Copsy

Free Mac app · macOS 13+ · no account

The card copies itself.

Plug in a camera, drone or audio card. Copsy recognizes it, copies it to your drive, checks every file against a checksum and messages you when it's safe to format.

Download for Mac See how it works

Free, no signup No card limit Apple silicon

Reads cards from

  • Sony
  • ARRI
  • Blackmagic
  • RED
  • Canon
  • Nikon
  • Panasonic
  • Fujifilm
  • DJI
  • GoPro
  • Insta360
  • Z CAM
  • Atomos
  • iPhone ProRes
  • Zoom
  • Tascam
  • Sound Devices
  • MXF
  • BRAW
  • R3D
  • ARI
  • MOV
  • MP4
  • NEV
  • INSV
  • DNG
  • CR3
  • ARW
  • WAV
  • BWF
  • AIFF
  • FLAC
  • RF64

How it works

Five steps. You do none of them.

Switch on Auto, plug a card in, and Copsy takes it from there.

Detection

It knows a drone card from a camera card.

Copsy looks at the folders and file types a device actually writes, so a card still gets recognized when it's unlabeled, renamed or was formatted in another body.

Two rigged compact cinema cameras on tripods on a dark film set Camera_A · Camera_B

Cameras

Cinema bodies and mirrorless alike. Two cameras on the same day get their own letters, based on the body's serial.

MXFBRAWR3DARINEVMOV
A professional cinema drone with a gimbal camera hovering over a rooftop landing pad at blue hour Drone

Drones & action cams

DJI drones, Osmo and GoPro action cameras, Insta360 360° footage. Copsy knows how each one lays out its folders.

DJIMP4INSVDNG
A production sound mixer-recorder in a sound bag with wireless receivers and headphones on a cart Audio

Sound recorders

Zoom, Tascam, Sound Devices and the rest. Copsy spots them by the takes on the card.

WAVBWFAIFFFLACRF64

Verification

Proof you can hand over.

Finder only tells you the copy finished. Copsy checks that every file on the drive matches the card.

  • xxHash64, both sides

    Files are hashed while the card is read, so the card is read once. The copy is hashed again and compared.

  • ASC-MHL manifest

    The film-set standard. The next person in the chain can re-verify your drive without taking your word for it.

  • A report for the producer

    A PDF with clips, sizes and a verification stamp for every card, ready to hand over at wrap.

Three rugged external SSDs stacked on a DIT cart with glowing activity lights

Backup

Your drive now. The cloud right after.

Once a card is on your drive, Copsy sends the same folder to Google Drive or Dropbox in the background while you move on to the next card.

  • Google Drive or Dropbox

    Connect either one in a couple of clicks. Footage lands in the same date and shoot folders as on your drive.

  • Picks up where it stopped

    Wi-Fi drops, the upload waits and carries on. Pull a card or a disk mid-copy and it resumes when you plug it back in.

  • A second drive, if you want one

    Mirror every card to another disk, straight from the card or from your first copy.

A laptop, a rugged portable SSD and a Wi-Fi hotspot on a location cart at dusk

Stay on set

Walk away. Copsy will text you.

Telegram, when it matters

Link Copsy to Telegram once. You hear about it when a card is verified or an upload is done, and you can check on jobs from the chat.

In development

Copsy Monitor for iPhone

Live copy and upload progress from your pocket, over your own Wi-Fi. It isn't released yet.

How Copsy Monitor works
Copsy Monitor on iPhone showing a live card copy and a Google Drive upload

Why Copsy exists

Built on set, by a working DIT.

Offloading shouldn't depend on remembering a dozen steps at 2 a.m. Copsy does the core job that Hedge, OffShoot, ShotPut Pro and Silverstack charge for, and it costs nothing. It's for whoever answers for the footage: data wranglers, DPs, wedding and event shooters, documentary crews, drone pilots and photographers.

From the blog

Field notes on keeping footage safe.

All articles
Guides

What is ASC-MHL? Checksum verification, explained

The film-set standard for proving footage copied bit for bit, in plain English.
Guides

How to back up footage on set

A working routine for cards, drives and the cloud, from first card to wrap.
Comparisons

The best free camera offload software

Free tools that actually verify your copies, compared side by side.

Questions

Straight answers.

Anything else? The install guide and the blog go deeper.

Is Copsy really free?
Yes. Copsy is free to download and use, with no signup, no account and no limit on how many cards you offload. It runs on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 13 or later.
Does it copy without any clicks?
With Auto switched on, yes: plug a card in and Copsy detects, labels, copies, verifies and reports it on its own. Auto starts switched off each time you open Copsy, so nothing copies behind your back.
How does Copsy know a drone card from a camera card?
By what's written on the card. The card's name doesn't matter: each device leaves a recognizable folder layout and file types, such as MXF, BRAW, R3D or ARI for cinema cameras, DJI's folders for drones and WAV or BWF takes for recorders. Rename or reformat the card and detection still works.
What does ASC-MHL verification do?
Copsy hashes every file with xxHash64 while it reads the card, hashes the copy again and compares the two. It writes an ASC-MHL manifest next to the footage, the format film sets use, so the next person in the chain can re-verify the drive themselves.
Can it back up to the cloud too?
Yes. When a card has been copied to your drive, Copsy uploads the same folder to Google Drive or Dropbox in the background while you carry on with the next card. If the connection drops, the upload continues when it comes back.
Is there a Windows or Intel version?
Not yet. Copsy currently runs on Apple silicon Macs with macOS 13 or later. A Windows version is planned.

Plug in the next card and let it go.

Free, no signup, no card limit. macOS 13 or later on Apple silicon.

Download for Mac Install guide