An Ardour session is a folder containing all project data: audio, MIDI, routing, and snapshots

In Ardour, a session is the fundamental document type — not a single file but ‘a folder on a computer filesystem that contains all the items that pertain to a particular project.’ The folder holds the main snapshot XML file, audio and MIDI data (in an interchange/ subdirectory), exported files, waveform peak files, and undo history. This folder-based design means sessions are portable: move or copy the folder and everything moves with it. The session XML file stores setup information such as audio/MIDI routing, tempo and meter, timecode synchronization, and track layout. A common beginner mistake is copying only the .ardour file and losing all the audio, which lives separately in the interchange/ folder.

Examples

When starting a new Ardour session named ‘MyProject’, Ardour creates a folder called MyProject/ containing MyProject.ardour (the XML snapshot), an interchange/ folder for raw audio, and an export/ folder for bounced files.

Assessment

Describe what is stored inside an Ardour session folder and explain why moving the entire folder (rather than just the .ardour file) is necessary to fully relocate a project.