---
title: "Move recordings to an external destination"
description: "Set up a folder, S3-compatible storage or SFTP, move recordings manually or automatically, and use temporary downloads. Destinations do not back up your meeting library or restore deleted meetings."
updated: "2026-09-20"
canonical: https://docs.recordstead.app/your-data/recording-destinations
---

# 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](https://docs.recordstead.app/your-data/where-things-are-stored#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](https://docs.recordstead.app/your-data/move-to-another-mac).

## Related

- [Where your recordings, meetings and exports live](https://docs.recordstead.app/your-data/where-things-are-stored)
- [What stays on your Mac, and the only ways anything leaves](https://docs.recordstead.app/your-data/what-leaves-your-mac)
- [Delete a meeting, and what deletion removes](https://docs.recordstead.app/your-data/delete-a-meeting)