Card after card, no babysitting. Every shot copied, verified and out of the way.
Arm one project and leave the laptop at the side of the pitch. Each card you plug in is copied once, checked with SHA-256, skipped if it was already imported, and ejected when it is safe, so you are back on the sideline fast.
Your day with ShotGrab
A weekend tournament: three bodies, six games, a gallery due before you leave the venue.
Before kickoff: arm the project
You make a project for the tournament, point it to the SSD in your bag, and arm it. The folder layout sorts by date and camera, so there is nothing to type on the day.
Halftime: a card goes in
You plug in the full card and walk back to the touchline. ShotGrab starts on its own, hashes every file while it reads it, and gives each a final name only after the copy matches.
Changeover: two cards at once
If you have two readers, the second card copies at the same time. If you re-insert a card that was already copied, only the new shots are imported, so a swap in the middle of a quarter costs nothing.
Final whistle: the selection
Everything is on the SSD in date and camera folders, ready for Photo Mechanic or Lightroom Classic. If you want, ShotGrab opens the folder in them when the last card finishes.
Built for gaps you didn't choose
A schedule gives you a few minutes at a time. These are the parts that matter in them.
One read, no second pass
Each file is hashed while it is copied, so verification does not double the time. The card is read on a separate thread ahead of the hash and the write, in 8 MB blocks, so the slow part is the card itself, not ShotGrab waiting on the disk.
Nothing counts as done until the copy matches the card.
No doubles, no "-1" files
Duplicates are recognised by name, size, capture time and camera model, per project. Plug the same card in twice and the second pass is nearly instant, because nothing needs copying.
It never reads file contents to decide, so deciding is fast too.
Arm it and leave it
Pick the project once. Every card after that goes in without a question, and finished cards are ejected automatically. An armed project disarms after 15 idle minutes with a countdown in the last five, so a forgotten tab cannot import tomorrow's game into today's folder.
Read the full card routine in the sports workflow guide.
Questions people actually ask
How fast is it?
ShotGrab reads the card on its own thread, ahead of the hashing and the writing, in large blocks, so the card is the only bottleneck, as it should be. It reads each file once: the checksum is computed during the copy, not in a second pass. We have not published MB/s figures, because they depend on your card, reader and drive.
What if I plug in a card I have already copied?
Shots already in the project are skipped by name, size, capture time and camera model, with no duplicates and no "-1" files. A card you pulled halfway and put back only copies what is missing.
Can I copy two cards at once?
Yes, if they are in different readers. The second card gets a parallel lane into the same project. If you have more cards than readers, they go through one after another, with no clicking in between.
What does "armed" mean at the side of the pitch?
You choose a project once and ShotGrab waits for cards. Each one that you plug in is imported into that project without a question, unless your folder layout asks for an input, like a game or a client name. To avoid importing into the wrong job, a project that sits idle for 15 minutes disarms itself, with a countdown in the last 5.
Will it fit in the free plan?
The free plan copies up to 128GB every 14 days with every feature on. Whoever finishes a card is allowed to finish it: the check is made before a card starts. A busy tournament weekend can use that up quickly, so look at the plans if you shoot a lot.
How much does it cost?
It is free to start: every feature is unlocked, limited to 128GB of copied files every 14 days, no account and no card. Beyond that: Pass €5 for 30 days, Yearly €29, or Lifetime €39 until 30 November 2026, then €69. All are one-time payments, not subscriptions. Details on the pricing page.
Spend halftime on the next play, not on a progress bar.
Free to start, every feature included. Lifetime is €39 until 30 November 2026, then €69.
Download for Mac Lifetime €39 until 30 November 2026, then €69 · Pass €5 / 30 days · Yearly €29 · macOS 13+
ShotGrab