The same job, the same way.
Most shoots have a shape that repeats. Same camera, same SSDs, same NAS folder, same conflict rule. The first time you ran it, you set every option by hand. The second time you ran it, you set every option by hand again. The workflow is the answer to that.
- A job you've already run successfully
- Workflows are built from running jobs, not from blank forms. Run it once, confirm the layout lands the way you want, save it. The saved workflow inherits everything that worked.
- Stable destinations
- The volumes the workflow writes to need stable identifiers — drive UUIDs, NAS shares, configured cloud destinations. Removable drives are fine if they're the same drive each time.
- A clear name
- Workflows pile up. Names like "A-camera daily," "Wedding offload," "Drone B-roll" age well. "Untitled workflow 4" doesn't.
- A trigger that fits how you work
- On-connect for cards and cameras you offload every shoot. Right-click for arbitrary source folders you don't plug in. Manual for the one-off complex layouts you don't want to misfire.
Step by step.
- 01
Run the job manually the first time
Plug the source in. Pick the destinations. Pick the organize-by layout. Run it once to confirm the layout lands the way you want — folder structure, naming, conflict rule.
- 02
Save it as a workflow
On the job report (or from the new-job screen), Save as workflow. Name it after the shape of the work, not the date — "Wedding day, A-camera" beats "June 5th job." The workflow remembers source identity, destinations, layout, conflict rule.
- 03
Pick the trigger
Manual — opens the workflow when clicked. On connect — the workflow surfaces in the macOS notification when the matching device plugs in ("A-camera connected, run workflow?"). On Finder right-click — adds the workflow to the SyncShot menu on any source folder.
- 04
Bind devices by identity, not by port
Source devices in a workflow are matched by device identity (camera serial, phone UDID, drive volume UUID), not by which USB port they're plugged into. Same camera in the front port or the back hub — same workflow recognizes it.
- 05
Set what runs and what asks
Auto-run on connect, or surface a notification first. For sensitive workflows ("writes to client-archive NAS"), keep the confirmation. For routine ones ("daily card offload to working SSD"), let it auto-run.
- 06
Run, iterate, share
Next time the device connects, the workflow either runs or asks. After a few runs, edit the workflow to tighten the conflict rule or add a destination. Export the workflow as a JSON file to share with another Mac running SyncShot.
- 07
Review the workflow history
Each workflow keeps a history of every run — when, what, how many files, total bytes, every destination's verification status. The same report a one-off job produces, indexed by workflow.
Living with it.
Workflows are not set and forget. A good one gets edited twice a season — destinations swap, the SSD gets retired, the cloud bucket changes. SyncShot keeps history per workflow, so the edit takes a minute and the next run picks up the change.
- Review history quarterly
- Workflows → pick one → History. If a destination failed verification more than once, swap it. If runs are slow, check the bus the slowest destination is on.
- Export and share
- Workflows export as JSON — destinations as references, not file paths. Share with another Mac running SyncShot; the import asks to re-bind any destinations the other Mac doesn't already have.
- Retire what you don't use
- An unused workflow is just clutter on the connect prompt. Archive it. The history stays; the workflow stops appearing on device connect.
Need the cloud destinations workflows can include? See Google Drive and S3. More guides at the user guide hub.