ShotArk
Back up memory cards to your drives and folders in one run, with organised folders, verification and a clear record of what happened.
- Launched
- September 2026
- Category
- Mac software
- Status
- Active
ShotArk backs up photos and videos from memory cards to the drives and folders you choose. It copies what is new, keeps each shoot organised and tells you clearly if anything needs attention before you clear a card.
The problem
Backing up a shoot should be the simple part of the workflow. In practice, it often means opening several Finder windows, making the same folder structure on more than one drive, copying each card in turn and then trying to remember whether every copy actually finished.
That is manageable at a desk. It is much less reassuring at the end of a long day in the field, especially when several cards and backup drives are involved.
I wanted one calm, purpose-built Mac app that would handle the routine consistently and leave a clear record of what happened. So I built ShotArk.
What it does
Assign your memory cards as sources and your external drives or local folders as destinations. ShotArk remembers the setup, then Back Up All copies every new photo and video to the selected destinations in one run.
It creates dated folders using your own card label, the camera model found in the files, or the card’s volume name. Existing files are detected before copying, interrupted runs can be resumed, and a pre-flight check warns if a destination is short of space.
The default file list covers the common RAW, still-image, video and XMP formats used by photographers. If ShotArk finds excluded file types on a card, it says so before and after the backup rather than silently implying that everything was copied.
Verification and reports
With verification enabled, ShotArk checks samples from each new destination file against the source after copying. The result screen separates copied, skipped and verified files, and highlights errors or excluded types that still need attention.
For jobs that need a stronger audit trail, Prepare backup reports switches to full-file SHA-256 verification for the selected source and destination files, including files that were already present. ShotArk saves the evidence and can export a paginated PDF report with the sources, destinations, file coverage and verification receipts.
The two modes are deliberate: sampled verification keeps an ordinary field backup practical, while report preparation reads every byte when the extra evidence matters.
Built for working photographers
ShotArk can back up several cards to several destinations in one run. Optional groups let you route particular cards to particular drives, while a separate video destination can keep clips apart without changing where still photographs go.
Progress, transfer speed and time remaining stay visible throughout the run. Completion sounds, macOS notifications and a menu-bar view mean you do not have to keep the main window open. When the backup is finished, you can eject assigned cards and external drives together.
Backups to local storage work offline. There is no account, no telemetry and no cloud service between your files and the destinations you choose.
Clearing a card
ShotArk copies by default; it does not remove the originals from a card.
After a run with verification enabled and no copy errors or verification warnings, an optional Clear Backed-Up Files from Source action becomes available. It is separate from the backup, asks for confirmation and only targets the files recorded in that completed run.
I still treat formatting or clearing a card as a decision that deserves attention. ShotArk makes the evidence easier to inspect; it does not pretend that one copy is a complete backup strategy.
Where to get it
Download ShotArk 1.0 for Mac →
ShotArk is free and requires macOS 13 or later. The download is signed with Developer ID and notarised by Apple, and runs natively on Apple silicon and Intel Macs. The full manual is available on the ShotArk website.