A Python tool to extract, fix, rename, and rebuild Procreate documents from an iPad backup.
As many of you know, iOS does not provide direct filesystem access to the internal Procreate document structure. When a canvas is stored on an iPad, the actual contents live inside the app’s protected sandbox. This means:
- You cannot browse the internal Procreate
Application Supportfolder the way you can on macOS. - You cannot extract the internal files through the Files app.
The only reliable way to access the document structure is through an iTunes/Finder backup or through third-party backup tools such as iMazing.
When extracting files in this manner, you end up with several folders using UID-based names, each representing a Procreate document or a brush. To turn these folders back into functioning .procreate files, a dedicated tool is required.
This project provides a Python script that converts these meaningless folders into valid .procreate files, while preserving their original creation and modification dates.
You must extract the folder:
AppDomain-au.com.savageinteractive.procreate
→ Library
→ Application Support ← THIS folder
from your iPad backup using iMazing or any other iOS backup extractor and copy the folder on your Mac in an empty directory
Each Procreate document is stored as a folder containing:
Document.archive— a binary plist holding the project name- Multiple layer subfolders with UID-based names, as well as two special folders:
QuickLookandvideo.
The script:
- Recursively scans all directories inside
Application Support - Identifies valid Procreate projects by checking for
Document.archive - Extracts the folder’s creation and modification date
- Reads project names using plistlib
- Generates a timestamp string (e.g.,
25.11.21-14.32) - Prepends the project name with this timestamp
- Rewrites the archive with the updated name
- Zips the entire folder into a valid
.procreatefile - Applies the original timestamp using macOS
SetFile - Saves the reconstructed and date tagged project
- macOS 10.15 or newer
- Python 3.9+
- Xcode Command Line Tools (for SetFile)
In a new Terminal window install the tools if needed:
xcode-select --installpython3 export_procreate.py /path/to/Application\ Support/Procreate uses a proprietary, undocumented storage format with Apple-specific LZ4 compression.
This script does not attempt to decode internal tile data.
It only reconstructs the outer .procreate bundle so that Procreate can load it again.
Special thanks to Jarom Vogel for his outstanding work on Prospect, an indispensable tool for previewing and managing .procreate files on macOS.
Download
The following GitHub repositories were fundamental during development:
Licensed under the MIT License. See LICENSE.md for full license text.
If you find this helpful, please star the project on GitHub!