Premiere Pro proxy workflow without a full SSD
Keep proxies local, originals in the cloud, export at full quality.
Why Premiere editors run out of space
A standard Premiere Pro project quickly grows past what a 1 TB or 2 TB SSD can hold. Four hours of 6K footage from an FX6 eats 300 GB. Add two more shoots and the drive is full, Premiere freezes, and you spend the afternoon deleting old rushes instead of editing.
The built-in proxy generator inside Premiere helps with playback, but it still requires the original files to be local at export time. So you end up with duplicates: full-resolution rushes plus proxies, both taking space on the same disk.
How Sanbila fixes the Premiere proxy workflow
Sanbila uploads your originals to Cloudflare R2 the moment you import them. Proxies are generated on our servers (no CPU cost on your machine) in H.264, ProRes Proxy, or DNxHR LB, then kept on your SSD. The Sanbila Premiere plugin imports your 4K originals (streamed from the cloud) and attaches the matching local proxy to each clip using Premiere's native proxy feature.
You edit with Toggle Proxies on, so playback stays smooth on the light 720p proxy. When your edit is done, you leave "Use Proxies" unchecked and export: Premiere reads the full 4K original by default. No relink, no reconform, no zoom or conform issues, and your SSD never fills up with originals during the edit.
Native Premiere plugin
The Sanbila plugin runs inside Premiere Pro and wires each proxy to its 4K original for you. Nothing to configure by hand.
Server-side proxy encoding
FFmpeg runs on our servers with 7 presets from 540p H.264 to 1080p ProRes Proxy.
Automatic proxy attach
The plugin attaches each local proxy to its original in Premiere. Export the full 4K by leaving Use Proxies unchecked.
Auto SSD cleanup
LRU eviction frees space automatically when your cache reaches its limit.
Zero egress fees
Streaming originals from R2 costs nothing. No surprise invoice at month-end.
Sanbila by the numbers
Real specs from the live Sanbila product, not marketing claims.
Frequently asked questions
How is Sanbila different from the proxy generator built into my NLE?+
Premiere Pro, DaVinci Resolve, Final Cut Pro and Avid all generate proxies locally, but they keep the original full-resolution files on the same SSD, so the disk fills up twice. Sanbila stores the originals in the cloud (Cloudflare R2) and keeps only the lightweight proxies on your machine. In Premiere Pro, the Sanbila plugin attaches each proxy to its 4K original, so you leave Use Proxies unchecked and export the full resolution by default. In Resolve, FCP, and Avid, Smart Relink streams the originals back at export via a local WebDAV mount. Either way you finish at full quality without ever downloading the source files.
Does Sanbila work offline?+
Yes for editing — once a proxy is cached on your SSD, you can cut, trim, color and arrange your timeline without an internet connection. You only need network access for the initial import (uploading originals to the cloud) and for the final export (streaming originals back via WebDAV).
How much cloud storage does the free plan include?+
The free plan includes 5 GB of cloud storage and one project, with no credit card required. Paid plans start at $49 per month for 2 TB and 50 projects, going up to 25 TB on the Enterprise plan with overage billing for teams that need more.
What upload speed do I need to use Sanbila?+
Any broadband connection works for the initial upload — Sanbila chunks files into 50 MB parts and uploads in parallel, so a typical 100 Mbps fiber line uploads 1 hour of 4K H.264 footage in about 6 minutes. After upload, day-to-day editing happens on local proxies, so your connection speed only matters again at export time when originals are streamed.
Which video formats does Sanbila support?+
Sanbila handles 22+ formats out of the box: MP4, MOV, MXF, R3D (RED RAW), BRAW (Blackmagic RAW), ARRI proxies, ProRes, DNxHR, DNxHD, H.264, H.265, plus WAV and AAC for audio. Both 4K and 8K sources are supported up to 200 GB per single file (URL imports have no size limit).
Start editing Premiere without the disk-full alert
Free plan, no credit card. Install in under 2 minutes on Windows or macOS.
Download freeRelated solutions
SSD full in the middle of a Premiere Pro edit?
Move originals to the cloud, keep lightweight proxies locally, and reclaim space on demand.
Edit 4K offline in Premiere Pro
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Team collaboration on Premiere Pro projects
Share rushes, proxies, and timelines with your team without shipping a 4 TB drive.