Presets & Projects

You have a patch you want to keep. Save it as a project (.mnprt) to return to its graph, connections, Front Panel and settings later. MNodes also calls these files presets: the Save Preset window and the Preset Browser work with the same projects.

Start with Your first patch or any project of your own. This guide takes you through saving it, making a variation, opening it again and sending it to someone else.

Saving Presets

Choose the right save command

In Edit mode, open File. These three commands cover most of the work:

You want to…	Use	What happens
Keep your latest changes	Save, Ctrl/Cmd + S	Updates the current file. For a new project or a Factory preset, opens the save form so you can make your own copy.
Keep the original and make a variation	Save As…, Ctrl/Cmd + Shift + S	Opens the form. Give the variation a new name and leave Overwrite current file off.
Send the project with its resources	Collect All & Export…	Creates a .mnprtz bundle. Save your changes first.

Save as you work; Save As for a variation; collect resources before sharing. If File is hidden in Perform mode, switch to Edit with Ctrl/Cmd + P.

Save your first project

1. Choose File → Save, or press Ctrl/Cmd + S. The form is titled SAVE PRESET.
2. Enter a Name, such as First patch. This also becomes the filename.
3. Choose an Open Mode: Edit to reopen the graph, or Perform to open the performance view with your Front Panel. Use Edit while learning.
4. Check Purpose. Choose Instrument, Effect, MIDI, Learn or Utility to describe what the project is for. For a tutorial patch, Learn is a useful choice.
5. Add an Author, select useful Categories, and optionally write a Description. These help you recognize the project in the browser.
6. Scroll down if necessary, then click Save.

For a new project, MNodes saves your copy under Projects/User in your Library. Selecting categories puts it in a subfolder named after the first selected category. For a project opened from another folder, the destination follows that file.

Keep a variation

Choose File → Save As…, change the Name to something like First patch variation, and leave Overwrite current file unchecked. Click Save. You are now working on the variation; the original remains available.

A new name and an unchecked Overwrite current file keep the original. Categories is collapsed in this example; scroll inside the form if its lower controls are out of view.

Overwrite current file is an explicit choice to replace the file you already have open, including its metadata. It is off by default in Save As and is unavailable for Factory presets. Reusing an existing filename can still produce a replacement prompt, so give a variation a distinct name.

Try it: save a variation, change one control, then press Ctrl/Cmd + S. The next Save updates that variation without asking for a name again.

Go back to an earlier save

Every time you save, MNodes keeps a copy of the project as it was at that moment: a version. There is nothing to set up and nothing to install. Save as usual, with Ctrl/Cmd + S, and the versions are kept on their own.

Try it:

1. Open one of your projects and press Ctrl/Cmd + S.
2. Turn its filter right down, so it sounds dark, and save again.
3. Choose File → Versions…. The two saves are there, newest at the top, each with its day and time: Today, 10:05, marked Current, and Today, 10:02.
4. Move the mouse over Today, 10:02 and click Restore. The project sounds as it did at 10:02, with the filter where it was.
5. A Restore does not save. Press Ctrl/Cmd + S to keep it. Or restore Today, 10:05 to have the dark one back: what you had before a Restore is always kept as a version first, so nothing is lost.

Move the mouse over a version for what you can do with it:

• Restore brings it back as the project, as unsaved changes. A double-click does the same.
• The pencil gives it a name, so you can find it again. A version with a name is kept for good.
• The bin moves it to your computer's bin.

Name a save before a big change. Before you try something you may want to undo, choose File → Versions…, type a name at the top, such as Before the new filter, and click Save Version. It saves the project and keeps that save with its name, so days later it is easy to find, and it is never deleted on its own.

MNodes keeps the last 50 saves of each project, and every version with a name. A project that holds a lot of audio, such as a Looper with a recording in it, keeps fewer, so that its versions stay under 256 MB. A save that changed nothing adds no version.

Versions are kept in your Library, in the Versions folder, one folder per project. They stay on this computer, and they are not listed among your projects. Renaming a project in the browser takes its versions along. A Factory project has no versions until you save your own copy of it. To stop keeping them, turn off Keep a version at every save in Settings → Library.

Use Git

Versions are all most projects need. Git is for when you want the history outside MNodes too: to back a project up on GitHub, to work on it from another computer, or because you already keep your work in Git.

	Versions	Git
To start	Nothing: always on	Install Git, then Connect to Git, once
At every save	A version	A version, and a commit
Kept	In your Library, on this computer	In the project's folder, in a hidden .git folder, on this computer
On the internet	Never	Only when you push it yourself, with GitHub Desktop or git push
To go back	Restore, in File → Versions	Restore in File → Versions is still the quickest

Does every save become a commit? Yes, once the project is connected. Each Ctrl/Cmd + S makes one commit of the project file, with the project's name as its message: My Song: saved, or My Song: Before the new filter for a save you named with Save Version. The commit stays on your computer. MNodes never sends anything to GitHub or anywhere else: putting the commits online is a push, and you do it from your Git tool when you choose.

Connect a project

1. Install Git, from git-scm.com. If it is not installed, the Versions window says so, and Get Git opens its download page.
2. Give the project a folder of its own, and open it from there.
3. Choose File → Versions… and click Connect to Git, at the bottom.

In that one click, MNodes:

• makes the project's folder a Git repository, unless it is in one already;
• adds a .gitignore that leaves out the project's thumbnail, which changes at every save;
• turns on Readable project files and saves the project that way, so Git shows what changed inside a Module, and not only that something did;
• makes the first commit, My Song: added to Git.

The window then says Connected to Git, with the folder and how the last commit went: Last commit: and its summary, or why it did not go through. Open folder opens the folder.

The first commit can stop because Git does not know who you are yet. Open a terminal, run these two lines once, with your own name and email, and save again:

git config --global user.name "Your Name"
git config --global user.email you@example.com

A folder of its own

The repository is the folder the project is in. A project saved in your Library shares its folder with others, Projects/User or a category inside it, and Connect to Git would make that whole folder one repository: every project you save in it would be committed too, each in commits of its own.

To give a project its own repository:

1. In the browser, right-click the project and choose Show in Finder / Explorer.
2. Make a new folder, for example Documents/My Song, and copy the project's .mnprt file into it.
3. In MNodes, choose File → Open… and open that copy. From then on, Save writes to it, in its own folder.
4. Connect it to Git, as above.

Example: put a project on GitHub

With GitHub Desktop:

1. Connect the project to Git, as above.
2. In GitHub Desktop, choose File → Add local repository… and pick the project's folder. Open folder, in the Versions window, shows which one it is.
3. Click Publish repository. Leave Keep this code private on unless you want everyone to see it.
4. Go back to MNodes and work as usual. Every save shows up in GitHub Desktop, under History. When you want them online, click Push origin.

To work on another computer, choose Clone repository in GitHub Desktop there and open the .mnprt in MNodes. Pull before you start and push when you finish, so both computers have the latest save.

Example: see what you did

In a terminal, in the project's folder:

git log --oneline

It lists the commits, newest first:

c41d9e2 My Song: saved
7b03a5f My Song: Before the new filter
2e8f1aa My Song: saved
91c0d47 My Song: added to Git

Because the project is saved as readable text, git diff and GitHub Desktop show which settings changed from one save to the next. To bring an earlier save back, Restore in File → Versions… is the easy way: it holds the same saves.

What to know

• Only the project file is committed. Samples, images and other files a project uses are linked by their path, not packed inside it: copy them into the project's folder and commit them from your Git tool, or leave them out.
• Connect to Git is a setting for all of MNodes, not for one project: while it is on, every project you save inside a Git repository is committed, a Save As included. Projects in other folders are not touched.
• Disconnect, in the Versions window, stops the commits, for every project. The repository and its history stay as they are, and Connect to Git turns the commits back on.
• Readable project files stay on after you connect. A version of MNodes before 1.1.9 opens such a project with its Modules and Subgraphs empty. For a project you share with someone on an older version, turn them off in Settings → Library and save the project again.

Preset Metadata

Purpose answers what the patch is for. Categories describe the sound or task, such as Bass, Pad or Delay. Open Mode decides which workspace appears when you load it; it does not remove the graph or the Front Panel.

The Thumbnail normally comes from your graph in Edit mode or your Front Panel in Perform mode. Enable Use custom image to choose your own artwork. The Export button in this form saves the project and then offers to write an extra .mnprt copy elsewhere. For a copy that travels with samples and other resources, use Collect All & Export.

The file also stores creation and modification information and the plugin version. You can change a user preset's metadata later from the browser's right-click → Edit Info….

Preset Categories

Select categories that will help you find the project again. For example, a soft synth sound could use Pad, while an echo patch could use Delay. You can select more than one; expand Categories with its small arrow if the choices are collapsed.

Loading Presets

Open something from the Library

1. Open Library from Home, or click the preset name in the editor's top bar to open the Preset Browser.
2. Choose All Presets, User, Downloads, Favorites or Recent in the left rail. Search by name if you know what you want.
3. Double-click the project to load it, or right-click it and choose Load.

The project reopens in its saved Open Mode. Use Ctrl/Cmd + P to switch between Edit and Perform when needed. Deal with any unsaved-changes prompt before replacing the project you are working on.

Browser Layout

The controls above the results let you search, filter by type, sort by A - Z / Newest first / Oldest first, and switch between Cards and List. Newest first and Oldest first go by the date each row shows: when the project was last saved. Size changes card size or list row height. A card shows the picture on top and the name and a short line under it, and Size takes cards down to 120 pixels wide. If a saved project seems absent, clear the search and filters and check All Presets.

The Left Rail

User shows projects stored in the User library, with its subfolders underneath. Downloads shows the projects you got from the Hub, and never Factory content. Recent helps you return to something you opened earlier; Favorites shows the projects you marked with a heart. Collections are your own groups: use + to create one and drag projects onto it.

A bundle you install shows as its own entry under Collections, after Factory, with all of its projects. The rail also provides category and purpose filters, and MNodes Hub content. A project opened from an external folder can appear in All Presets and Recent without being stored in User.

Right-Click Actions

Right-click a project to Load, Show Info…, add it to Favorites, Duplicate, Export…, or Show in Finder / Explorer. User files also offer Edit Info… and Delete. Factory presets are read-only; save your own copy to keep edits.

External projects have different file actions: Copy to Library, Locate… when missing, and Remove from Library. These are explained below.

Preset Storage Locations

Your Library normally lives in Music → Mario Nieto → MNodes → Library on desktop. Folder locations can be customized, so right-click → Show in Finder / Explorer is the quickest way to find a particular file. Check Settings → Library for the configured folders.

Content	Default folder inside Library
Factory projects	Projects/Factory/
Your library projects	Projects/User/
Node presets	Node Presets/
Subgraphs	Subgraphs/
Modules	Modules/
Module instance presets	Modules/Presets/<ModuleTitle>/

Projects outside the Library

Use File → Open… to open a .mnprt from a Downloads folder, a workshop folder or another drive. MNodes opens the file where it is and remembers its location. Opening it does not copy it into Projects/User. A .mnprtz bundle works differently: see Bring in a project or bundle.

Save writes back to that same file. Save As… creates the named variation beside the external project, without adding category subfolders. Keep the original folder available while you work.

The browser remembers a location; it does not guarantee that the file is in your Library. The available-file and missing-file menus offer different ways to manage that reference.

Use Copy to Library if you want a library copy. The original external file remains in place. If you intend to edit the library copy next, load that copy from User first.

If you moved or renamed an external file, its browser entry becomes MISSING after a rescan. Right-click it, choose Locate…, and select the file at its new location. If you no longer want the entry, Remove from Library forgets the reference and leaves the external file on disk. This differs from Delete on a file stored in the Library.

Import & Export

Share a project with its resources

A .mnprt contains the project state, but external samples and images may still live elsewhere on your computer. To send the project with its resources:

1. Save the latest changes with Ctrl/Cmd + S.
2. Choose File → Collect All & Export….
3. Choose a filename and location for the .mnprtz bundle.
4. Send that bundle. The recipient opens it with File → Open… or by dragging it onto MNodes.

Collect All & Export uses the last saved project state. It asks you to save if the project has never been saved, but an existing project still needs a Save after your latest edits. Exporting a bundle does not replace that step.

The collector includes referenced samples, images, filmstrips and wavetables, including assets inside modules and subgraphs. Samples referenced by presets stored in a Preset Manager are included too. A project using your own Rack Modules takes those with it. Keep the referenced files available when you export.

Bring in a project or bundle

File → Open… opens a .mnprtz bundle as well as a .mnprt, and so does dragging it onto MNodes. A bundle is not opened where it is: MNodes adds it to your library, in Projects/User, with its samples and images, and opens that copy. Save then writes to the copy, and the .mnprtz stays as it was.

Open the same bundle again and MNodes opens the copy you already have. If you have saved changes to that copy, or another project in your library has the same name, read the prompt and choose whether to keep both or replace your copy.

File → Import Presets… accepts .mnprt projects and .mnprtz bundles. A plain project is listed at its existing location; a bundle is added to your library in the same way.

For reusable modules, use File → Import Modules… with .mnmod or .mnmodpack. See sharing Module Packs for the module-specific workflow.

Preset Files

Choose a format according to how much you want to reuse:

Keep or share…	Format	What it contains
A complete project	.mnprt	Graph, connections, Front Panel, settings and metadata. External resources may remain separate.
A project with its resources	.mnprtz	A portable preset bundle; use Collect All & Export for your current project.
One node's setup	.mnnpreset	A node preset, such as your Filter settings.
A reusable group of nodes	.mnsubgraph	A Subgraph.
A reusable instrument or processor with its own panel	.mnmod	A Module.
A Module with its resources	.mnmodpack	A Module Pack.
A placed Module's control settings	.mnmprst	A Module instance preset.

MNodesHub

Open Hub from Home, or the MNodes Hub section in the browser, to discover and install shared content. You can also browse MNodesHub on the web. After installing a project, load it from your Library and save your own variation when you start changing it.

Recent Presets

Return to a project through Home's recent projects, the browser's Recent section, or File → Open Recent. Recent is a list of locations you visited, so moving an external file can leave an entry that needs Locate….

Dirty State

An asterisk (*) beside the project name means it has unsaved changes. Save to keep them in the current file, or Save As to keep a separate variation. A successful save clears the marker.

Before you move on

Make a variation, save it, load the original, and then load your variation again. Seeing both files in the browser is a useful check that you kept the two versions you intended.