Format storage devices for Final Cut Pro, Motion and Compressor

Use the APFS format for external storage devices, such as USB drives, that you want to use with Final Cut Pro, Motion and Compressor on Mac.

Some storage devices are sold pre-formatted with Windows file system formats, such as ExFAT or FAT32. They may not perform as expected with Final Cut Pro, Motion or Compressor.

To check the format of a storage device, select the device in the Finder, then choose Get Info from the File menu. The format is shown in the Format section under General Information.

If you need to reformat a storage device, use the APFS format for best performance. When you format a storage device, any data stored on the volume will be deleted, so create a backup if you want to keep the data.

You can’t store your Final Cut Pro library on a storage device used for Time Machine backups.

Find out more

File system formats available in Disk Utility on Mac

Disk Utility User Guide

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