Supported Formats
Producer Dashboard supports a range of file formats across audio playback, project file import, and album artwork. Here is a complete breakdown of what you can use.
Audio formats
Section titled “Audio formats”These audio formats can be played back in the waveform player and processed by the audio analysis engine for BPM and key detection.
| Format | Extension | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| WAV | .wav | Uncompressed PCM audio. The most common bounce/stem format. Full quality, larger file sizes. |
| MP3 | .mp3 | Compressed lossy audio. Widely compatible. Good for reference listens and sharing. |
| FLAC | .flac | Compressed lossless audio. Full quality at smaller file sizes than WAV. |
| AIFF | .aiff | Uncompressed audio format common on macOS and in Logic Pro workflows. |
| M4A | .m4a | AAC-encoded audio in an MPEG-4 container. Common for iTunes and Apple Music exports. |
| OGG | .ogg | Vorbis-encoded open-source audio format. Less common in music production but fully supported. |
Playback engine
Section titled “Playback engine”Audio playback uses the Web Audio API built into the Electron app’s Chromium engine. This means playback is browser-native — no external codecs or plugins are required. If Chromium can decode the format, Producer Dashboard can play it.
Sample rates and bit depths
Section titled “Sample rates and bit depths”The player handles standard sample rates (44.1 kHz, 48 kHz, 88.2 kHz, 96 kHz) and common bit depths (16-bit, 24-bit, 32-bit float). High-resolution audio files play without issues, though they are output at the sample rate of your system’s audio device.
Which format should you use?
Section titled “Which format should you use?”For your main working files, use whatever format your DAW exports. WAV and AIFF are the most common for production bounces. If you are importing reference tracks or files from collaborators, MP3 and M4A work fine for review purposes.
FLAC is a good choice if you want lossless quality at reduced file sizes — useful for large libraries where disk space matters.
Project file formats
Section titled “Project file formats”Producer Dashboard recognises DAW project files and links them to your track groups. Project files are not played back as audio — they are associated with a track group so you have a reference to the original session.
| Format | Extension | DAW |
|---|---|---|
| Ableton Live Set | .als | Ableton Live |
| Logic Pro Project | .logicx | Logic Pro |
| FL Studio Project | .flp | FL Studio |
| Pro Tools Session | .ptx | Pro Tools |
| Cubase Project | .cpr | Cubase |
How project files work
Section titled “How project files work”When you import a project file, Producer Dashboard extracts the song name from the file name and matches it to an existing track group. The project file path is stored in the track group’s metadata fields (project_file_path, project_file_name, project_file_extension).
This means you can see at a glance which of your tracks have an associated DAW session, and where that session file lives on disk. The grid can display a has project file indicator, making it easy to spot tracks that are ready for further work in your DAW.
Project files are not opened or played within Producer Dashboard — they serve as a reference link. To open a project, navigate to the file path in your DAW.
Supported DAW workflows
Section titled “Supported DAW workflows”The project file recognition works with the most common DAWs used in music production. If you use a DAW not listed above, the files will still import as regular files, but they may not be automatically recognised as project files with special handling.
Image formats (album artwork)
Section titled “Image formats (album artwork)”Producer Dashboard supports image files for track and album artwork. These images appear as thumbnails in the grid, detail modal, and share pages.
| Format | Extension | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| PNG | .png | Lossless image format. Good for artwork with text or sharp edges. |
| JPEG | .jpg, .jpeg | Compressed image format. The most common choice for album artwork. |
| WebP | .webp | Modern compressed format. Smaller file sizes than JPEG at similar quality. |
Artwork display
Section titled “Artwork display”Artwork images are uploaded and stored in Cloudflare R2 storage. They display as square thumbnails in most views and at a larger size in the detail modal and share pages.
For best results, use square images at a minimum of 500x500 pixels. Larger images (1000x1000 or above) look better on high-DPI displays.
Formats not supported
Section titled “Formats not supported”A few formats that sometimes come up in music production workflows are not currently supported for playback:
| Format | Why |
|---|---|
.mid / .midi | MIDI files contain note data, not audio. They cannot be played as audio without a synthesiser. |
.rex / .rx2 | ReCycle loop format. Not natively supported by the Web Audio API. |
.sd2 | Sound Designer II. Legacy format rarely used in modern workflows. |
If you need to work with these formats, convert them to WAV or MP3 before importing.
File size considerations
Section titled “File size considerations”There are no hard file size limits imposed by the app for audio files. However, keep in mind:
- Larger files take longer to import and analyse. A 10-minute WAV at 96 kHz / 24-bit is a large file. Import and analysis will take proportionally longer.
- Waveform data is pre-computed. Once a file’s waveform is generated, playback and display are fast regardless of file size.
- Storage is local. Audio files live on your machine. Make sure you have enough disk space for your library, especially if you work primarily with uncompressed formats.
Format detection
Section titled “Format detection”Producer Dashboard identifies file formats by their extension. When you import files, the app reads the extension to determine how to handle the file:
- Audio extensions (.wav, .mp3, .flac, .aiff, .m4a, .ogg) are processed as playable tracks.
- Project extensions (.als, .logicx, .flp, .ptx, .cpr) are linked as project file references.
- Image extensions (.png, .jpg, .jpeg, .webp) are handled as artwork.
- Other extensions are imported as generic files associated with the track group.
If a file has an incorrect or missing extension, it may not be handled properly. Ensure your files have the correct extensions before importing.
Related
Section titled “Related”- The Waveform Player — playback controls and waveform display
- Audio Analysis — BPM and key detection for supported audio formats
- Versions & Stems — managing multiple files per track
- Musical Attributes — key, BPM, genre, and mood metadata