Destination disconnected or drive unavailable	Mount the drive or restore the connection, then retry.
File missing at the destination	Check the configured location and whether the archive was moved. Reconnect to the correct location and verify its recordings.
Contents fail verification	Do not replace or delete your remaining original. Check for a damaged or different archive copy; matching names alone cannot fix this.
Transfer loses its connection or runs out of space	Restore connectivity or free space on the receiving disk, then retry. A failed upload does not remove its local original.
Only some tracks or meetings moved	Read the incomplete result and retry the remaining work. Successfully verified copies are retained.
External copy verified, but local cleanup failed	Recordstead retries local cleanup without uploading the audio again. Space is not reclaimed until cleanup succeeds.

Unencrypted or damaged local recordings are refused for transfer and kept locally with an error.

What stays outside this feature

Recordstead never deletes archived audio when cleaning its cache, applying the local Delete rule, deleting a meeting or disconnecting a destination. Remove external files with your storage provider's own tools if you want to erase them. Deleting a meeting still removes its library data and local files permanently; the surviving external audio cannot restore that meeting.

Destinations do not move recordings between external stores or provide an archive browser. To preserve the meeting library and the ability to open its encrypted audio on another Mac, follow Move your meetings to another Mac.