Resolve is very good at editing and deliberately plain at ingest. There is no "copy this card and add it to my project" button. What you do have is a handful of ways to bring a folder into the Media Pool, and the difference between them is how much of the job you still do by hand.
The short version: copy and verify your cards first, into one folder tree per project. Then either import that folder as bins and use Resync Media Files when new clips arrive, or script the import. Doing it in the other order is how you end up editing from a card.
Step zero: import from a folder, never from the card
Whatever you automate, the source should be a copy on your drive, not the camera card. Resolve links to media where it is. Import from the card and the project depends on a card you are about to put back in the camera. Copy first, verify the copy, then point Resolve at the copy.
Option 1: import by hand (Media Storage or Cmd+I)
On the Media page, browse to the folder in Media Storage and drag it into the Media Pool, or use File › Import › Media (Cmd+I). It works, and for a single card it is fine. Its weakness is that it is a snapshot: nothing in the Media Pool changes when more clips land in that folder tomorrow. If you want subfolders kept as bins, there is a specific menu option, covered in our guide on how to import folders as bins in DaVinci Resolve.
Option 2: let Resolve watch the folder (Resync Media Files)
Resolve 19.1 added the closest thing it has to a watch folder. A bin that mirrors a folder on disk can be re-scanned so new files appear in it. Run it by hand from the bin's right-click menu, or switch on the automatic version and the bin keeps itself up to date. Blackmagic's 19.1 notes describe the automatic option as suited to cloud-synced media and to files added to a folder over time. The full explanation is in its own article, including the limits.
Option 3: script the import
Resolve has a Python API. With it, a few lines can open a project, create bins and import files, without anyone touching the Media page. The requirements are real: external scripting needs DaVinci Resolve Studio, and you must set Preferences › System › General › External scripting using to Local. A minimal sketch:
import sys
sys.path.append("/Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/"
"DaVinci Resolve/Developer/Scripting/Modules")
import DaVinciResolveScript as dvr
resolve = dvr.scriptapp("Resolve")
project = resolve.GetProjectManager().GetCurrentProject()
pool = project.GetMediaPool()
pool.SetCurrentFolder(pool.GetRootFolder())
pool.ImportMedia(["/Volumes/Archive/Wedding/2026-10-24/A-cam"])
Two things trip people up. scriptapp("Resolve") returns None
when Resolve is not running or the scripting preference is not on Local, with no
further explanation. And in our tests ImportMedia does not descend into
subfolders: given a folder that holds only subfolders it returns an empty list. To mirror
a folder tree you create a bin per folder with AddSubFolder and import the
files into each one.
Option 4: don't run the card and the project separately
The part that makes automation fragile is not Resolve, it is everything upstream. A
script that expects /Volumes/Archive/Wedding/2026-10-24/A-cam breaks the day
the camera numbers a card differently or a clip lands one folder over. The most reliable
setups make the folder layout predictable first, so the import step has nothing to
guess. Our guide to
folder structure covers what that looks like.
Which one should you use?
- One card, one afternoon: import by hand and move on.
- Footage that keeps arriving over days: a bin that mirrors its folder, resynced when new clips show up.
- Many projects, or you want it hands-free: a script, or an app that runs one for you.
Frequently asked questions
Can DaVinci Resolve import footage automatically?
Partly. Since Resolve 19.1 a bin can follow a folder with Automatically Resync Media Files, and the Python scripting API can create bins and import files without anyone touching the Media page.
Do I need DaVinci Resolve Studio to script an import?
Yes. External scripting needs Resolve Studio, with Preferences > System > General > External scripting using set to Local.
Does the scripting API import subfolders as bins?
Not by itself. In our tests ImportMedia doesn't descend into subfolders, so a script has to create a bin per folder. To do it by hand, see how to import folders as bins in DaVinci Resolve.
Should I import from the SD card or from a copy?
From a verified copy on your drive. Resolve links to files where they are, so importing from a card ties the project to a card you are about to reuse.
Or skip all of it: ShotGrab does this by itself
Everything above is a manual step, or a script you have to write and keep working. If you'd rather not, ShotGrab (a Mac app that copies SD cards with SHA-256 verification) has an automation for exactly this. Switch on DaVinci Resolve in Settings › Automations, tick it for the project, and when a card has finished importing ShotGrab opens Resolve, finds or creates the Resolve project, and imports the footage folder as bins that mirror your subfolders. The first bin is the folder itself, so Resync Media Files has something to work with on the next card.
It needs Resolve Studio and External scripting using: Local in Resolve's preferences, the same requirements as any script. ShotGrab doesn't change another app's settings; it reads them and tells you what to fix.