Overview
Sample Directories is where you point Sample Vault at the folders on your disk that contain your audio files. The app scans recursively — pick your top-level samples folder and it handles every subfolder. You don’t need to reorganize anything first; the AI understands your library regardless of how it’s structured.Sample Vault never deletes or moves your original files. They stay where they are on disk.
The Processing Pipeline
When you add a directory, Sample Vault works through six stages per sample. Each stage unlocks new capabilities, and stages run independently — a sample becomes usable the moment it crosses the relevant stage. Watch live progress in the Library status panel (click the activity indicator in the title bar).| # | Stage | Cost | What it unlocks |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Total | Free | Sample discovered on disk. Available in the Library and File Browser immediately. |
| 2 | Analyzed | Free | BPM, key, sound characteristics, and audio fingerprints. Enables tempo/key filtering, Sound Profile filters, and name/token search. |
| 3 | Classified | Free | Sample Vault recognizes what the audio sounds like. Enables Similar Samples and audio-based categorization. |
| 4 | Uploaded | Paid plans · storage cap | Sample backed up for cross-device access. |
| 5 | Enriched | Free | Genres, tags, creators, and sample-pack labels assigned to the sample. Enables genre/tag/pack filtering and gives the AI assistant deeper context. |
| 6 | Embedded | Free | Enables search by description — describe the sound, like dark gritty kick or airy vintage pad. |
How the stages are driven
The six stages are produced by three high-level passes plus an independent upload step:- Scan & analyse (local, free, automatic) covers Total and Analyzed. Runs whenever you add or rescan a directory.
- Indexing (needs an internet connection; counts against Library coverage per indexed sample) generates a directory-level catalog of allowed genres, moods, creators, and sample packs. Right-click a folder in the File Browser → Index Directory, or enable indexing per-directory in the Add Directory dialog.
- Enrichment (automatic and free once a directory is indexed) drives Classified, Enriched, and Embedded. Runs automatically after indexing; trigger manually with Enrich samples in the right-click menu. See Sample Enrichment for full details.
- Cloud upload (paid plans) is independent of indexing. Toggle per-directory in the Add Directory dialog or trigger via right-click → Upload samples to the cloud.
Adding Your First Directory
You can add a directory from multiple places:- File Browser: Click the ”+” button in the sidebar to add a directory directly from the file browser
- Settings: Go to Settings → Sample Directories and click “Add Sample Directory”
Select Folder
Select the folder containing your samples (this can be your main sample
library folder)
Configure Options
Choose processing options for the directory:
- Analysis speed: Choose how much CPU and RAM to use — Battery, Balanced, Fast, or Max. The dialog shows the estimated resource cost for each level
- Per-folder upload and indexing: The dialog shows a tree of the folders being added with checkboxes for cloud upload and AI indexing on each one. Toggle them individually and watch the running totals — directory count, file sizes, and the number of samples that will be drawn from your Library coverage update as you go so you can see exactly what the scan will use before committing
Monitoring Progress
Click the activity indicator in the title bar to open the Library status panel. It shows a live count for each of the six stages plus Failed, with tooltips explaining what each one unlocks. The panel also surfaces:- Cloud Sync state (paid plans)
- Recent activity from the Activity Log — directory scans, classification, enrichment runs, errors, retries
- A pause/resume control while processing is active, plus the Analysis Speed slider
When samples become available for each feature
- Library: as soon as the file is discovered (Total). Samples load from local disk — no upload, indexing, or enrichment needed.
- Sound Profile filters and tempo/key search: after Analyzed.
- Similar Samples: after Classified.
- Genre, tag, creator, and sample-pack filters: after Enriched.
- Search by description: after Embedded. Until then, the sample is still reachable by name and tokens.
- AI Assistant: works from the moment a sample is scanned, but its understanding deepens at each subsequent stage (filename context first, then audio features, then enriched labels).
- Search by name and tokens: available immediately after scanning, no AI required.
Managing Directories
- View Details: Click on any directory to see detailed processing information and a list of all files
- Rescan Directory: Use this when you’ve added new samples to an existing folder
- Retry Failed Files: If some files failed processing, you can retry them individually or all at once
- Delete Directory: Removes the directory from Sample Vault but doesn’t delete your actual files
Best Practices
- Use nested folders: You can add just your main samples folder - Sample Vault will process all subfolders
- Don’t worry about file organization: The AI will understand your samples regardless of how they’re organized
- Add highest-priority folders first so you can start working sooner
- Use meaningful folder and file names (e.g., kick_130bpm_Cm.wav) to improve early filtering before AI tags are ready
- Let large libraries process overnight: You can keep browsing and playing samples while analysis runs in the background
Troubleshooting
Why are my samples taking so long to process?
Processing time depends on several factors:- File size and number: Larger collections take longer
- Audio analysis: Each file needs tempo detection, key analysis, and audio fingerprinting
- Analysis speed: The default Balanced preset leaves headroom for your DAW. Bump it up in Settings > Processing (or in the System Status panel while analysis is running) to finish faster
- AI indexing queue: Indexing runs online, so it depends on the AI service being reachable
Some of my files show as ‘Failed’ - what happened?
Common causes:- Corrupted audio files: The file may be damaged
- Unsupported format: While Sample Vault supports most formats, some obscure codecs aren’t supported
My samples aren’t showing up in search results
Check that:- The samples have reached the right stage for the search you’re using — Analyzed for tempo/key tokens and Sound Profile filters, Enriched for genre/tag/creator filters, Embedded for search by description. Verify in the Library status panel.
- You’re searching in the right location (the Library vs AI Assistant)
- Your search terms match your sample content
- AI Sample Suggestions is enabled in preferences if you want AI-powered results