--- title: "How to automatically generate proxies with Blackmagic Proxy Generator for DaVinci Resolve" author: "Cutsio Team" date: "2026-05-15" lastmod: "2026-05-15" category: "DaVinci Resolve Advanced Workflows" excerpt: "The Blackmagic Proxy Generator automatically creates proxy files from camera originals for DaVinci Resolve. This guide covers setup, watch folders, proxy types, and how it connects to upstream pre-editing workflows." tags: ["DaVinci Resolve","Blackmagic Proxy Generator","Proxies","Workflow Optimization","Camera Originals","Post Production"] --- ## How does the Blackmagic Proxy Generator work in DaVinci Resolve? The Blackmagic Proxy Generator is a free application that automatically creates proxy files from camera originals for use in DaVinci Resolve. You select a proxy format — H.264, H.265, or ProRes — and designate one or more folders as watch folders. Any original media placed in those folders, even within a file tree, has proxies generated and placed in sub-folders. DaVinci Resolve automatically links these proxies to the original media. ![Blackmagic Proxy Generator](https://images.blackmagicdesign.com/images/products/davinciresolve/collaboration/proxy/proxy-xl@2x.jpg?_v=1649650436) The Proxy Generator is designed for the growing challenge of camera raw media file sizes. As sensor resolutions increase, editing directly from camera originals becomes impractical on most systems. Proxies provide a lightweight editing experience while maintaining the link to the original files for conform and finishing. ## How do you set up the Blackmagic Proxy Generator? Download the Blackmagic Proxy Generator from the Blackmagic Design support page. It is a separate application from DaVinci Resolve and is available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. Install and launch it. The interface is straightforward. Choose your proxy format and resolution. H.264 and H.265 produce smaller files suitable for remote collaboration and cloud storage. ProRes produces larger files with better quality for local editing on Mac systems. Select a resolution — typically half or quarter of the original resolution for significant performance gains. Add watch folders by clicking the Add Folder button and selecting the directories where your camera originals are stored. The Proxy Generator monitors these folders continuously. When new files appear, it automatically generates proxies and places them in a "Proxy" sub-folder within the same directory. The application can process entire file trees, maintaining the folder structure of your original media. Once the proxies are generated, open DaVinci Resolve. Import the original media as you normally would. Resolve detects the proxies automatically because they are stored in the expected sub-folder structure. If automatic linking does not occur, go to the Media Pool, select the clips, right-click, and choose "Link Proxies" to point Resolve to the proxy folder. ## How does the Proxy Generator integrate with the Blackmagic Cloud workflow? The Proxy Generator is designed to work with Blackmagic Cloud for remote collaboration. When proxies are generated, they can be synced through Blackmagic Cloud to all collaborators. Each collaborator gets a local copy of the proxy media for fast performance, while the project retains links to the original camera files on the main workstation. This means a colorist in London can work on proxy media while the editor in Los Angeles has the originals. When it is time to conform for final delivery, Resolve switches to the original files automatically because the links are maintained in the project metadata. For productions using Blackmagic cameras with Live Camera Sync, the workflow is even faster. The camera creates a small H.264 proxy file in addition to the original media when recording. This proxy uploads to Blackmagic Cloud in seconds, making the media available back at the studio in real time for editors to start work immediately. ## How does the Proxy Generator compare to upstream pre-editing workflows? | Method | When to create | Best for | Quality trade-off | |---|---|---|---| | Blackmagic Proxy Generator | During or after ingestion | Collaborative editing with cloud sync | Switch to originals at conform | | Cutsio cloud transcoding | Before ingestion into Resolve | Pre-editing, review, and select management | Streamable review assets, originals retained | | Manual proxy creation | As needed | Specific clips that need performance boost | Full control over settings | The Proxy Generator is best for teams that need all media available in proxy form for collaborative editing. Cutsio provides a complementary upstream workflow. Upload camera originals to Cutsio, which creates streamable review assets with Visual Intelligence indexing. Your team reviews selects, removes silence and retakes, and exports an EDL or XML into DaVinci Resolve. By the time the timeline reaches Resolve, you have already identified the specific clips that need full-resolution finishing, reducing the total proxy generation workload.
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## Does the Proxy Generator process audio and image files? Yes. The proxy folder created by the Proxy Generator also includes audio files, image files, and any other non-camera-original media. This ensures that all media types in your project have corresponding proxy files for consistent performance during editing. The Proxy Generator intelligently identifies camera original formats based on file type and structure. Standard video formats, cinema raw formats (including ARRI RAW and RED R3D), and common audio and image formats are all supported. For unsupported formats, the files are passed through without proxy generation. ## Can you use the Proxy Generator with network storage? Yes. The Proxy Generator can watch folders on network storage such as Blackmagic Cloud Store or any mounted network drive. When originals are added to the network storage, the Proxy Generator creates proxies and places them on the same network volume. All workstations connected to the network can access both the originals and the proxies. ## FAQ ### Is the Blackmagic Proxy Generator free? Yes. The Proxy Generator is a free application available for Mac, Windows, and Linux. No DaVinci Resolve license is required to use it. ### What proxy formats does the Proxy Generator support? It supports H.264, H.265 (HEVC), and ProRes proxy formats. Resolution options include full, half, and quarter resolution relative to the original. ### Does the Proxy Generator work with ARRI RAW and RED R3D files? Yes. The Proxy Generator supports cinema raw formats including ARRI RAW (.ari, .mxf, .arx) and RED R3D files. Proxies are generated from the raw debayer. ### Can I use the Proxy Generator with existing media in my project? Yes. Place existing media into a watch folder, and the Proxy Generator processes it. Already-imported media in Resolve can be linked to proxies manually through the Media Pool. ### Does the Proxy Generator run in the background? Yes. It runs as a background process and automatically processes new files as they appear in watch folders. No manual intervention is required after initial setup.

Review upstream. Proxy downstream.

Review your footage in Cutsio first — search by visual content, remove silence, highlight selects. Then generate proxies only for the clips that make the cut.

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