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How to export XML from Final Cut Pro

Select the project in the browser (or click in the timeline), choose File › Export XML…, pick a metadata view and an XML version, and click Save. Final Cut Pro writes an .fcpxml file, or an .fcpxmld bundle when you choose FCPXML 1.10 or later. Final Cut Pro and DaVinci Resolve import it; Premiere Pro needs it converted to Final Cut Pro 7 XML first.

  • Menus from official docs
  • Checked 2026-11-12
Convert FCPXML for Premiere Pro

Step by step

How to export XML from Final Cut Pro

Final Cut Pro 10.6 to 12.4 for Mac. Menu names checked against Apple’s Final Cut Pro 12.4 User Guide.

Export the XML in Final Cut Pro

  1. 1In the browser, select what to export: a library, one or more events, projects or clips. To export the project that is open, click in the timeline to make it active.
  2. 2Choose File › Export XML…
  3. 3Type a name in the Save As field and choose where to save the file.
  4. 4Choose a metadata view from the Metadata View pop-up menu. It decides which clip metadata goes into the file and how it is arranged.
  5. 5Choose the XML version: the current version or one of the two previous ones. Apple recommends the current version unless the app you are sending to cannot read it.
  6. 6Click Save.

Open it in the next app

  1. 1Final Cut Pro on another Mac: choose File › Import › XML, or double-click the file in the Finder.
  2. 2DaVinci Resolve: choose File › Import Timeline (Shift-Command-I) and select the file; Resolve reads Final Cut Pro X XML, including a subset of color board corrections.
  3. 3Premiere Pro: it cannot import FCPXML. Convert the file to Final Cut Pro 7 XML, then choose File › Import in Premiere Pro.
  4. 4Avid Media Composer or another app that wants an EDL: convert the FCPXML to a CMX 3600 EDL, because Final Cut Pro has no EDL export.

When it goes wrong

Common problems and fixes

The other app sees a folder, not a file
FCPXML 1.10 and later is saved as an .fcpxmld bundle: a folder the Finder shows as one file, with the XML in Info.fcpxml at its root. Send the whole bundle, choose an older XML version in the export dialog, or right-click the bundle, choose Show Package Contents and use Info.fcpxml.
Premiere Pro will not import the file
Adobe’s own help says Premiere Pro cannot import Final Cut Pro X’s .fcpxml directly. Convert it to Final Cut Pro 7 XML first; Conform does it in the browser.
Clips are offline after import on another computer
The XML describes your clips, edits and metadata and points to the media files on disk; it does not contain the footage. Copy the media along with the XML and relink it in the other app.

Convert FCPXML for Premiere Pro

Drop the .fcpxml or .fcpxmld on Conform and download Final Cut Pro 7 XML that Premiere Pro and DaVinci Resolve import, with a list of what did not carry over. Free up to 40 clips, and nothing is uploaded.

Open it

Sources

Menu names and behaviour checked against these pages on 2026-11-12. Software updates rename menus; if a step no longer matches, write to conform@niamori.ai.

FAQ

Frequently asked questions

Something else, or a file that will not convert? Write to conform@niamori.ai.

What is the difference between .fcpxml and .fcpxmld?

Both hold the same FCPXML. From FCPXML 1.10, Final Cut Pro saves exports as an .fcpxmld bundle, a folder with Info.fcpxml at the root and room for files the XML refers to. Older versions are a single .fcpxml file.

Which XML version should I choose?

The current one, unless the app you send it to cannot read it; then pick one of the two previous versions in the same dialog. Conform reads every FCPXML version, as a file, a bundle or a .zip.

Is an XML export the same as sending the library?

No. Apple describes FCPXML as covering certain, but not all, aspects of projects and events, and it is no substitute for the library itself. Use it to move edits between apps; keep the library to keep working in Final Cut Pro.

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