.brutpack & portability
Brut is local-first, so "collaboration" means moving work between machines — not syncing it through a cloud. Two mechanisms cover it: .brutpack files and NAS-rooted projects.
.brutpack — a project in one file
File ▾ → Export project as pack… writes a single .brutpack file containing everything: outputs, graphs and the generation ledger. Your past results come with it, so whoever opens it can run the graph again for free.
A .brutpack never contains keys — those stay in each machine's keychain.
NAS-rooted projects — shared live work
Instead of passing files around, point a project at a shared folder on your NAS (File ▾ → New project…, then choose the NAS path as its root). The project's data lives there.
Brut leaves a small file in that folder, so a second computer can open the same project with File ▾ → Open project…, and both machines work against the same outputs, graphs and ledger.
This is how a studio collaborates: one project on the NAS, every computer opening it.
A project opens correctly on any machine, whether its files sit on your C: drive or on a NAS share.
On the new machine, unchanged nodes still replay for free. Change one and it runs again.
Export vs pack
- Export project to folder — a live copy into an empty folder; the copy is itself openable and shareable (great for a NAS).
- Export project as pack — the same content as one
.brutpackarchive.
Both ask whether to include the Marcel studio journal (conversations + narration): on by default for a folder export (it's a backup), off by default for a pack (packs leave the studio). A checkbox lets you override either way.