Workspace
A workspace is a directory that holds projects, shared data, scripts and logs. It is the unit you back up and move.
Create or select
On first launch the application asks for a workspace. Choose an empty directory you can write to; the subdirectories are created automatically.
Later, use the workspace selector in the main window to switch to another workspace or browse for a new one. The list can be edited; removing an entry does not delete anything from disk.
Structure
workspace/
├── data/
│ ├── auth/ # Seed2Key DLLs and auth helpers
│ ├── dsc/ # DID descriptions (.bmdid)
│ ├── dtc/ # global DTC databases (.json / .txt)
│ └── config.json # local workspace settings
├── logs/ # session logs
├── projects/ # one folder per project
├── scripts/ # shared Lua scripts
└── firmware/ # shared firmware imagesA project folder contains project.bmprj, one .bmecu per ECU, optionally cover.png, notes.md, project scripts/, project firmware/ and chat_history.json.
One workspace per vehicle family
A workspace can hold many projects. Keeping one workspace per vehicle family makes the data folders unambiguous: the DTC database and auth DLLs used by a project are the ones in its workspace. Project scripts take priority over workspace scripts with the same name.
Backup and move
Copy the whole workspace folder. ECU files are referenced by name inside the project folder, so a copied workspace opens on another machine without editing. Save As copies ECU files into the new project folder, keeping the two projects independent.
The global configuration is separate:
%APPDATA%\BlackMagic\config_global.jsonIt holds application-wide preferences such as the last project, UI settings and the window layout (imgui.ini). Local workspace settings live in <workspace>/data/config.json.
Permissions
Avoid a workspace inside Program Files: Windows may block writes there. A directory under Documents, D:\ or a dedicated data drive is safer. The installer lets you point the data directory somewhere else entirely.