File Management

Projects

ArcBrush saves projects as .arcb files. These are human-readable JSON containing your complete node graph, connections, groups, sticky notes, and canvas state. Images are not embedded in the file; they’re referenced by path.

Creating & Opening

Action	Shortcut
New project	Ctrl+N
Open project	Ctrl+O
Open Recipe from Image	File menu
Save	Ctrl+S
Save As	Ctrl+Shift+S
Revert to Saved	File menu
Export All	File menu

Open Recipe from Image loads the node graph stored inside an exported image. When you export from Export Image or Export Batch with Embed Recipe turned on, a privacy-sanitized copy of the whole graph is written into the PNG, WebP, JPEG, or TIFF file. Choose File > Open Recipe from Image…, or drop such an image onto the canvas, to reopen that graph. Absolute paths, AI spend, and machine identifiers are stripped from the embedded copy; input file names are kept but never full paths.

The File > Open Recent menu gives quick access to your 10 most recent projects.

Revert to Saved reloads the last saved version of your project, discarding any unsaved changes (with a confirmation prompt). Export All runs every Export Image and Export Batch node in the graph at once.

When you Export All or export several selected nodes at once, ArcBrush resolves every output file first (including each batch frame’s templated filename) and warns you if any two writes would land on the same path or if a file already exists on disk. You then choose how to resolve it: Add Suffix writes conflicting files under a numbered name (name_1.png) so nothing is overwritten, Overwrite replaces the existing files, or Skip leaves files already on disk untouched. Export Batch’s own Export button now runs the same pre-flight check, offering Add Suffix / Overwrite / Skip when any frame would collide with a file already on disk. An Export Image node’s own Export button still overwrites its previous output without prompting.

The Sidecar Folder

Every saved project has a companion sidecar folder named {filename}.arcb_data/ in the same directory as the .arcb file. This folder stores:

• Clipboard pastes: images pasted from the clipboard
• Collected files: images gathered by the Collect Files command
• AI generations: cached outputs from AI nodes (see How AI Generation Works)

Files inside the sidecar folder are stored with bare filenames only in the .arcb file, which means you can move the project folder to another machine (even across platforms) and everything resolves correctly, as long as the .arcb file and its _data/ folder stay together.

Note

For unsaved projects, clipboard pastes and AI generations are stored in a temporary system folder. When you save for the first time, everything is automatically migrated to the sidecar folder.

Clipboard

ArcBrush handles both directions of clipboard transfer: pasting images, files, or nodes into the graph, and copying any node’s image output back out.

Pasting Image Data

When you copy an image from a web browser, screenshot tool, or another application and press Ctrl+V on the canvas:

• A new Image In node is created at the cursor position.
• The image is saved as a PNG in the sidecar folder (e.g., clipboard_2026-03-18.png).
• Alpha transparency is preserved when available.
• The node is labeled “Pasted from Clipboard.”

Pasting File Paths

When you copy files from Windows Explorer, macOS Finder, or your Linux file manager and paste into ArcBrush:

• Each image file creates an Image In node.
• Each SVG file creates an SVG Import node.
• Multiple files are supported. Nodes are staggered vertically so they don’t overlap.
• Supported image formats: PNG, JPEG, BMP, TGA, WebP, TIFF.

Pasting Nodes

When you copy nodes within ArcBrush (Ctrl+C) and paste them (Ctrl+V):

• The copied nodes are duplicated with new unique IDs.
• Connections between the copied nodes are preserved.
• Nodes are placed at the cursor position.

Copying a Node’s Output

Right-click any node with an image output and choose Copy to Clipboard as PNG to copy that node’s current output. Alpha transparency is preserved, so the result pastes cleanly into image editors, office and chat apps, and browsers.

Drag and Drop

Drag files from your file manager directly onto the ArcBrush canvas:

• Image files (PNG, JPEG, BMP, TGA, WebP, TIFF) create Image In nodes.
• SVG files create SVG Import nodes.
• Palette files (.gpl, .ase, .pal, .aseprite) create Palette nodes with all colors and names imported.
• Folders create an Image Folder node with the folder path pre-filled, ready for batch processing.
• .arcb project files open the project directly (with a save/discard prompt if there are unsaved changes).
• Multiple files are supported. Each gets its own node, staggered so they don’t overlap.
• Unsupported file types surface a toast naming the extension.

Dropped files are referenced at their original location (not copied). Use Collect Files to bring them into the sidecar folder for portability.

Browser Image Drops

Drag an image directly out of a Chrome, Edge, Brave, or Vivaldi tab (on Windows) or out of Firefox, LibreWolf, Chromium, or Safari (on macOS and Linux) and drop it on the canvas. ArcBrush downloads the image bytes into the project’s cache so the resulting Image In node survives a save and reopen, even after the browser’s temp file is gone.

Google Images and Bing Images thumbnails follow through to the underlying full image instead of saving the search result page. Hosts that block requests without a browser User-Agent (Imgur direct links, Pinterest CDN, image servers behind a query string) are handled too. Drops of unsupported formats surface a toast naming the extension instead of failing silently.

Collect Files

File > Collect Files copies all externally referenced files into the sidecar folder, making your project fully portable.

What It Collects

• Image files referenced by Image In nodes
• SVG files referenced by SVG Import nodes
• Custom font files referenced by Text nodes

How It Works

1. Each referenced file is copied into the {project}.arcb_data/ folder, preserving original filenames.
2. Node file paths are updated to point to the sidecar copies.
3. The project is automatically saved.

Files already inside the sidecar folder are skipped. After collecting, you can move the entire project folder (.arcb file + _data/ folder) to another location or machine and all references remain intact.

Tip

Run Collect Files before sharing a project or moving it to another computer. This ensures all dependencies travel with the project.

Package as .zip

File > Package as .zip… bundles the current project and every file it references (images, SVGs, fonts, AI generation outputs) into a single shareable archive. The recipient can unzip and open the project on any machine without missing-file errors.

Unlike Collect Files, your working project is left untouched; the archive is built off to the side. Use this when you want to send a snapshot of a project (to a collaborator, a bug report, or your future self) without changing how the live project resolves its references.

When packaging finishes, a success dialog offers a Reveal in Explorer / Finder button next to OK that opens your OS file manager with the new .zip selected.

Reveal in Explorer / Finder

Right-click a file-referencing node (Image In, SVG Import, Export Image, Export Batch) and choose Reveal in Explorer / Finder to open your OS file manager with the referenced file selected.

File Path Resolution

ArcBrush stores file paths differently depending on where the referenced file lives:

• Inside the sidecar folder: stored as a bare filename (e.g., hero.png), resolved relative to the _data/ folder. This is cross-platform portable.
• Relative path: if you type a path like assets/logo.png or export/sprite.png in a node’s file field, it resolves relative to your .arcb file’s location. Directories are created automatically on export. A hint below the input shows the resolved absolute path.
• Absolute path: full paths like C:\Users\...\image.png. These references break if the file is moved.

When you see a node with just a bare filename (no slashes), it’s looking in the sidecar folder. When you see a path with slashes but no drive letter, it’s a relative path resolved from your project location.

Relative Paths

Several nodes support relative file paths:

• Image In and SVG Import: type assets/texture.png to load files relative to your project
• Export Image: type export/sprite.png to export alongside your project
• Export Batch: type output to write batch exports to a folder next to your project

Relative paths make your projects portable. Move the project folder to another machine and all references still resolve correctly, as long as the referenced files travel alongside the .arcb file.

To convert external absolute references to portable sidecar references, use Collect Files.

Home-Folder Shorthand (macOS and Linux)

On macOS and Linux, file path fields on Image In, SVG Import, Text (custom font), Export Image, and Export Batch accept and remember ~/... as shorthand for your home folder. Picking a file from the file dialog stores it as ~/... automatically, so projects shared between user accounts on the same operating system resolve cleanly without rewriting paths. Typing or dropping ~/Pictures/foo.png directly into a path field works too.

Missing Files

When you open a project whose Image In, SVG Import, or Image Folder sources can no longer be found on disk, ArcBrush shows a Missing Files dialog listing every absent file so you know exactly what to relink. The affected nodes load in place rather than coming up silently empty, so you can repoint each path and pick up where you left off. The same dialog appears when a recipe recovered from an image references files that are no longer present.

Auto-Save & Crash Recovery

ArcBrush automatically saves a backup of your work at regular intervals (default: every 2 minutes). If the app closes unexpectedly, you’ll be prompted to restore from the last auto-save on next launch.

Configure auto-save in Settings:

• Auto-Save Interval: how often to save (30–600 seconds)
• Max Backup Files: number of rotating backups to keep (1–10)

Auto-save backups are stored in the system application data folder, separate from your project file.