Format guide

ALE: Avid Log Exchange.

An ALE file is an Avid Log Exchange log: a plain-text, tab-delimited file that carries clip metadata — reel names, timecode, camera and lens data, scene and take, colour-decision references and any custom column — into Avid Media Composer bins. ALE carries no media and no edit; it is a column-and-row table with a small header. Its structure is three labelled sections in fixed order: Heading, Column and Data. Because it is plain text, an ALE can be generated by a DIT, a camera-report tool or a script, and imported into a bin without opening any other application.

ALE file structure

Every valid ALE has the same three sections, each introduced by its own line.

Heading: global key/value lines describing the log itself. FIELD_DELIM must be TABS; VIDEO_FORMAT, AUDIO_FORMAT, FPS and TAPE are the headings Media Composer most commonly reads.
Column: a single tab-delimited line naming every column, in the order the data rows use. Name, Tape, Start, End and Tracks are conventional; any additional column becomes a custom bin column.
Data: one tab-delimited row per clip, with fields positionally matched to the Column line.

What breaks an ALE import

ALE failures are almost always structural rather than semantic, and they are cheap to catch before import.

A missing Column section, which leaves the rows with nothing to bind to.
A FIELD_DELIM that is not TABS. Comma and space delimited variants exist in the wild and are not fully supported.
Rows whose field count does not match the column count, usually because a value contained a stray tab or a line break.
A missing FPS or VIDEO_FORMAT heading, which leaves timecode interpretation ambiguous.
Encoding drift — a file saved as UTF-16, or with line endings a downstream tool does not expect.

Exporting and importing ALE in Media Composer

To export: select the clips in a bin, choose File > Output > Export to File, and pick the Avid Log Exchange (ALE) export setting. The bin's visible columns determine what is written, so set the bin view before exporting.

To import: with the target bin active, choose File > Input > Import Media, or drag the .ale onto the bin. Media Composer creates one clip per data row and maps each column onto a bin column, creating custom columns where names do not match built-in ones.

Merging metadata onto existing clips rather than creating new ones is a separate operation. Media Composer's Merge Events behaviour matches on a key column such as Name or Tape, which is why consistent key values matter more than any other field in the log.

Validating an ALE automatically

avid_analyze_ale in the Avid Media Composer MCP server parses the headings, the column line and every data row with a native parser — no Media Composer and no Python dependency — and returns the parsed structure plus warnings for the failure modes above. It reads the file and never rewrites it, so it is safe to point at a delivery folder before anyone imports anything.

MCP tools for this

The open-source Avid Media Composer MCP server exposes these tools to any MCP-compatible AI client. Every one of them is read-only.

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Frequently asked questions

What is an ALE file?

An ALE file is an Avid Log Exchange log: a tab-delimited plain-text file carrying clip metadata such as reel, timecode, scene, take and custom columns into Avid Media Composer bins. It contains no media and no edit.

What are the sections of an ALE file?

Three, in order: Heading with global key/value pairs such as FIELD_DELIM, VIDEO_FORMAT and FPS; Column with a single tab-delimited list of column names; and Data with one tab-delimited row per clip.

How do I import an ALE into Avid Media Composer?

Activate the target bin and use File > Input > Import Media, or drag the .ale file onto the bin. Media Composer creates one clip per data row and maps the ALE columns onto bin columns.

Why did my ALE import fail?

Most often a missing Column section, a FIELD_DELIM other than TABS, or data rows whose field count does not match the column line because a value contained a stray tab or line break.

Related guides

This page documents an independent open-source project. It is not affiliated with or endorsed by Avid Technology, Inc. Behaviour described for the MCP server reflects the published package; confirm format and application details against Avid's own documentation before relying on them in production.