Changelog

Various fixes and improvements, including one that matters most: an encryption choice made in either window now applies to packs started from the other, and the choice is remembered.

Security

• Various security improvements.

The headline changes, in order: the menu-bar Quick Bay is now a full member of the app, packages can carry their own “how to open” note, and Crate opens in your system language. This entry folds in everything from 1.7.1 — if you are coming from 1.7.0, all of it is new to you.

Added

• Packages can now carry a short “how to open” note. A small text file beside each package says what it is and how to get the files back, so whoever receives it is never left holding a file they cannot open. On by default, and remembered separately for single packs and bulk archives.
• The one-time licence is now free in more markets. Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Cameroon, Côte d’Ivoire, Senegal and Angola move from a reduced price to no charge, joining the markets where Crate was already free.
• The website can email you the download link. On a phone the offer appears straight away; on a desktop once your download has started. Optional, and available in all seventeen languages.

Improved

• The Quick Bay is a full member of the app. It announces a finished pack or restore with your completion sound, Dock bounce and reveal; follows your theme and language; restores encrypted packages; and packs with the settings you chose. Its progress stays in step with whatever job is running, and when a pack is held up by a required update, a seat limit or a payment, it says so in your language and takes you to where it is resolved.
• Crate opens far more kinds of archives — disk images, Windows and Linux installers, and self-extracting .exe files, about thirty kinds added on top of the two dozen it already knew. A format it cannot open says so plainly, and documents that only look like archives are left alone.
• Buy a license now shows the price for your country — the in-app button opens the pricing page, which resolves your regional price instead of a single fixed figure.
• A wide sweep of interface, motion and keyboard polish. One motion language across every panel, card and control; dependable scrolling; dialogs and passphrase prompts that announce themselves and keep focus where a screen reader or the keyboard expects it; and Reduce Motion honoured throughout.

Fixed

• Crate now opens in your system language, picking up the language and regional formats your computer is set to — and the website’s contact and newsletter messages appear in your language too, in all seventeen translated locales.
• Packing keeps moving, whatever an audio encoder does. Floating-point and many-channel files compress on a single thread so they cannot hold up a pack, a tool that stops responding is stored uncompressed — still verified bit-exact — while the rest of the package finishes, and more audio compresses instead of being stored as-is. Packs also right-size themselves to the machine’s free memory.
• Archives and loose files open cleanly. A compressed tarball comes out as your files rather than as an inner .tar, and a batch of stems or bounces dropped in packs just like a session folder.
• Steadier from start to finish. A destination that fills part-way through a restore is handled cleanly, Cancel reaches a running restore and cleans up after itself, leftover working files are cleared thoroughly — including from a Temp folder you chose — while never touching a file another copy of Crate is writing, one finished job sends one notification, and every bundled tool’s licence is stated in the app.

Security

• Turning off anonymous usage analytics now also covers share links, and asking the website for a download link signs you up for release news only if you tick the box.
• An interrupted restore of an encrypted package leaves no decrypted working copy behind in a Temp folder you have chosen.
• Various further security improvements — licence recovery is scoped to the requesting customer, comprehensively sanctioned markets are excluded from purchase and from free licences, the website’s editor is served from our own servers, and how a purchase is linked to an installation is documented in the privacy policy.

The app now speaks 18 languages end to end, video-editor turnovers with embedded audio pack dramatically smaller while staying bit-exact, and finished jobs announce themselves with the notification, sound and reveal you choose.

Added

• Crate speaks your language. The app is fully translated into 18 languages, reaching every screen from packing and restore through the Quick Bay, Receive dock, sign-in, sharing and Settings. It offers your system language the first time it opens, you can change it any time in Settings, and right-to-left layouts are properly mirrored. This website's main pages are available in the same 18 languages.
• Video-editor turnovers (AAF and OMF) with embedded audio pack dramatically smaller. The audio inside the container is compressed losslessly and every file is still verified bit-exact on both ends. Applies at the Smaller and Smallest presets, with Standard storing these files as they are; a package that uses it needs this version or newer to restore.
• Crate tells you the moment a job is done. A new "When a job finishes" section in Settings gives you a desktop notification you can click to reveal the file, a completion sound with 16 cues including four recorded samples and room for your own ten-second audio, reveal on finish, and a badge and bounce on the app icon — each with a preview button.
• Exact clone, when you want every last file. Keep .DS_Store, Thumbs.db, desktop.ini and the rest through byte for byte instead of the usual skip of desktop clutter, fully keyboard operable — and exact-clone packages carry a compatibility stamp, so an older Crate asks for a free update rather than delivering without the system files.

Improved

• Every size-saving pass keeps whichever result is smaller. The passes that rewrite audio encode it both ways and keep the better of the two, so neither can hand you a file larger than a plain encode — worth 2.13 GB on measured sessions, and the 9.8% of files where it would not have helped keep the plain encode.
• Sessions with picture reference pack far faster. Delivery video (H.264, HEVC, VP9) is stored as it is rather than spending a minute of your time — on a 600 MB picture-reference session that pass alone took 58.5 seconds to save 2 MB. Intermediate formats such as DNxHD, ProRes and uncompressed video still compress.
• A size projection that keeps getting closer. Before packing, Crate measures how your files actually compress at the same settings the pack will use and counts the package's own overhead — recovery records and encryption included — so the projection tracks the delivered package closely across every preset and errs on the honest side. The free-space check asks for what a pack really needs, requiring substantially less headroom while still refusing a pack that genuinely cannot finish, and says plainly when the destination drive is tight.
• Easier to see and to drive from the keyboard. Colours across the app and this website meet WCAG 2.2 AA contrast in both themes, dialogs trap focus and hand it back where you left it, and keyboard navigation reaches every control. Duplicate detection steps aside for unusual files — a 7.1.4 Atmos bed, say — while the rest of the session de-duplicates as usual (worth about 7 MB on one measured session), and file and folder names with wildcards, accents or non-Latin scripts travel intact.

Security

• Backward-compatible restore, permanently guarded: packages made by any older version of Crate restore every file they contain, judged by the rules of the version that made them — proven by a bank of real packages from seven shipped versions that every build must restore bit-exactly before it can ship.
• Hardened file readers and container parsing: the AAF/OMF readers cap how much a malformed or malicious file can make Crate read, video-editor containers are parsed within strict, declared bounds, and any parser fault simply stores the file as-is.
• Verified delivery stays fail-closed: nothing unverified is delivered at its real path — a file that fails its check is set aside under a clearly marked name and the report says so — and encrypted packages are assembled out of sight, with only the finished, encrypted file at the path you chose.
• Stronger privacy and safer recovery: rebuilding a package without Crate covers every format Crate can write, handles 32-bit float and high-channel-count audio, and writes only inside the destination folder you point it at; visitors in the EU and UK are asked before any analytics or advertising script loads; and this site serves its fonts and its country lookup from our own servers.

Fixed

• Sharper judgement about system clutter: a file whose name merely begins with .Trash-, .nfs or .fuse_hidden is your content and packs like anything else; only the exact machine-generated shapes are skipped.
• A re-pack always leaves you with a package — whether it succeeds, is cancelled, fails, or the machine loses power partway through — and a split package is never delivered incomplete: if the parts on disk do not match what the package declares, Crate stops and says so.
• Reports that separate the categories: files that could not be re-checked are listed by name, apart from damaged files; a file that cannot be read when checked is reported as unconfirmed, never as damaged and never counted as verified; and a stopped re-container step reports exactly how many archives were sealed.
• Various further fixes: uppercase video files ship in the fast lane on every platform, completion cues default correctly for early preview profiles while a cue you chose yourself is always kept, and the restore result's actions sit on one row.

Reliability at any window size and around re-packing: every screen stays reachable in a small window, and a cancelled or failed pack always leaves your previous package intact.

Fixed

• Results screens scroll reliably on macOS in small windows, action buttons wrap cleanly, every control stays reachable, and compact window sizes survive relaunch.
• Re-packing over an existing crate keeps your original safe — a cancelled or failed pack puts the previous crate and its recovery files back — and recovery-file cleanup only touches the set Crate created, leaving your own similarly-named files alone.
• Split packages come out complete, damaged downloads are identified precisely, and restore refuses package entries that collide with Crate's own report and instruction filenames.

• smaller Up to 20% smaller packages — Crate now spots repeated audio at a much finer grain, so alternate mixes, comped takes and cleaned-up duplicates of the same performance are stored once instead of many times, and Smallest goes finer still for the last few percent — every byte still verified, and packages still open in any current Crate
• new Searchable history, one-click activation and batch summaries — find any past pack by name or location and export your full history to CSV, unlock packing straight from the activation link in your purchase email, and finish a batch on one screen that lists every package with its size, savings and verification
• new Smoother restores and unlocking — drop any single volume of a multi-part package and Crate rejoins the set automatically, and one passphrase opens every encrypted package that shares it without holding up the queue
• improved A window you can size to fit — drag any corner and the layout fills the space at the same text size, it reopens the way you left it, the size preview is faster and reliably tracks the real result across every setting, and Settings fits on one screen; packages also carry less bookkeeping, so previews stay snappy on huge sessions

• new Zipped sessions shrink too — when a folder you drop into Crate contains a .zip or .rar, Crate opens that archive, compresses the audio inside it losslessly, and rebuilds it bit-perfect as a single .crate when you restore
• improved Truer size estimates — Crate probe-encodes a sample of your files before packing, so the projected package size closely matches the real result
• improved Flexible seats, stronger recovery records and a faster launch — release a license seat from any computer and reclaim it elsewhere; a damaged package rebuilds reliably from its PAR2 repair data; and the window opens fully rendered, with temporary working files always cleaned up afterwards

• smaller Smaller by default — the audio de-duplication engine is now on for every pack, and the new Smallest preset adds cross-stem and inter-channel coding for the last few percent: measured ~16% smaller packages on real sessions, every byte still verified on both ends
• new Every package is now signed — packs carry a signature from your install’s own key; the receiver verifies it and shows the sender’s fingerprint, so known senders are recognized on sight and tampering in transit is rejected outright
• improved One damaged file cannot spoil a restore — everything that verifies is delivered, anything that doesn’t is quarantined under a clearly-marked name and listed in the report, and results report exactly what was verified with real counts on success and failure. Packages also declare the features they use, so an older Crate asks you to update rather than misreading a file
• security Hardened verification gates and seat management — verification is fail-closed end to end, a permanent adversarial test suite (corruption, tampering, forgery) guards every release, and only the license holder can view or free machines

• faster Much faster packing — the engine rebuilt to run fully in parallel: the deepest-compression pass that could take 20+ minutes on a large session now finishes in well under a minute, and peak memory dropped roughly 10× — so big multitrack sessions pack quickly without choking your machine, with bit-for-bit identical output
• smaller Even smaller packages — session backups and project files are compressed together with cross-file de-duplication, squeezing more out of backup-heavy sessions with zero quality loss
• new Redesigned bulk queue and studio licenses — track a whole batch in a two-pane console with live progress, where you reorder, edit, retry or cancel any job; and one key covers up to 12 machines, managed at crate.fluxcode.studio/seats
• improved Self-healing transfers and tidier splits — a damaged download auto-repairs from its built-in recovery data during restore; split parts are named …part001of003.crate, carry the Crate icon, and are sized to match the service you pick, so a “2 GB” split lands under the limit; and your free first pack is offered right in the main window

• new Re-verify any time — re-checksum a restored session against the original on demand, with live progress, so you can prove on disk that every byte still matches
• new Self-healing transfers — a damaged or partly-corrupted download auto-repairs from its built-in recovery data (PAR2) during restore, so a flaky transfer still lands perfectly
• fidelity True bit-for-bit fidelity and a smarter queue — “Verified” now means a true bit-for-bit twin, with full macOS resource forks & extended attributes captured and restored, confirmed identical down to the sample; drop more folders while one is packing and they line up without disturbing the running job; and restored folders show their real size in Finder right away

• new Earn & gift free packs — unpack a Crate a collaborator sent you and instantly earn another free pack; licensed users can gift a pack to a friend with a share link
• ux Fairer regional pricing — purchasing-power rates by country, now tax-inclusive (VAT) across the EU & UK
• ux “Back to Crate” reopens the app straight from the web, and license issues are handled gracefully — unpacking always keeps working

• new Smaller than RAR — a new audio-aware engine (cross-file dedup + cross-stem residual coding) squeezes .crate files dramatically smaller on real sessions — and it's still completely lossless and bit-for-bit verified. Nothing packs audio tighter
• speed Best-by-default compression — the “Smaller” preset (audio dedup) is now the default and beats RAR on loop-heavy sessions; the slider is simplified to 3 clear levels
• ux Trustworthy progress — pack & restore now move smoothly and honestly with no jumps, plus an in-app “what's new” note on update

• new Pack from Finder — right-click any folder and choose “Pack with Crate” to pack it on the spot, or “Unpack with Crate” on a .crate to restore it. Installed automatically; select several items and Crate handles them all
• new Menu-bar Quick Bay — a drop target that's always there. Drop folders to pack instantly, with a reorderable queue that runs jobs one at a time and live progress on the main screen
• new Multi-folder packing and a job queue — pack a batch of folders as one bundle or a separate .crate each, drop a mix of folders and archives and Crate sorts packing from unpacking, and see what's running and what's next with one-click cancel
• ux Packing the same source again writes a new numbered .crate instead of overwriting the previous one

• speed Large sessions pack dramatically faster — the final packaging step now seals in a single pass. Restore is unchanged and still byte-for-byte verified
• fix Package preview shows the true saved-space figure
• ux Share message simplified — recipients just download Crate (receiving is always free)

• speed Much faster packing — every stage now uses all your CPU cores, including the final package seal, and audio encoding/verification scale past a fixed cap of 8 cores
• speed Packaging compression tuned for speed with negligible size change; restore stays byte-for-byte identical
• ux Downloads now include the version in the filename (e.g. Crate-macOS-V1.0.9.dmg)

• fix Large sessions with thousands of files now pack reliably, however large the project

• fix Lossless container-split engine — uncompressed PCM (WAV, AIFF, CAF, RF64/BW64, Wave64) now compresses by separating the file container from its audio samples, fixing rare round-trip verification failures on Pro Tools and other DAW sessions with non-standard container bytes
• reliability Malformed or truncated audio files degrade to safe verbatim storage instead of interrupting a pack
• ux “Try again” after an error now keeps your selected session — no need to re-add files
• quality Thousands of randomized container layouts (including non-ASCII / emoji filenames) verified byte-for-byte identical after pack and restore

• new Beta crash & error reporting — genuine app errors are reported automatically (consent-based, GDPR-friendly) with a clear in-app notice
• ux Environment problems (e.g. low disk space) now show a calm, actionable message instead of a generic failure
• branding Branded license-key and recovery emails with logo and HTML layout
• fix Region-aware pricing aligned with checkout discount codes

• new Share modal — share Crate via X, Facebook, email, or copy a referral link directly from the app
• new Encrypted file preview — .crate files with a passphrase now show a lock icon and hint instead of a blank pane
• ux Distinct progress phase labels — Scanning, Checksumming, Encoding audio, Verifying, Sealing package, Splitting, Writing parity
• fix .DS_Store files verify cleanly during pack and restore
• fix macOS dock icon now displays as a proper squircle (regenerated at 1024×1024)

• ux Consistent nav bar across all site pages
• fix Receiver download link now correctly downloads the full app
• seo OG image converted to PNG for social previews, email protection, structured data, clean URLs
• ux Credits and copyright entity name updates across site and app

• new Referral sharing — FRIEND20 discount code in share messages and site
• new Contact form, license recovery, and newsletter signup on purchase
• new Documentation page with full user guide
• ux New icon: neon crate cube with 80% fill for better macOS dock presence
• ux Pack options layout overhaul
• ux Compression label now reads "less to upload" / "less data"

• ux Simplified pack options — cleaner interface for everyday use
• fix GitHub links corrected
• ux Post-purchase thank-you page for Polar redirect
• ux Clean URLs enabled across the site (no .html suffixes)

• infra Release hosting moved to Cloudflare R2 CDN for faster downloads
• legal Proprietary license finalized

• new Initial release of Crate — lossless compression of consolidated DAW sessions (FLAC + WavPack encoding) into a single .crate package with manifest, checksums and optional par2 parity
• new End-to-end SHA-256 verification for a byte-for-byte identical restore, Age encryption with passphrase protection, and automatic file splitting for large sessions
• new Package peek — preview the file tree and metadata before restoring — plus a built-in auto-updater and a free companion app (Crate Receiver) for unpacking without a license
• new Cross-platform: macOS (universal), Windows (x64), Linux (x86_64)