Backtrack

the problem

An Ableton project is a session file plus a pile of referenced samples and assets. Most producers version their work with "Save As" and file names, which gets messy fast and makes it hard to go back.

the core

Before building any interface, Backtrack needed to answer two questions reliably: which files belong to this project, and what changed between two points in time. Each snapshot hashes every tracked file, and two snapshots can be diffed into added, removed and changed sets. A .backtrackignore file skips things like bounced stems, and a parser reads .als files for richer project summaries.

the app

The desktop app is built with Tauri. A setup wizard picks your project folders, and a background watcher and scanner take snapshots as you work. It's still in progress.