Showfiles
A showfile holds a whole show: universes and fixtures with their addresses and positions, groups with their cues and chases, the tempo and the visualizer's look. It's a .json file, the same for the web and desktop versions, so a show programmed in one opens in the other, or on another computer.
What's playing isn't saved: cues and chases you started, faders moved in the universe view. Opening a show starts with everything stopped.
All showfile actions are in the toolbar's File menu:
| Entry | Shortcut | What it does |
|---|---|---|
| New Showfile | Shift+N | Starts a new show from a template |
| Load Showfile | Ctrl+O | Opens a showfile from your computer |
| Save Showfile Locally | Ctrl+S | Keeps the show in Studio, for next time |
| Export Showfile | Ctrl+Shift+S | Downloads the show as a file |
Shortcuts use the Ctrl key on every system, Mac included.
Where Your Show Lives
Studio keeps one show, the one you're working on, in its own storage: the browser's for the web version, the app's for the desktop version. That's where Save Showfile Locally writes, and what Studio opens when you come back.
- Studio doesn't save on its own. A
*before the show's name in the toolbar means changes since the last save: press Ctrl+S. - Opening or starting another show replaces the one kept in Studio at once, saved or not. Export first if you want to keep it.
- Browser storage belongs to the browser and the site: another browser, a private window, or clearing the site's data starts from the demo show again.
Export Showfile is how you keep shows for good: it downloads <show name>.json to your downloads folder, to back up, copy to another computer or send to someone.
Tip: Export before every big change and at the end of each session. Name the file by date (
concert-2026-11-14.json) to keep a history: there's no undo yet.
Starting a Show
File → New Showfile opens New Project. Pick a template and press Create:
| Template | What you get |
|---|---|
| Blank | Four empty universes and four empty groups |
| ASLS Demo | The demo show Studio opens with the first time: a rig already patched and programmed, to explore |
The new show replaces the one kept in Studio (see above).
Opening a Showfile
File → Load Showfile asks for a file: pick a .json showfile (one you exported, or .asls). Studio opens it, keeps it as its current show and reloads the window.
If the show uses GDTF fixtures this computer hasn't imported, Missing fixtures asks for their files first: see Opening a show with missing fixtures.
Moving a Show to Another Computer
- On the first computer: File → Export Showfile.
- Copy the
.jsonfile, along with the.gdtffiles of any imported fixtures. - On the other computer: File → Load Showfile, then import the GDTF files when asked.
- Set up outputs again: connections and universe streams aren't part of the showfile yet (Outputs).
First Run
The first time Studio opens (or after its storage is cleared), it loads the ASLS Demo show, so there's something to play with. Start your own with File → New Showfile → Blank.
Older Showfiles
Showfiles from earlier versions of Studio open in this one. Settings added since take their default (for example the visualizer's haze opens at a density of 50). A showfile saved by this version may not open in an older one.