Rendering happens in your browser using FFmpeg (WebAssembly) — your footage isn't uploaded somewhere else just to be rendered. That also means the render job depends on your browser tab staying active and your device staying awake until it completes.
Where a render goes after you start it
When you kick off a render, it enters ReelWorkshop's render queue, which shows progress as it works, and gives you the option to cancel or retry a job. Once it completes, the finished file appears on the Exports page — that's the place to look for anything you've rendered, whether you download it right away or come back later.
Downloading the file
| Setting | Options |
|---|---|
| Resolution | 1080x1920 or 720x1280 |
| Video codec | H.264 |
| Audio codec | AAC (kept from source or muted, your choice at render time) |
| Container | MP4 |
On the Exports page, each completed render gives you a download action that saves the MP4 to your device. Because rendering happens locally in the browser, the file is already fully assembled by the time it reaches this page — downloading just moves that finished MP4 out of the browser and onto your device or into cloud storage if you're signed in.
What counts against your monthly minutes
On the Starter plan ($19.99/month), you get 60 exported minutes per calendar month along with 25 GB of storage. That allowance is consumed by rendering, not by downloading — once a file has rendered and sits on the Exports page, downloading it again (say, on a different device) doesn't use additional exported minutes. Re-rendering the same edit from scratch would.
Signed-in users get private cloud storage for source clips and exports plus refresh recovery, so a completed export isn't only sitting in your browser's temporary memory — you can come back to the Exports page later and download it again.
If a download doesn't start
- Check the render queue first to confirm the job actually shows as complete, not still in progress or failed.
- Confirm you're signed in if you're expecting to see a previous session's export — exports tied to an account need that account active.
- Check your browser's own download settings or permissions, since a blocked pop-up or restrictive download setting can prevent a file from saving even after ReelWorkshop hands it off.
- Retry the render from the queue if the job shows as failed rather than complete — a stalled render won't produce a downloadable file.
Mistakes to avoid
- Closing the browser tab while a render is still in progress, which can interrupt the render entirely.
- Assuming a completed export is gone if you didn't download it immediately — check the Exports page before re-rendering from scratch.
- Re-rendering the same edit repeatedly to "redownload" it, which burns through your exported-minutes allowance unnecessarily.
- Not checking the render queue for a failed job and instead assuming the tool is just slow.
When this isn't the right tool
If you need automated delivery of exports to a third-party storage system or a publishing pipeline, that's outside what the Exports page does — it's a manual download point, not an automated distribution service.
Does downloading an export again use more of my monthly minutes?
No, downloading a completed file doesn't consume exported minutes — only rendering does.
What happens if my browser closes during a render?
The render can be interrupted since it runs locally in the browser; check the render queue and retry the job if it shows as failed or incomplete.