Getting started

Set up Wrangler, run a verified offload, and know what evidence to hand over.

Wrangler is for the ingest boundary: take a card or folder, copy it to the places production needs, verify what landed, and leave a paper trail that can be inspected later. It is not a media asset manager. It does not ask you to catalogue the shoot before you can copy a card.

This guide covers the first transfer and the habits that make Wrangler useful on set.

Setup

Open Wrangler before the card arrives. The app is designed around jobs: a job can be a quick one-off transfer, or it can belong to a project with reusable destinations and defaults.

For a first run:

  1. Mount the source card or source folder.
  2. Mount the destination drive or prepare the destination folder.
  3. Drop either side onto Wrangler. Source-first and destination-first are both valid.
  4. Confirm the source and destination paths.
  5. Start the transfer.

You do not need to create a project first. If you drop a folder onto an empty Wrangler window, Wrangler creates the job context it needs.

Wrangler treats the source as read-only by default. Destination-side proof artefacts are written beside the copied material; source-side MHL output is an explicit workflow choice, not the default.

Projects One-Offs

Use a one-off job when the work is isolated: a quick card copy, a single delivery folder, or a transfer that does not need to inherit production defaults.

Use a project when the work repeats: same show, same destinations, same report expectations, same lane names, or multiple cards that should roll up together. A project supplies defaults for new jobs. It does not rewrite the history of jobs that already ran.

The practical rule is simple:

  • Start one-off when speed matters.
  • Start a project when repetition matters.
  • Promote or group work later when the day turns into a job.

Each job carries its own configuration and evidence. That means a completed transfer can still explain what it actually did even if the project defaults change later.

Source Destinations

Every transfer needs a source and at least one destination before it can do useful copy work, but you can assign them in either order.

The source is the material Wrangler reads. In normal camera-card offload work, that source should be treated as evidence: do not modify it unless the job explicitly calls for source-side artefacts.

Destinations are where Wrangler writes copied material and proof artefacts. Each destination can have its own path and output expectations. Wrangler supports multiple destinations so the working copy, shuttle copy, and archive copy can be expressed as separate landing points rather than as an informal Finder ritual.

Before starting, check:

  • The source path is the card or folder you intend to copy.
  • Each destination path is the folder you intend to hand over or keep.
  • The organization/lane choice matches how this material should land.
  • The verification policy matches the risk level for this destination.

If a source inventory count differs from Finder, read Wrangler’s inventory explanation before assuming either tool is wrong. Empty folders, sidecars, hidden files, and source-side artefacts can make simple item counts misleading.

Verification Proof

Wrangler separates source evidence from destination proof.

Source evidence answers: what did Wrangler read, and how confidently does it know the source state? Destination proof answers: what landed at this destination, and how was it checked?

Common proof language:

  • Verified means the destination copy was read back successfully.
  • Verified with issues means the destination completed but warnings or issues need attention.
  • Write-hash only means Wrangler compared the write-side hash by policy, without a destination read-back.
  • Unverified means verification was disabled by policy.
  • Failed means the destination did not complete successfully.

Source-side labels such as double read or MHL trusted are not the same claim as destination verification. Keep that distinction when reading a completed job or handing evidence to post.

During a transfer, watch the job surface for phase, progress, and warnings. After completion, inspect the destination detail and generated artefacts before ejecting or clearing media.

Reports Evidence

Wrangler’s strongest evidence is the job record: source facts, destination facts, copied file totals, verification state, warnings, errors, MHL/ASC MHL artefacts, and generated report records.

Current report output is evidence-first. Wrangler can generate offload report bundles from completed transfer data, including structured export formats used for inspection and automation. Richer presentation presets and PDF output are still part of the report pipeline work, so do not treat PDF-style handoff as the source of truth until that surface is present in your build.

For a normal handoff, provide:

  • The copied destination tree.
  • Destination-side MHL/ASC MHL artefacts, when enabled for the job.
  • The Wrangler report/export bundle if your build generated one.
  • Any warnings or failed-file notes visible on the completed job.

Do not hide verification policy from the handoff. “Unverified by policy” and “write-hash only” are valid operational choices, but they mean something different from read-back verification.

Troubleshooting

The job will not start. Confirm that the source is assigned and at least one destination is assigned. Destination-first setup is allowed, but a copy cannot run until both sides exist.

The source count does not match Finder. Check Wrangler’s inventory readout. Finder and Wrangler may be counting different things: files, folders, hidden entries, package contents, or artefacts already present on the source.

A destination says write-hash only or unverified. That is a verification policy result, not a copy-count result. Check the job or project policy before you hand it over as read-back verified.

MHL appears in the wrong place. Destination MHL is normal. Source-side MHL should only appear when the job explicitly enabled source-side proof output. If a workflow requires the source to remain untouched, leave source-side artefacts off.

A report is missing or incomplete. The transfer proof still lives in the job record and destination artefacts. Use the completed job detail to inspect verification, warnings, and report-generation failure reasons, then regenerate from the completed transfer data when that action is available in your build.

You need another transfer with the same shape. Duplicate the previous job when the Duplicate action is available, then assign the new source. In builds without that action, create a new job from the same project defaults and confirm the destination and policy before starting.