Guides / DAW conversion

How to convert Ableton to Pro Tools

Updated August 2026

Ableton Live saves projects as .als files; Pro Tools uses .ptx files. Neither opens the other's format. Doseedo converts the project itself: upload the .als, download a native .ptx with the session rebuilt.

Why there's no built-in way

Ableton and Avid have no shared project format. Pro Tools cannot open an .als, and Ableton Live has no Pro Tools export. AAF gets audio clips across with fades and levels, but it carries no MIDI, no instruments and no plugin chains. The usual fallback — render stems and rebuild — flattens the project. A native conversion keeps it editable.

How the conversion works

Doseedo reads the Ableton Live project with the same native engine that powers its other directions and writes a real Pro Tools session: a native .ptx with the audio in an Audio Files/ folder beside it. Converting to Pro Tools, the download is the whole session folder — a "<name> Pro Tools" folder holding the .ptx and its Audio Files/ — zipped, so it opens with the audio in place. Zip the Ableton project folder (the .als plus Samples/) so the audio travels; a bare .als converts structure and MIDI only.

What carries over — and what doesn't

Ableton ↔ Pro Tools is a deep direction in Doseedo's converter. What arrives editable: audio and MIDI tracks in order with their names, levels, pans, mutes and solos; MIDI clips with every note at their arrangement positions; audio clips with their files traveling in the session folder; summing buses and sends as real routing; mixer automation lanes — volume, pan, mute and sends; stock plugins mapped to real native equivalents; and tempo, time signature and markers. Third-party effect plugins arrive as the same plugin with their saved settings when the plugin is installed on the other side.

The honest limits: plugin-parameter automation lanes and third-party instrument state don't cross the Pro Tools boundary yet — they're reported, never silently dropped.

Do I need Ableton or Pro Tools installed?

Not to convert. You need Pro Tools to open the result — an active subscription or perpetual license on either macOS or Windows.

Watch the walkthrough

Same job, any name

Whether you'd say Ableton to Pro Tools converter, convert .als to .ptx (als to ptx), Ableton file to Pro Tools file, open an Ableton project in Pro Tools, import a Live Set into Pro Tools, export Ableton to Pro Tools, or move, transfer or migrate a project from Ableton Live to Pro Tools — it is the conversion this guide walks through, and the Ableton to Pro Tools converter does it free, online, with nothing to install. Also searched as: convert ableton to pro tools · ableton live to pro tools · als to ptx · als to ptx converter · convert als file to ptx · ableton project to pro tools session · ableton file to pro tools file · open als in pro tools.

Related guides

• Convert Pro Tools to Ableton (the other way)
• Ableton to Pro Tools converter (the tool)
• What is a .ptx file
• Every way to move a project between DAWs
• What carries over, field by field

FAQ

Can you convert an Ableton Live project to Pro Tools?

Yes. Upload an .als project to Doseedo and download a native Pro Tools .ptx session — the .ptx with its Audio Files/ folder, zipped. The arrangement, MIDI notes, audio clips, tempo, markers, track levels, buses and sends, and mixer automation lanes arrive editable. Third-party effects arrive as the same plugin with their saved settings when the plugin is installed on the other side. Plugin-parameter automation lanes and third-party instrument state don't cross yet.

Does Ableton Live export to Pro Tools?

No. Ableton Live has no Pro Tools export, and Pro Tools can't open .als files. AAF moves audio clips only — no MIDI, no plugins. The real routes are rendering stems (which flattens the project) or a native converter that rebuilds the session format — that's what Doseedo does.

Do plugins and automation carry over from Ableton to Pro Tools?

Yes. Mixer automation lanes (volume, pan, mute, sends) carry over, summing buses and sends arrive as real routing, stock plugins map to the closest native equivalents, and third-party effects arrive as the same plugin with their saved settings when the plugin is installed on the Pro Tools machine. Plugin-parameter automation lanes and third-party instrument state don't cross the Pro Tools boundary yet — they're reported, never silently dropped.

Do I need Ableton Live installed to convert to Pro Tools?

No. The conversion works on the project itself — you only need Pro Tools to open the converted result.