Saving songs as .zloop files in Loop by Zaweba
Loop by Zaweba saves songs as .zloop, a ZIP with song.json and your recordings as float WAV. Saves are atomic, and the format is documented.
Music projects have a habit of falling apart when they are moved. A song refers to a recording in one folder and a sample in another, and when you copy it to a new computer half the sounds are missing. Loop by Zaweba avoids that by keeping everything a song needs in one file, with the extension .zloop.
Save with File > Save (Ctrl+S), save a new copy with Save as (Ctrl+Shift+S), and reopen recent songs from Open recent.
What is inside a .zloop
A .zloop file is a ZIP. Inside is song.json, which describes the song: its tracks, clips, notes, instruments, mixer settings, effects and automation. Next to it is an audio folder holding the recordings you made and the samples you loaded, stored as float WAV files.
Float WAV keeps the audio at full quality with plenty of headroom, so nothing is lost by saving and reopening. And because recordings and samples are inside the song file, a .zloop moved to another folder or computer still has all its sounds.
The format is documented in FORMAT.md, which comes with Loop. That's useful for anyone curious, and it means the file isn't a mystery: a song you make today can be understood later, even outside the app.
Atomic saves
Loop's saves are atomic. In plain terms, a save either completes fully or leaves the previous file as it was. If the computer loses power halfway through a save, you don't end up with a half-written song that won't open. You have the last good version.
Save and Save as
Ctrl+S saves over the current file. Use it often; it costs nothing. Ctrl+Shift+S saves a new copy under a different name, and it is the right move before a big change. Save as "song v2" before you rework the chorus, and the first version is there if the experiment doesn't work out. Undo covers 100 steps within a session, but a saved copy lasts for good.
Open recent
Open recent lists the songs you have worked on lately, so getting back to yesterday's track is two clicks rather than a hunt through folders.
Song files and exported audio
A .zloop is the working project. To play your music in a media player, share it or use it in a video, export it: File > Export gives WAV, MP3, OGG, stems or MIDI. Keep the .zloop as well, since it is the only way to change the song later. An MP3 is a finished picture of the song, not something you can edit.
Keeping songs safe
Since everything is in one file, backing up a song is just copying it. Put .zloop files in a folder you back up, or copy them to a USB stick. Large recordings make for larger files, as the audio is stored at full quality.
Loop by Zaweba has no cloud and no account, so your songs live only where you save them. That keeps them private, and it also means the backups are up to you.
