> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://academy.shade.inc/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://academy.shade.inc/assets/copying-content-between-drives.md).

# Copying & Moving Content

## Copying within a Drive

You can duplicate a file or an entire folder by right-clicking the file/folder you’d like to duplicate and selecting **Copy > Make a Copy**. Please note that metadata and comments are not carried over.

## Copying between Drives

You can copy files and folders from one drive to another directly in the Shade app:

1. Right-click the file or folder and select **Copy > Copy File** (or **Copy > Copy Folder**). To copy several items at once, select them, right-click, and choose **Copy**. You can also press `Cmd/Ctrl + C`.
2. Open the destination drive and go to the folder you want to copy into.
3. Right-click the destination folder and select **Paste**, or press `Cmd/Ctrl + V`.

To copy between drives:

* You need edit access to both drives.
* Both drives must be in the same storage region. If they aren't, Shade shows **Cannot paste across drives in different regions**. Use the ShadeFS method below instead.

### Copying between drives in different regions

If your drives are in different storage regions, you can copy content through the ShadeFS mount.

Before you begin, your cache space must be double the size of the amount of footage you want to transfer. You can change this from your [workspace settings](https://academy.shade.inc/shadefs/managing-the-shadefs-cache). For example, if you want to move 50GB between your drives, you should have at least 100GB of cache space reserved.

1. Mount the drive with the source content
2. Mount the drive with the destination folder
3. Copy the folder directly from your file explorer
4. Monitor upload status from the Shade app

<figure><img src="https://450378260-files.gitbook.io/~/files/v0/b/gitbook-x-prod.appspot.com/o/spaces%2FUNq6h2Bfw7aAK0J2ffnZ%2Fuploads%2F5VF5rdPNHT1Zs5Arrz97%2FCopying%20Files%20Between%20Drives.gif?alt=media&#x26;token=d05e4cd0-547b-4c0b-b666-65cd380c8bc6" alt=""><figcaption></figcaption></figure>

### Copies greater than your cache space

If you need to copy more content than your cache space can support, consider doing a full folder download by right-clicking on the folder and downloading, and then complete a full folder uploading by dragging and dropping the folder into the new drive.

### Copies greater than 5TB

If you need to copy more than 5TB of assets between drives, we recommend setting up an automated job using Rclone, a third party tool designed for transferring large amounts of data between remotes.\
\
<https://academy.shade.inc/guides/mass-migrating-data-to-shade-via-rclone>

## Moving Assets

You can move assets into folders by simply dragging and dropping them.

The most common reason files or folders fail to move is a naming conflict. For example, if you try moving `Asset.png` from `/Edits` to `/Ready` and a file named `Asset.png` already exists in `/Ready`, the move will fail. The same applies to folders.

Before moving assets, make sure the destination folder doesn’t already contain a file or folder with the same name.

### Moving to another drive

1. Right-click the files or folders you want to move and select **Move**.
2. Under **Destination drive**, choose the drive you want to move them to.
3. Choose the destination folder and click **Move**.
4. Confirm by clicking **Move anyway**.

Comments and custom metadata do not carry over when you move items to another drive. You need edit access to both drives. Drives you can't move to are listed under **Incompatible drives** with the reason, for example a different storage region, or moving between Active Storage, Vault, and BYOS drives.


---

# Agent Instructions
This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com.

## Querying This Documentation
If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question.

Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters:

```
GET https://academy.shade.inc/assets/copying-content-between-drives.md?ask=<question>&goal=<user_goal>
```

`ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language.
`goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. Sharing it helps GitBook give you a better, more relevant answer. A goal is most helpful when it describes the outcome the user wants rather than restating the question. For example, with `ask=how do I create an API token`, a goal like `automate deployments from our CI pipeline` lets GitBook tailor the answer to that use case.

The response will contain a direct answer to the question and relevant excerpts and sources from the documentation.

Use this mechanism when the answer is not explicitly present in the current page, you need clarification or additional context, or you want to retrieve related documentation sections.