Async collaboration for Ableton, without the chaos.
Collab Sync is a workflow layer for producers who already use Ableton Live. Share versions, catch missing plugins and samples before you send, and merge safely — without ever learning Git.
It kills
- final_final_v3 folders
- Full-project zips for every change
- Guessing which tracks to freeze
- Silent overwrites of the official project
The loop, end to end
The emotional core: share an idea fast, let your collaborator hear it, and keep the official project safe the whole time.
- 01
"Check the intro I made."
You message a collaborator. The idea is in your head — and in your project.
- 02
Collab Sync warns what to freeze
Before sharing, it flags missing plugins and the exact tracks that should be frozen or bounced.
- 03
You upload a version
No zip. External samples are blocked until the project is self-contained, so it never opens broken.
- 04
They download only what's missing
Your collaborator pulls just the new assets — unchanged files are reused — and opens it in Ableton.
- 05
Merge and promote later, safely
Review a merge in Ableton and promote it to the protected Main only after a hash check. Both sides are preserved.
Four things a Drive folder can't do
Without these it's just a launcher with a nicer UI. With them it's a collaboration layer that doesn't exist anywhere else for Ableton.
- Reads VST3, VST2 & AU through racks, chains and groups
- Per-machine plugin inventory vs. each version's needs
- Version-mismatch warnings ("may sound different")
- Hard-blocks uploads with external audio refs
- Lists affected files; rescan to unlock
- Local absolute paths are redacted from everything shared
- Non-destructive: review before anything becomes official
- Promotion refuses a stale or mismatched Main
- Uncertain merges keep both sides instead of guessing
- Computes already-local / download / conflict per version
- Downloads by file id — no slow path searches
- Hash validation after download
And the rest of the workflow
Add Me links
Inverted invites: the collaborator generates a one-use link and the owner picks the project. No public user search, no spam.
Roles & permissions
Owner, editor and viewer — enforced by the backend. Control who can upload versus only listen.
Adopt an existing project
Point Collab Sync at your Ableton folder, pick the song file, name the Main. Your original file is never touched.
Local drafts that survive
Create drafts from any version, edit in Ableton, upload when ready. Drafts persist across app restarts.
Direct-edit recovery
If you edit the Main outside the app, Collab Sync detects the hash mismatch and offers a safe recovery instead of corrupting history.
Your storage, near-zero cost
Versions and assets live in your own cloud storage. Collab Sync stays the workflow layer, not a gigabyte landlord.
Trust is the feature
Producers won't adopt a tool that might lose a session. These guarantees hold across the entire system — they're not nice-to-haves, they're invariants.
- Never silently lose musical work.
- Never overwrite the protected Main without a hash check.
- Never mutate a version that's already promoted.
- Never hide merge uncertainty — keep both sides when unsure.
- Never upload raw plugin paths, local paths or secrets.
- Never require you to understand Git.
Get in on the closed beta
Collab Sync is an early MVP for Ableton power users. If you trade projects async and you're tired of zips, come break it with us.