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In Summary In DaVinci Resolve, the AAF for Pro Tools comes from the Deliver page, not the File menu. Choose the Pro Tools preset in the Render Settings, add the job to the Render Queue and render. Resolve writes a Pro Tools AAF, the audio files and a reference movie to your render location. Blackmagic's manual says plainly not to use File > Export AAF/XML for this, because that file "will not provide the correct exchange file for Pro Tools".
The short answer
Open the Deliver page, pick Pro Tools from the presets at the top of the Render Settings, choose how the audio should travel (separate files or embedded in the AAF), set handles, then click Add to Render Queue and render. Send the mixer the whole folder Resolve writes.
The mistake most editors make is the obvious one. Resolve has an AAF export in the File menu, and it looks like the right command. It is not. The DaVinci Resolve 21 Reference Manual (chapter 187, Rendering Media, p. 4192) says: "When exporting using the Pro Tools preset, you must use the AAF file that's automatically created and written to the target location, because it's formatted specially for Pro Tools and it contains path names reflecting the rendered clips. Do not export an AAF using the File > Export AAF/XML command, as this will not provide the correct exchange file for Pro Tools, and it won't work correctly."
There is a second trap on the same page. The Avid AAF preset sits right next to Pro Tools in the list, and the manual says it "is NOT for exporting to Pro Tools". It is for sending graded media back to Media Composer.
If you cut in Premiere Pro instead, the steps are different: see how to export an AAF from Premiere Pro for Pro Tools.
Step by step in Resolve 21
These steps follow the DaVinci Resolve 21 Reference Manual (July 2026).
- Open the timeline and go to the Deliver page. The render covers the current timeline.
- Choose the Pro Tools preset. The manual describes "a dropdown menu with a set of presets" at the very top of the Render Settings (p. 4186). Pick Pro Tools.
- Choose how the audio travels. In the Audio panel, the Codec menu decides the shape of the delivery (p. 4192):
- Linear PCM exports "individual files linked to a separate AAF interchange file".
- Embedded in AAF exports "an AAF with embedded Broadcast WAV audio files within it as a single deliverable".
- Leave "Render one track per channel" on unless the mixer asks otherwise. The manual calls the mono round trip, with that box checked, "the default setting". With it on, "a 5.1 polyphonic .wav file would be exported as six individual mono .wav files". Turn it off and Resolve writes multichannel polyphonic WAV files instead. The manual's advice: check in advance that Pro Tools supports the multichannel formats you want.
- Add handles. In the Video panel's Advanced Settings, set Add X frame handles to give the mixer extra frames at the start and end of each audio clip (p. 4192). Ask the mixer how many they want.
- Check the file type and the reference movie. The Video panel format sets the audio file type: MXF OP-Atom gives MXF audio files, QuickTime gives Broadcast Wave files (p. 4192). All video renders as one reference movie "with all effects and titles baked in" (p. 4193). For a window burn, the manual points to Workspace > Data Burn-In. If you do not want a reference movie at all, uncheck Export Video.
- Queue and render. Click Add to Render Queue at the bottom of the Render Settings. If you have not chosen a location yet, Resolve asks for one (p. 4212). Then render the job.
- Send the folder, not just the .aaf. With Linear PCM, the AAF points at the audio files Resolve rendered beside it. Hand over everything in the render location.
What travels to Pro Tools, and what does not
The manual lists what the Pro Tools preset carries (p. 4193):
| Carries over | Does not carry over |
|---|---|
| Each audio track's custom name | FairlightFX, EQ, compression, pitch and Elastic Wave effects: they are "neither exported nor baked in" |
| All track and clip volume automation, with all keyframes | |
| iXML metadata, including channel names when available | |
| File names and timecode of the source media, for relinking in Pro Tools | |
| Every channel of each source clip, including channels you muted |
Three of these surprise people:
- Muted channels still go. "Each exported file contains every audio channel from the source media, regardless of channels that have been muted in the audio panel of Clip Attributes" (p. 4192). The Edit page chapter repeats it: "the muted channels are exported as well" (chapter 52, p. 1124). That is by design, so the mixer always gets every channel. Tell them which channels you muted and why.
- Synced clips take the recorder's name. For video and audio synced in Resolve, "exported audio files are given the timecode and name of the synced audio source file, not that of the video clip" (p. 4193). If the mixer searches for the camera file name, they will not find it.
- Effects vanish. Any noise reduction or EQ you did on the Fairlight page stays in Resolve. If you need the mixer to hear a fix, tell them, or leave it for them to redo.
Opening the AAF in Pro Tools
This part is the mixer's, but it helps to know what they will see. The Pro Tools Reference Guide (version 2025.10, Importing AAF and OMF Sequences, pp. 651–657) gives three ways in: File > Import > Session Data, File > Open Session, or drag and drop from a Workspace browser or the desktop.
- As a new session. File > Open Session, select the AAF, name the session in the Dashboard, then the Import Session Data dialog opens. The guide says the new session "will match the audio file type, sample rate, and bit depth of the audio in the OMF or AAF you selected".
- Into an existing session. File > Import > Session Data. For AAF sequences, all source tracks are selected by default; deselect the ones you do not want.
- Audio Media Options. Link to Source Audio Media, Copy from Source Media, Consolidate from Source Media, or Force to Target Session Format. One detail matters for the Resolve choice in step 3: "When importing audio embedded in an AAF sequence, Pro Tools copies the audio to a new drive or folder even if this setting is selected." An embedded AAF is simpler to send, but the mixer gets copies either way.
- Handles on import. If the mixer consolidates, Pro Tools has its own Handle Size in milliseconds, and the guide suggests "at least 1000 milliseconds". That only works if the handles exist in the files you rendered, which is why step 5 matters.
- Video. The guide says "Pro Tools does not import video embedded in a sequence". Resolve's preset writes the reference movie as a separate linked file, and the Import Session Data dialog has its own Video Media Options to link or copy it.
If there are errors or truncated clip names on import, Pro Tools offers to save a detailed log as a text file. Ask for it if something is missing.
When the AAF will not import cleanly
Blackmagic gives one specific fix (p. 4193): "If you are experiencing problems with imported AAF files, check to see if there are audio effects or audio compound clips in the Timeline, and replace any you find with duplicates of the same audio clips that have no effects."
Beyond that, check the basics the manual already spells out: that you used the Pro Tools preset and not the File menu, that you sent the whole render folder, and, if you unchecked Render one track per channel, that Pro Tools supports the multichannel format you wrote.
Getting the mix back into Resolve
Resolve can also import an audio AAF from Pro Tools. The manual (chapter 22, Importing and Conforming Timelines, pp. 537–538) gives two commands: File > Import Timeline > Import AAF, EDL, XML, which gives you an audio-only timeline, and File > Import Timeline > Import AAF to Current Timeline, which brings the audio into the timeline you have open.
Where Eddie fits
Eddie does not write an AAF. Its exports to Resolve are a native DaVinci Resolve project (.drp), the FCPXML that Resolve imports, or a delivery into a connected Resolve. So the order is: build the rough cut in Eddie, send it to Resolve, finish picture there, then run the Pro Tools preset above.
The DaVinci Resolve workflow covers the first half: Eddie reads clips, multicams and timelines from Resolve, builds the cut, and sends the timeline back with the media relinked. The Resolve project export page explains what that file carries. For the whole round trip, see how to export an AI edit to Premiere, Resolve or Final Cut.
What it will not do
- It will not take your audio effects. FairlightFX, EQ, compression, pitch and Elastic Wave are ignored by the Pro Tools export.
- It will not hide muted channels. Every channel of every source clip goes to the mixer.
- It will not work from the File menu. File > Export AAF/XML is the wrong command for Pro Tools, by Blackmagic's own account.
- Eddie will not make the AAF for you. That step happens in Resolve.
FAQ
Can I use File > Export AAF in Resolve for Pro Tools?
No. The Resolve 21 manual says not to: that AAF "will not provide the correct exchange file for Pro Tools, and it won't work correctly". Use the Pro Tools preset on the Deliver page.
Should I embed the audio or send separate files?
Both are supported. Linear PCM gives an AAF plus separate audio files; Embedded in AAF gives one file. Pro Tools copies embedded audio to a new drive or folder on import even when Link is chosen, so ask the mixer which they prefer.
Why did my mixer get channels I muted?
Because the Pro Tools preset exports every channel of each source clip, regardless of muting in Clip Attributes. Blackmagic built it that way so the mixer always has everything.
Is the Avid AAF preset the same thing?
No. The manual says the Avid AAF preset "is NOT for exporting to Pro Tools". It is for rendering graded media back to Media Composer.
Do my Fairlight effects go to Pro Tools?
No. Audio effects are "neither exported nor baked in" when you export to Pro Tools from the Deliver page. Track and clip volume automation does go, with all keyframes.
Can Eddie export an AAF?
No. Eddie exports a Resolve project, an FCPXML for Resolve, or a delivery into a connected Resolve. Make the AAF in Resolve with the Pro Tools preset.
Sources
- Blackmagic Design, DaVinci Resolve 21 Reference Manual (July 2026): chapter 187 Rendering Media, pp. 4186, 4192–4193, 4212; chapter 52 Working with Audio in the Edit Page, p. 1124; chapter 22 Importing and Conforming Timelines, pp. 537–538. Checked 2026-11-05.
- Avid, Pro Tools Reference Guide, version 2025.10: Importing AAF and OMF Sequences, pp. 651–657. Checked 2026-11-05.
