Upload your first video

From drag-drop to a playable, streaming link in seconds: nothing to set up, nothing to wait on.

Updated July 11, 2026

Getting a video off your machine and into a link someone can actually watch is usually the annoying part: export presets, a slow upload, a wait while something processes, then a file that stutters on the client's laptop. HoldFast collapses all of that into a drag and a few seconds. Here's the whole path, from a file on your desktop to a link that streams smoothly on any device.

Start with a project

Projects are the organizing unit: one per client, campaign, or brand. From the Projects tab, click + New Project, give it a name, and you're in. Everything you upload from here lives inside that project, and you can add folders later to keep cuts and deliverables tidy.

Add your media

Three ways to get files in, all from the open project:

• Drag and drop a file, a handful of files, or a whole folder anywhere onto the project page.
• Click + Add New → Upload Files to pick from a dialog.
• Click Local Watch Folder to point HoldFast at an export directory on your machine. It uploads what's already there and keeps watching, so every new render lands automatically without you touching a thing.

Screenshot: upload-your-first-video-1
Drag files or whole folders straight onto the project.

Files upload several at a time, each with its own progress bar, so a batch of clips moves as fast as your connection allows.

It's ready in seconds

This is the part that surprises people. There is nothing to set up and nothing to wait on. Your clip is watchable almost the moment it lands, and it streams smoothly on anything from a phone on cellular to a 4K display. If a brief Optimizing badge appears, the sharpest quality is just catching up in the background. Go ahead and hit play and start reviewing.

Every file you later drop onto an existing clip becomes a new version of it, labelled with its filename, so re-exports stack up cleanly instead of littering the project with v2_FINAL copies.

Now share it

An uploaded clip isn't doing anything until someone watches it, and that's where HoldFast earns its place. Pick the share that fits the job:

• Sending a cut for notes? Turn it into a review link and get timecoded feedback back on the exact frame.
• Building a showreel or a sales piece? Drop it into a reel.

Either way, the link reports back who opened it, so the file you just uploaded starts working for you the moment you send it.