Media Trust Tools

Four macOS apps and a CLI tool for media integrity — copy, verify, and prove it.

Current version: v2.2 (Build 14)

Current CopyTrust focus on this branch:

• relay-chain copy workflow with ordered destinations and Queue Relay Chain
• inline relay-chain callout with speed-ordering tip; right-click context menu on destination rows
• real drive names in relay queue rows; volume name auto-populated for new destinations
• read-only volumes blocked from destination role in volume browser and pool
• inline expand panel on queued rows for alias editing and path reveal without loading
• edit relay chain via Edit button — removes all legs and restores workspace for reordering
• done button in progress sheet after cancel (alongside resume); MHL write failure guidance
• Review & Verify promoted to primary after a cancelled session; End Session in main window
• Reset Session always wipes the full queue; Return to Queue button for loaded sessions
• camera card source detection hardening (Canon, RED, Arri, read-only badge)
• copy speed summary in session receipts with per-leg comparison and JSON speed fields
• persistent per-volume device speed history with trend tracking
• reliable artifact writes to exFAT, SMB, and NFS destinations
• session and per-copy log provenance headers (app, macOS, hostname, session ID)
• hostname in all artifact formats: session manifest JSON, receipt JSON, and plaintext receipt

External Codec Test Setup

For the active v2.2 (Build 8) branch:

• Enable ExifTool metadata extraction if you want richer metadata for unsupported/professional formats.
• Enable External thumbnail codecs only if you want real preview thumbnails for formats the built-in AVFoundation path cannot decode.
• Typical tested setup:
  • ExifTool for MXF, R3D, MPEG-2 family, and sparse-video metadata
  • ffmpeg for MXF, m2v, m2t, m2ts, and vob contact-sheet thumbnails
  • REDline for R3D contact-sheet thumbnails
• Typical operator flow in Settings:
  • open Settings > External Codecs
  • enable ExifTool metadata extraction
  • use Auto-Detect or Browse… to select exiftool
  • enable External thumbnail codecs
  • use Auto-Detect or Browse… to select ffmpeg and/or REDline
  • leave other tools off unless you are explicitly testing them

Current tested expectations on this branch:

• MXF: ExifTool metadata + ffmpeg thumbnails
• MPEG-2 family (m2v, m2t, m2ts, vob): ExifTool metadata + ffmpeg thumbnails
• R3D: ExifTool metadata + REDline thumbnails
• WMV and other sparse/no-preview formats: better metadata and clearer no-preview reasons even when no thumbnail is created
• Stable v2.1.8 Build 14: ExifTool metadata only, unsupported-format placeholders still expected

Version History

CopyTrust

v2.2 Build 14 (active feature-test branch: codex/v2.2) — Edit Relay Chain: each relay chain queue row now shows an Edit button instead of up/down arrows. Clicking Edit on any leg removes all legs from the queue and restores the source and destinations to the workspace in their original order for reordering. Reorder destinations with the up/down arrows and click Queue Relay Chain again. Edit is disabled once any leg has started.

v2.2 Build 13 — Reset Session now unconditionally clears all queued sessions with no exceptions for loaded sessions. A new Return to Queue button appears when a queued session is loaded but copy has not started — it puts the session back in the queue and clears the workspace without touching other queued items.

v2.2 Build 11 — Review & Verify is now the primary blue button after a cancelled session; Start This Session is demoted to grey. End Session now appears directly in the main action bar after any run (completed or cancelled) so operators can close without being forced to open the summary sheet first.

v2.2 Build 10 — Done button added to the progress sheet after cancel, alongside Resume. When MHL writing fails but file data was copied and hash-verified, the destination row now shows a green "Hash Verified" header and an orange warning ("Files are safe. Use Drop Verify to create a new MHL.") rather than a red Failed state.

v2.2 Build 9 — Inline relay-chain callout appears above destination rows when one source and two or more destinations are loaded. Right-click context menu on destination rows (Queue Relay Chain, Reveal in Finder, Remove Destination). Relay queue rows show actual card and volume names and Step N of M labels. Destination alias auto-populated from macOS volume name. Read-only volumes blocked from destination role in volume browser and pool. Inline expand panel on queued rows for alias editing and path reveal. Load → review bug fixed to prevent accidental queue duplication.

v2.2 Build 8 (branch: codex/v2.2) — Hostname is now present in all three artifact formats: "hostname" added as a top-level field in both SESSION_MANIFEST_*.json and ingest_*.json, and a Host : line added to the plaintext ingest_*.txt receipt. All three formats (session log, manifest JSON, receipt JSON + plaintext) now carry a consistent provenance block: app name, version, build, macOS version, hostname, and session ID. Drop Verify manifests receive hostname through the same code path.

Drop Verify

• Since v2.1.8, Drop Verify has become much more reliable about partial results, logging, export behavior, and unsupported-format handling.
• v2.1.8 brought stronger cancel/export behavior, clearer logs, and better contact-sheet handling for professional and unsupported formats.
• v2.1.9 improved shared trust plumbing: cleaner MHL metadata, better source-path recording, stronger preview/log visibility, and richer external-codec coverage shared with CopyTrust for formats such as MXF and R3D.
• Practical summary: Drop Verify is now a stronger one-folder trust-artifact generator with better manifests, better logs, and better behavior on difficult media.

MHL Verify

• The biggest gains since v2.1.8 and v2.1.9 are shared MHL correctness and interoperability rather than large UI changes.
• MHLs written by the suite now preserve source path and source identity more accurately and no longer treat pre-existing .mhl receipts as media entries.
• Practical summary: MHL verification across suite-generated manifests should now be more trustworthy and easier to compare with other MHL-capable tools.

Folder Copy Compare

• Since v2.1.8, Folder Copy Compare has picked up shared trust fixes plus a newer usability pass in v2.2.
• v2.2 (Build 1) is the major recent step here: true Quick Scan default behavior, better scan-mode consistency, separate source / target rescans, safer replace-copy behavior, reveal actions for selected files, and more reliable Copy All Missing flow.
• Practical summary: Folder Copy Compare is now a cleaner and faster sanity-check and repair tool for confirming whether a copy worked and fixing obvious gaps.

mhl-tool (CLI)

• The main changes since v2.1.8 and v2.1.9 are shared CopyCore MHL improvements rather than a large CLI workflow redesign.
• The CLI now benefits from the same cleaner source metadata handling and .mhl entry filtering used by the apps.
• Practical summary: mhl-tool now produces cleaner, more interoperable manifests that better match the current app-side trust workflow.