When should you pre-cache project media in Suite?

Prepare known media before the session starts

Pre-caching gives you another way to make the most of Suite file streaming. When the next session’s files are known, prepare them in advance so more of that work can use local cached data from the start. Use it alongside on-demand access for the rest of the shared library. Suite remains a connected workflow, including when files have been pre-cached.

Suite's pre-cache guide documents selecting whole files or folders in advance. It also says selected folders update as their contents change. Suite still requires an internet connection, including workflows that use cached material.

Focus pre-caching on the next session

Start with the next useful activity: a review, a finishing pass, an analysis job or a handoff to another operator. Identify the actual media and dependencies needed for that activity. A narrow session with known inputs is a clearer preparation target than an unspecified request to make everything fast.

Include assets outside the obvious media folder when the application needs them. Record unresolved paths before the session so a missing dependency does not get mistaken for a storage-speed problem. Keep optional material separate from material required to start.

For an agent job, use the approved input list and expected execution window. Pre-caching unrelated files is not a substitute for knowing which data the task is allowed to read.

Make room for preparation and later changes

Review the selected media size, available local capacity and time before work begins. Leave space for application scratch and outputs. Selection alone is not evidence that preparation finished; inspect the supported client view and exercise the intended task before calling the session ready.

A changing folder needs extra attention. If new media arrives shortly before review, the earlier preparation may no longer describe the current set. Identify a content cutoff or recheck the changed inputs. Do not treat yesterday's observation as proof that today's new files are ready.

This is an operational readiness check, not a promised cache-completion API. If an unattended workflow needs a machine-readable signal, confirm the supported interface and its meaning with Suite.

Measure the whole session cost

Record preparation time separately from time spent waiting during useful work. A pre-cached demonstration should say that preparation occurred. Otherwise the comparison hides the work that made the session possible.

For a fair evaluation, run the same representative task under clearly recorded preparation conditions. Observe start-up, sustained use and any unexpected input changes. Report whether the preparation improved the part of the session that mattered, rather than labeling every difference as a product-wide speed improvement.

Keep pre-caching when predictable sessions benefit from the earlier preparation and the local resources are justified. Reconsider the selection when most prepared data goes unused or the working set changes too quickly. The goal is to make the next useful task ready with an understandable cost, while retaining the connected workflow Suite requires.