Frame.io Drive puts Frame.io projects directly on your desktop

Frame.io Drive lets you mount projects directly to your desktop, giving creative apps live access to your media without downloading anything first.

Adobe has introduced Frame.io Drive, a new desktop application that lets you mount your Frame.io projects directly to your computer and work with your media as if it's stored locally. That means no more waiting for downloads or syncing to take place, just live access to media without downloading anything first.

Once mounted, footage and assets appear in Finder or Explorer (in other words, this is cross-platform and works on mac and Windows) and behave like local files. Editors can open footage directly in Premiere, designers access layered assets in Photoshop, and motion designers work in After Effects, all without waiting for files to transfer. Local caching keeps playback smooth as media streams on demand and third party applications are also supported.

Mounted Storage

Frame.io Drive is built on Frame.io Mounted Storage, a new architecture for real-time access to large media files. The streaming technology is provided by Suite Studios, a Boulder, CO-based cloud-native file streaming company. All media remains within Frame.io and is not shared with third parties.

The app supersedes the Frame.io Transfer app, carrying forward its upload and download capabilities while adding the new Mounted Storage functionality.

For distributed teams, everyone mounts the same project and works from one source. Media, metadata, permissions, and project structure are all centralized, creating a single source of truth across the production.

Interestingly, the feature shifts Frame.io's position forward in the production workflow. Previously, teams brought finished work to Frame.io for review. With Drive now active, the platform now can serve as the home for assets from first ingest through final delivery.

Pricing and availability 

Mounted Storage is included with every Frame.io account. Frame.io Drive and Mounted Storage are rolling out now, with Enterprise customers first; all other plan tiers will follow, though the timing is yet to be specified.