BitMatch

A free, open source alternative to ShotPut Pro, Silverstack, and Hedge. Offload camera cards to multiple drives, verify every byte with SHA-256, generate reports. For indie filmmakers, YouTubers, and small productions that don't want a $300/year subscription to copy files.

Download

Signed and notarized macOS build on the Releases page.

Requires macOS 15.5 or newer. For iPad, build from source (see below).

How It Works

📷 Camera Card
       │
       ▼
   BitMatch
    │    │
    ▼    ▼
  💾 A   💾 B

Plug in your card and drives. BitMatch figures out which is which (1TB+ are destinations, 512GB and under are sources). Hit copy. It writes to both backups at once, verifies with checksums, and generates a report.

What It Does

• Multi destination copy with SHA-256 verification
• Four verification modes: Quick (copy only, no checksum verification), Standard (SHA-256, the default), Thorough (multiple checksums), Paranoid (byte by byte plus MHL files)
• Camera detection for Sony, Canon, ARRI, RED, Blackmagic, Panasonic, Fujifilm, GoPro, DJI, Insta360, generic DCIM. Names backup folders after the camera. Autosorts A/B/C
• Folder compare for stuff you already copied
• PDF reports for producers who want documentation
• Transfer preflight on Mac and iPad shows the source, destinations, verification/report choices, and blockers before Start
• Truthful completion and reports count every result, including sidecars and failures, from the authoritative operation manifest
• Stable source verification rejects files that grow, shrink, or change identity while BitMatch reads them
• Safe by default: never modifies the source, never overwrites destination conflicts, copies through temp files, and verifies by default with SHA-256

Safety Model

Enforced by code

• Transfers, verification, and reports stay local; BitMatch has no cloud or analytics upload path.
• BitMatch reads the source and never writes to it.
• Destination conflicts never overwrite existing files. Checksum modes reuse an existing file only after local verification proves it matches.
• Source enumeration fails closed: missing roots, unreadable metadata, traversal errors, unsafe paths, and portable-name collisions stop the transfer.
• Hidden files and empty folders remain in the manifest because camera sidecar data matters.
• Verification rejects files that grow, shrink, or change identity while they are being read.
• Completion screens and reports derive their verdicts from the full authoritative result set, including sidecars and failed files.

Tested failures

Automated tests cover source mutation and truncation, I/O and metadata failures, destination conflicts, cancellation races, late result delivery, large manifests, multi-destination faults, and repeatable soak transfers. See docs/HARDWARE_TESTING.md for the physical-media procedure and fault harnesses.

Known limits

BitMatch is beta software from a one-person project. It has not been tested with every camera, filesystem, drive, hub, macOS release, or iPadOS release. Quick mode copies without checksum verification, so it cannot prove byte-for-byte equality. BitMatch is not a certified replacement for an established DIT workflow on regulated, insured, or high-budget productions.

Field procedure

Test BitMatch with disposable files before using it on a job. Keep the source card until every destination completes cleanly and you have reviewed the report. Inspect every failed file before clearing media, and maintain another independent copy of irreplaceable footage.

Who It's For

YouTube creators, short film folks, web commercials, Instagram ads, anyone who doesn't want to pay $300/year to copy files.

Not for big budget shows or union shoots with a full DIT cart. Use the enterprise tools, you can afford them.

License (MIT, but read this)

MIT licensed, do what you want. The spirit:

Please do fork it, use it, improve it, credit me. Please don't slap it on the App Store unchanged and charge for it. I can't legally stop you, but it's lazy. If you redistribute commercially, actually do something with it.

I might eventually put a compiled version on the App Store for the price of a coffee. Source stays here either way.

Building

Requirements: Xcode 16+, macOS 15.5+ for the Mac app. The iPad target currently builds for iPadOS 18.5+.

1. Open BitMatch.xcodeproj
2. Pick the BitMatch scheme for Mac or BitMatch-iPad for iOS
3. For iOS, set your development team in Signing and Capabilities
4. Build and run

Tests:

bash test.sh mac-test       # macOS unit and integration tests
bash test.sh mac-build      # macOS Debug build
bash test.sh ipad-build     # iPad simulator Debug build
bash test.sh ipad-test      # requires IOS_SIMULATOR_DESTINATION
bash test.sh release-builds # macOS and iPad Release builds

CI runs mac-test and ipad-build on every push and pull request. For the physical-media test procedure and the APFS fault/soak harnesses, see docs/HARDWARE_TESTING.md.

FAQ

Does it generate MHL files? Yes, in Paranoid mode.

Will it work with my camera? Probably. I personally shoot Sony, so that's the path I've beaten on. The other brands should work. Open an issue if they don't.

Does it work on iPad? Yes. It uses the Files app for external SSDs.

Why open source? So you can trust it. The code is here. Read it before you trust your footage to it.

Contributing

PRs welcome. If you contribute, build both the Mac and iPad schemes before submitting. Shared code means changes can break one platform silently.

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Built over six months of "I'll just add one more feature." MIT License, be a good person. See LICENSE for the legal text.