If you're experiencing strange or non-reproducible issues:

• Reload the project. In a web browser, click the Refresh button or use the Command/Ctrl + R shortcut. In the desktop app, use the keyboard shortcut Shift + Cmd/Ctrl + R or select Window > Reload from the main application menu.
• Restart your computer

Missing visuals?

• Check if script or media layers are hidden in the Layer panel.
• Switch to a video composition if needed.

Missing audio?

• Check if a layer is solo’d
• If you're a Windows user, verify Exclusive Mode is disabled.

Projects with several GBs of files, long compositions, or lots of edits can slow things down. If you’re seeing performance issues, try breaking your work into smaller compositions or separate projects. There’s no one-size-fits-all rule — your device specs also play a big role — but if things start lagging as your project grows, this could be the reason. Learn how to copy a composition to a different project.

Closing high-usage apps like web browsers or video conferencing tools can help free up memory and improve Descript’s performance. Even background apps can make a difference — close anything you're not actively using.

Descript runs best when your device has at least 20GB of free disk space. Free up space on Mac | Free up space on Windows

For the best experience, your device should meet (or exceed!) our recommended system specs. If you’re running into slowdowns, crashes, or export issues, double-checking your hardware is a good place to start. View system requirements

Extensions that interact with text — like Grammarly or other script-reading tools — can interfere with Descript and affect performance. How to disable Grammarly | Disable Chrome extensions

We’ve seen reports that McAfee can interfere with Descript’s performance. If you’re noticing lag or instability, try disabling McAfee while you work — or add Descript as an exception to avoid conflicts. How to disable McAfee

Descript currently supports one GPU at a time. If you're on a machine with both integrated and discrete GPUs, make sure Descript is using the high-performance option.

Set default GPU on macOS

1. Open Activity Monitor and navigate to Window > GPU History.
2. Start exporting a composition.
3. See which GPU is being used. If it's not the discrete one (like AMD), turn off Automatic Graphics Switching in Energy settings.

Note: Apple Silicon chips have integrated GPUs that should default correctly.

Set default GPU on Windows

1. Open Task Manager (Ctrl+Alt+Delete) and go to the Performance tab.
2. Start exporting a composition.
3. Check which GPU is being used. If needed, change it in your GPU settings.

Switch to the dedicated NVIDIA GPU

1. Open the NVIDIA Control Panel.
2. Go to 3D Settings > Manage 3D settings.
3. Under Program Settings, select Descript.
4. Choose High-performance NVIDIA processor as the preferred GPU.
5. Save your changes.

Switch to the dedicated AMD GPU

1. Open AMD Radeon Settings from your desktop context menu.
2. Go to System > Switchable Graphics.
3. Find Descript in the app list and set it to High Performance.

Occasionally, files with an unsupported or invalid format may trigger a playback error. If this happens, try re-encoding the original file using a tool like VLC or QuickTime. Once re-encoded, you can use the Replace File feature in your project or re-import the file into a new one.

If you’ve tried everything else and you're still running into issues, a clean reinstall can help: Uninstall | Reinstall