Optimal/Semi-optimal Locations of Library etc. Folders

Help, Support & Bugs Beginners Questions - Renoise
1

Hi, I’d like some insight/thoughts/guidance concerning Renoise-related folders, for long-term usage. That is, for preservation if I have to update/reinstall Renoise and so on. And just in general, for organization, in terms of storing presets/songs/tool settings/etc. long term.

If someone could take a decent look at this, it would be a lot of help for me. I’ve read the manual, concerning presets/libraries and so on. But that didn’t seem sufficient. At least as a non-Renoise OG. So, please help with where I should put this stuff.

What is my folder structure?
-I’m a Mac user and all synths/DAWS/plugins are installed in their default locations, on the internal drive.

-At the root of external drive is a folder called “Production”

-Subfolders of “Production” include:
a) “Samples”
*This is the master folder of samples, to be used by Renoise, other DAWs, hardware samplers, whatever.

b) “Work”
*This includes stuff created in other DAWs but not currently Renoise, though perhaps I should change that. Hopefully this thread will provide relevant insight.

c) “Content”
*This is the main topic of this thread. The function of this folder is basically “preset/library location for plugins and DAWs.” If I update a plugin or DAW, or if my computer is stolen or whatever…I should be able to regain access to my third party soundbanks for plugins, my DAW templates, third party tools (and their settings), and just in general the additional “stuff” for plugins/DAWs.

*The subfolders of “Content” would depend on the situation. For example:

-A “TAL” subfolder would just be patches, as that’s the only…additional stuff for TAL plugins. In such cases, aliases/symlinks/etc. can optionally be used. But regardless, this is the eternal, long-term master location for the patches.

-A “Native Instruments” subfolder would be the (in NI terminology) “Content Location.” That is, the additional stuff that adds functionality to NI products.

-A “Renoise” subfolder would be to store Renoise stuff that may or may not get deleted when I update Renoise. Basically, stuff that is currently in:
~/Documents/Renoise/User Library
&
~/Documents/Renoise/Installed Libraries

As of now, in the User Library, there are items stored in subfolders called “Effect Presets,” “Instruments” & “Songs.” And within “Songs” are “In Progress,” “Finished” and even “Templates” (which implies past and potentially future templates which I might want to use again).

And installing the “Extras” in Renoise Backstage seems to have created that “Installed Libraries” folder.

What do I want to achieve?

I would like to move Renoise-related folders/subfolders within the context of:

  1. the aforementioned folder structure (and its goals)
    &
  2. any potential technical limitations

I’m open to additional suggestions as well.
Thanks to whoever read through that :sunglasses:

2

I’m on windows, and found it useful to keep all my samples, instruments, etc in one place (a location that gets replicated to other household machines) , and then symlink those folders under the default Renoise folders (for like items).

In fact I think I have to update this link since I finally moved to 3.2.2 or whatever is latest.

3

Also on Windows here, and my directories inside a root folder looks like this:

image

Renoise links directly to “Samples”, “VST2 fx” and “VSTi2” (and not “VST fx samples”, “VSTi sample libraries”) so Renoise doesn’t scan terabytes of data blocks it can’t use anyway. :wink:

Both “VSTi2” / “VSTi2 sample libraries” have the same sub-folders depending on samplers.
image

For NI stuff you might want to specifically move the .dll (or .au) to the desired directory, but this way each company will be treated the same with their manager, templates and fx/fx samples/vsti/vsti samples, which makes me very happy. :slight_smile:

4

Thanks, James. I’m glad this discussion reminded you to stay on top of it. So, you only move some subfolders of your Renoise folder and not others, or what?

By “Renoise folder,” I mean this (all three seem the same according to the manual):

"Windows: HOME/[My ]Documents/Renoise

OSX: HOME/Documents/Renoise

Linux: HOME/Renoise"

For example, do you avoid having the entire Renoise folder stored elsewhere and consistently symlinked into the correct location in “Documents,” because the default folder structure/contents/hierarchy might be something that is sometimes supposed to change in an update? And thus it would be suboptimal even if you haven’t lost your samples/presets/etc.? Because you’re concerned that if you substitute it back in after the update, you’ll have a folder structure that corresponds to a previous version of Renoise rather than the current one?

In general I just don’t know which files/folders/subfolders would wiped/reset each time a new version of Renoise is installed. That’s why I don’t know what to keep elsewhere. I don’t need to have it perfect. I can refine it over time. There’s perhaps a really simple solution, like keeping the “Renoise” folder on an external drive and symlinking it into the normal location. But I think I’ve read that the user folder doesn’t even get deleted. So, I don’t know.

I’ll number a few questions for simplicity. Anyone who reads this, please do chime in.

  1. If you leave the “User Library” in its default location (in the Documents folder), and then update Renoise, will you lose all files/folders (that don’t come with Renoise) within the User Library?

  2. At the same level is the “Installed Libraries” folder. Was that meant to be a long term folder to have in Renoise? I just think it was created when doing the extra downloads in Renoise Backstage. Would the “Installed Libraries” folder also be deleted if one updated Renoise?

  1. Does anything at all in the Documents folder get changed/deleted when you update Renoise?

  2. Which files/folders that aren’t in the Documents folder would be replaced if one were to update Renoise? For example I’d be concerned about losing my template that’s within the “preferences folder.” And I’d be concerned about losing my tools and their settings. How should we go about protecting non-Document folder things when updating Renoise?

5

I don’t move any Renoise folders. I cd into the default folders and setup symbolic links (mklink I think) to folders I use for my one stuff.

So if I browse Samples I’ll see all the default Renoise stuff, but also a folder for my stuff.

1 Like
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https://schinagl.priv.at/nt/hardlinkshellext/linkshellextension.html

8

Thanks, for sure. For clarification, you are keeping “Samples,” “VST2 fx” and “VSTi2” at the root of another drive, and symlinking them into the Renoise folder, right? That way, when you update Renoise, they will still be there?

Problem is, like I said, I still don’t know what gets deleted when we update Renoise. i.e. if everything added/customized in the “Renoise” folder in “Documents” would be deleted/reverted to a default state. Since I am not seeing mention of that in the manual or here, I might have to meticulously test that soon. But it would be good if someone can share their experiences with that.

Also, how would you preserve stuff from outside of the “Renoise” folder in “Documents” (in your case, “My Documents”)? For example, the tools and their settings, and your template?

Thanks again

9

I still don’t know what gets deleted when we update Renoise. i.e. if everything added/customized in the “Renoise” folder in “Documents” would be deleted/reverted to a default state

All these are folders I made, and Renoise makes no change to them beyond reading VST fx and VSTi2. And yes, I’ve tested it. I did this precisely in case I want other DAWs in the mix, and they will have to obey the structure as well. :slight_smile:

Thanks, for sure. For clarification, you are keeping “Samples,” “VST2 fx” and “VSTi2” at the root of another drive, and symlinking them into the Renoise folder, right? That way, when you update Renoise, they will still be there?

I can move that to any drive I want, and would only have to change paths for the managers, and only in case there are updates, which are almost never required. It’s currently on C, but I’ve used the same literal copy of folders + content on other drives, just have to reinstall managers so they know where things are.

Also, how would you preserve stuff from outside of the “Renoise” folder in “Documents” (in your case, “My Documents”)? For example, the tools and their settings, and your template?

Might sound dumb but I use dropbox to store a bunch of template for things, custom icons, project files ofc, lovely Renoise themes from the forum, and so on. Makes for an easier setup and basic back-up. I’ve got an external back-up as well in case they kick me out, fingers crossed.

11

Good thinking, and inspiring.

It’s great to know what you are symlinking. But I’m sort of shooting in the dark until I know which folders/files would be deleted/reverted back to a default state in the event of not using symlinking etc. As that will guide me in my symlinking strategy. After searching my computer, it appears that this is basically everything Renoise:

~/Documents/Renoise

~/Library/Preferences/Renoise

~/Library/Preferences/Renoise Plugin Server

~/Library/WebKit/com.renoise.renoise

~/Library/Saved Application State/com.renoise.renoise.savedState

~/.config/renoise-dlt

/Applications/Renoise/Contents

And then there is also the Renoise log file:
~/Library/Logs/Renoise.log

Within the “Help” menu, it only has “Show the Log File” & “Show the Preferences Folder.” So, is important stuff from those two all we’d really need to back up/symlink in order to have Renoise updates go smoothly?

What about ~/Documents/Renoise ?
Does that revert back to a default state? That even contains the “User Library” folder, which holds the songs. And it also contains the “Installed Libraries” folder that seemed to have been created when downloading the extras from Renoise Backstage.

Good thinking, and I’ll likely do the same. But first off I’ll need to determine which folders get deleted during updates. Thanks again

12

Honestly idk, but its unlikely. All other programs I’ve uninstalled either asks if you want to do a clean uninstall that removes user files / appdata / settings, or don’t touch them at all.

Regardless I would recommend backing up files that are important.

Same as above.

Unless you specifically have errors and know what you’re doing, I wouldn’t touch this folder.

Probably as above.