How to send an Ableton project — with the samples
Published August 2026
The way this usually fails: you send the .als, they open it, and every clip is gray — media files are missing. An .als describes the arrangement and points at your audio; it doesn't contain it. Sending the set without its samples is sending a map without the territory.
Package it so the samples travel
- Collect All and Save. File → Collect All and Save — Live copies every sample the set uses (your recordings, your sample-folder hits, library sounds) into the project folder.
- Zip the whole project folder — the folder that holds the
.als, Samples/ and the rest. Not the.alsalone. - Send the zip. Drive, Dropbox, WeTransfer — anything. Size is normal; that's the audio.
That's the complete answer if they run Live — same version or newer, editions permitting. The rest of this page is for every other receiver.
They don't have Ableton? Send a link that plays
Upload the same zipped project folder once and the set opens as a session in your browser. Share the link: they press play — tracks, clips, the arrangement as it stands — in their browser, on any computer or phone, no Live, no account, no install. For a quick "what's in this set" without playback, there's also the .als reader: it shows tempo, tracks, devices and the plugin list right in the browser with nothing uploaded — handy in the other direction too, when you're the one receiving a set.
Send a link that plays
Upload the zipped project folder once — then share a link anyone can play in their browser. Nothing to install on their side.
Open & share your set →And when they need the session editable in their DAW, the same upload converts to a native Logic Pro project, FL Studio project or REAPER project.
The plugin honesty section
Collect All and Save gathers samples — not plugins. If the set leans on third-party instruments and effects they don't own, those devices load empty on their machine. Freeze or flatten plugin-heavy tracks before sending (right-click the track → Freeze), which renders them to audio that plays anywhere. The browser link mostly sidesteps this: MIDI plays with stand-in sounds, audio plays as recorded, so the music is always audible.
FAQ
How do I send an Ableton project with its samples?
File → Collect All and Save (Live copies every sample into the project folder), then zip the whole project folder — not the .als alone — and send the zip.
Why does my Ableton project open gray with missing files for them?
The .als references audio, it doesn't contain it — the samples didn't travel. Redo the handoff with Collect All and Save, then zip the full project folder.
How do I send an Ableton project to someone without Ableton?
Upload the zipped project folder once and share the browser link — the set plays in their browser with no Live, no account, no install. If they need to edit it, convert it to a native Logic, FL Studio or REAPER project instead.
How do I send a set to another computer of mine?
Same packaging: Collect All and Save, zip the folder, transfer. If the other machine runs an older Live, the set won't open there — update it, or open the set in the browser meanwhile.
Do plugins travel with the set?
No method sends plugin sounds to a machine that doesn't own the plugins. Freeze or flatten plugin-heavy tracks before sending; in the browser link, MIDI plays with stand-in sounds so the arrangement is always audible.