Watch folders for Premiere Pro and After Effects.
Drop a file into a folder – it lands in your project, in the right bin.
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- Link a folder. Drag a folder from Finder or Explorer onto the WatchHouse panel.
- Auto-sync starts. It switches on by itself when you add a folder.
- Done. New files land in the matching bin, and new subfolders become bins. Nothing is imported twice. You can close the panel; WatchHouse keeps watching in the background.
WatchHouse waits until a file is completely copied or rendered, and image sequences keep growing in the project while they render:
Camera cards are detected. Only the clips go into the project, flat in one bin:
| Main view | Manage folders | Drag folders in |
|---|---|---|
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Settings and help
| Settings | Help |
|---|---|
 |
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- Download WatchHouse.zip and unzip it.
- Double-click Install WatchHouse.command. macOS may say the file is from an unidentified developer: right-click it, choose Open, then Open again.
- Restart Premiere Pro or After Effects.
- Open Window › Extensions › WatchHouse.
Prefer the Terminal? In the unzipped folder run:
bash scripts/install-mac.sh- Download WatchHouse.zip and unzip it.
- Double-click scripts\install-windows.cmd.
- Restart Premiere Pro or After Effects.
- Open Window › Extensions › WatchHouse.
Note
Why an install script? WatchHouse is a free extension and not signed through Adobe's paid program. Adobe apps only load unsigned extensions when the setting PlayerDebugMode is on. The script turns it on and copies WatchHouse to the Adobe extensions folder:
macOS ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CEP/extensions/WatchHouse,
Windows %APPDATA%\Adobe\CEP\extensions\WatchHouse.
- macOS:
bash scripts/uninstall-mac.sh - Windows: delete the folder
%APPDATA%\Adobe\CEP\extensions\WatchHouse
Your project settings stay where they are.
From version 1.4.0 on, WatchHouse looks for a new release here on GitHub (at most every 6 hours). When there is one, a banner appears at the top of the panel:
- Update now downloads
WatchHouse.zipof the release and replaces the extension files. Restart Premiere Pro / After Effects afterwards. - What's new shows the release notes.
- Copies installed from a Git folder (
install-mac.sh --link) or into a read-only folder get a Download button instead.
Switch the check off or run it by hand in Settings › Updates. Versions before 1.4.0 have no update check: install 1.4.0 once by hand.
At the top of the panel
| 🇩🇪 DE / 🇬🇧 EN | Switch the language |
| ? | Help |
| ⚙ | Settings |
| ☰ | More commands |
Main view
| Status card | Shows whether auto-sync is on and when the last sync ran |
| Start / Stop auto-sync | Import new files automatically (saved per project) |
| Sync now | Check all folders once |
| Manage folders | Add, remove and configure folders |
| Drop zone | Drag in more folders at any time, or click it. While you drag, the whole panel turns blue |
| Watched folders | All linked folders; offline folders are marked |
| History | What was imported last |
Options per folder (in Manage folders)
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
| SUB | Import subfolders too |
| REL | Store the path relative to the project – for project templates and Mac ↔ Windows |
| SEQ | Import numbered images as one image sequence (detected automatically) |
| FLT | Flatten subfolders into one bin (automatic for camera cards) |
| Color | Color label for the bin and new clips, e.g. whooshes green, drone shots blue |
A setting on a folder applies to all its subfolders, also to new ones. Click a folder's path to relink it when it is offline.
Watching
- Auto-sync in the background, also with the panel closed and with several projects open
- Matches files by path against the whole project, so nothing is imported twice – also files you imported by hand
- Waits until a file is completely written: copies, renders, downloads, iCloud files
- New subfolders become bins automatically
- Adding a folder starts auto-sync right away (can be switched off in the settings)
Media
- Image sequences are detected (3+ digits, 3+ frames in a row) and keep growing while they render
- Camera cards: Sony a7S, Sony FS/XAVC, AVCHD, Canon XF, Panasonic P2, XDCAM-EX, XDCAM-HD, Sony HDV, RED, ARRIRAW, DCIM
- Allowed file types and ignored folders (name or
/regex/) in the settings
Premiere Pro
- Optional Import Date metadata column
- Skip the import dialog for Photoshop and Illustrator files
- Messages in the Events panel
After Effects
- Project folders instead of bins
- Photoshop and Illustrator files as footage or composition
- Messages in the Info panel
Interface
- English and German, switch with the flags at the top
- Built-in help, column legend and tooltips
| What | Where |
|---|---|
| Settings of a project | <project>.prproj.watchhouse.json or <project>.aep.watchhouse.json next to the project file – it travels with project templates |
| General settings | macOS ~/Library/Application Support/WatchHouse/settings.json, Windows %APPDATA%\WatchHouse\settings.json |
WatchHouse collects no data and sends nothing anywhere. It only reads the folders you link and talks to Premiere Pro or After Effects on your computer. The only network request is the update check: it asks the public GitHub API for the latest release of this repository (switch it off in Settings › Updates).
- Ingest in Premiere: use Create Proxies only. Copy and Transcode change the file path. WatchHouse tries such a file only once and tells you, instead of importing it again and again.
- Media Encoder: let a Media Encoder watch folder render into a WatchHouse folder – new material is converted and imported automatically.
- After Effects: save the project first; the settings are stored next to the
.aep. - Watch folders must not overlap. A folder inside a watched folder is refused (and the other way round).
- A clip you delete from the project comes back after a restart if the file is still in the folder.
git clone https://github.com/Richard2007-21/WatchHouse.git
cd WatchHouse
bash scripts/install-mac.sh --link # links this folder instead of copying it
npm test # tests against a simulated Premiere and After EffectsDebug consoles in the browser: Premiere http://localhost:8094 (panel) and :8095 (background service), After Effects :8096 and :8097.
A signed .zxp can be built with bash scripts/build-zxp.sh (needs Adobe's ZXPSignCmd).
WatchHouse/
├── CSXS/manifest.xml extension: panel + invisible background service
├── client/ panel and background service
├── lib/ core.js (scanning), engine.js (auto-sync), i18n.js (texts)
├── host/ ExtendScript for Premiere Pro and After Effects
├── tests/ tests with a simulated Premiere and After Effects
└── scripts/ install, uninstall, ZXP build
MIT, see LICENSE. client/CSInterface.js is Adobe's CEP library under Adobe's own terms. The title font in the images is Pirata One (SIL Open Font License).
WatchHouse is an independent project and is not affiliated with Adobe.