Guide
Search an offline or archived drive.
Don’t dig out ten drives to find one shot. Index them once, then search from the couch.
In short: Plug the drive in once and add it to Sift. After it’s indexed, the drive can stay on the shelf: its clips remain searchable, and a result tells you which drive to reconnect when you need the original. You can hide offline media with one click.
No editor needed. Sift works on its own as a desktop app on Mac and Windows: search, preview, build Selects and share footage by link without opening an editor. The editor panels are optional.
Why archives are hard to search
Finder can’t see a drive that isn’t mounted, project search only covers what you imported, and the drive’s label may be all you remember.
What you can do
- Index each archive drive once; Sift keeps the index on your computer.
- Search Visual or Spoken like normal, across live and offline drives.
- Filter to offline media to see only what’s on shelved drives, or hide it to focus on what’s connected.
- Results on a drive that isn’t connected are marked Offline. Reconnect that drive to open or copy the original.
Keep your archive findable
- Label drives physically and keep the label the same as the volume name.
- Re-index a drive after you add new footage.
- Keep copies: an index finds footage, it doesn’t back it up.
Limits
You can only search what was indexed while the drive was connected. Footage you never indexed isn’t searchable until you plug it in.
Step by step.
- Plug in the drive
Connect it and add its top folder in Sift.
- Let it finish
Sift indexes in the background; search what’s ready.
- Disconnect it
Eject normally. The clips stay searchable.
- Search later
Find the moment; the Offline badge tells you to reconnect that drive to open the original.
Questions
Do offline results play?
You can find the clip and see where it is. To open the original, reconnect the drive.
How big an archive can I index?
It depends on your computer and storage. Start with one drive and see how it behaves.
Does Sift back up my footage?
No. It builds a search index; it doesn’t copy or protect your files.
Updated 2026-10-22
Keep reading.
Try it on your own footage.
Free for 3 days or 25 searches. No card. Then $99 a year for one computer, Mac or Windows. Everything in Sift, including the optional editor panels and one free link to share footage.