FINAL CUT PRO BUG REPORT - LIBRARY CORRUPTION & PREFERENCE RESET ISSUES

[stevef243]

Date: September 30, 2025
Final Cut Pro Version: 11.2 (Latest)
macOS Version: 15.7
Issue Category: Critical System Stability & User Experience

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
This report documents two critical, recurring issues in Final Cut Pro that significantly impact professional workflow productivity and reliability:

1. Widespread Library Corruption - Libraries frequently become corrupted during normal use, requiring emergency recovery procedures
2. Excessive Preference Resets Required - Users are forced to repeatedly delete preferences to resolve crashes, losing all custom application settings each time
   These issues have been persistent across multiple Final Cut Pro versions and affect users globally, as evidenced by extensive community discussion and user reports.

ISSUE 1: CRITICAL LIBRARY CORRUPTION EPIDEMIC
Problem Description
Final Cut Pro libraries become corrupted at an alarming frequency during normal operation, causing:

• Application crashes when attempting to open libraries
• Complete application hangs during library loading
• Events becoming inaccessible or damaged
• Potential loss of work and projects
  Frequency & Impact
• Multiple users report 3-4 library corruption incidents per week
• Issues occur across all hardware configurations (Intel & Apple Silicon)
• Problems persist across all macOS versions (Ventura, Sonoma, Sequoia)
• Network storage users particularly affected but local storage also impacted
  Current "Solutions" Are Inadequate
  Users are forced to perform emergency procedures that should never be necessary:
• Manually deleting CurrentVersion.flexolibrary files
• Moving event folders out of library bundles
• Restoring from backups (when available)
• Recreating libraries from scratch
  Root Cause Analysis Needed
  The library corruption appears related to:
• Database integrity issues in the .flexolibrary file structure
• Improper handling of concurrent operations
• Network storage communication failures
• Memory management issues during library operations

ISSUE 2: PREFERENCE RESET DEPENDENCY CRISIS
Problem Description
Final Cut Pro users are routinely required to reset application preferences to resolve:

• Startup crashes
• Export failures
• UI unresponsiveness
• General application instability
  The Devastating User Experience Impact
  Every preference reset completely wipes:
• Custom keyboard shortcuts
• Workspace configurations
• Browser column settings
• Import/export presets
• Timeline display preferences
• Color correction settings
• Audio level configurations
• Custom naming conventions
• Render settings
• Sharing destinations setup
  Why This Is Unacceptable
  Professional editors spend hours configuring Final Cut Pro to match their workflow requirements. Being forced to repeatedly reconfigure the entire application is:
• Productivity devastating - Hours lost reconfiguring after each reset
• Professionally embarrassing - Missed deadlines due to application failures
• Completely unnecessary - Other professional applications maintain preference stability
  The Preference Architecture Failure
  The fact that preference corruption is the primary troubleshooting solution indicates:
• Fundamental architectural problems in preference management
• Poor separation of concerns between user settings and system stability
• Inadequate testing of preference file integrity
• No backup/restore mechanism for user customizations

TECHNICAL EVIDENCE & USER TESTIMONIALS
Community Reports Confirm Widespread Issues

• Apple Community forums show dozens of library corruption threads
• Reddit /r/finalcutpro has multiple weekly posts about these exact issues
• Professional editing forums document consistent problems across user base
• YouTube tutorial creators have made dedicated videos explaining workarounds
  Professional Impact Statements
  Users report:
• "Libraries are getting damaged at an alarming rate" - Multiple weekly occurrences
• "I've lost work that wasn't backed up after making recent changes"
• "This problem has been occurring 3-4 times a week since May"
• "Every single project I try to export" encounters issues requiring troubleshooting

DEMANDS FOR IMMEDIATE ACTION

1. LIBRARY STABILITY OVERHAUL REQUIRED

• Complete audit of library database architecture
• Implement proper transaction management for library operations
• Add automatic corruption detection and recovery
• Improve network storage compatibility
• Create redundant backup systems for critical library data

2. PREFERENCE MANAGEMENT SYSTEM REBUILD

• Implement modular preference architecture - separate stability-critical settings from user customizations
• Create preference backup/restore functionality
• Add preference export/import for workflow sharing
• Implement automatic preference validation to prevent corruption
• Preserve user customizations during troubleshooting operations

3. IMMEDIATE WORKAROUNDS NEEDED
   While architectural fixes are developed:

• Add "Safe Mode" startup option that preserves user settings while bypassing corrupt elements
• Implement preference partial reset - reset only system-critical settings
• Create library diagnostic tools for corruption detection
• Improve automatic library backup frequency and reliability

BUSINESS IMPACT STATEMENT
These issues represent critical reliability failures that:

• Damage Final Cut Pro's professional reputation
• Drive users to competing platforms (Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve)
• Cost users significant productivity and revenue
• Undermine confidence in the Apple professional ecosystem
  Competitive Disadvantage
  While Final Cut Pro users struggle with basic stability issues, competitors offer:
• Reliable preference management
• Stable project file systems
• Professional-grade backup and recovery tools
• Consistent performance across all storage types

CONCLUSION & URGENCY STATEMENT
These are not minor bugs or edge cases - they are fundamental reliability failures affecting core Final Cut Pro functionality. The frequency of these issues and their severity demand immediate priority attention from the Final Cut Pro development team.
Users should not need to become database repair technicians or preference file archaeologists to use professional video editing software.
The current state is unacceptable for a professional application and requires immediate architectural remediation, not continued band-aid solutions.

Submitted via: Apple Feedback Assistant
Feedback ID: [To be assigned]
Priority Level: CRITICAL - IMMEDIATE ACTION REQUIRED
Affects: All Final Cut Pro users globally
Timeline: Resolution needed in next major update

[joema4]

Thank you for that well-worded, professional-quality post. I'm just an end user and don't work for Apple. However, I was formerly the lead escalation engineer on Microsoft SQL Server in Redmond, WA, and regularly debugged problems like this at the source code level. I'm familiar with FCP internals and will try to investigate this and give a detailed response, but it will take a while.