You open Medal to grab last night's clutch and the library is half empty, or the clip is listed but will not play. Before you assume the files are gone, check two things: where Medal is actually saving, and which of its cleanup features is switched on.
Medal's own support articles describe a short list of reasons local clips disappear, and most of them are settings rather than bugs.
This guide follows those articles as of November 12, 2026: how to find your clips folder, the five documented causes, how to move the folder without breaking the library, and exactly what can and cannot be recovered.
Menu names can shift between Medal versions, so if a label looks slightly different on your PC, look for the closest match under Settings.
Why Medal clips disappear and what to do (as of November 12, 2026)
| Cause | What you notice | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Free up space after upload | Older clips are cloud only or gone from the PC | Raise or turn off the limit; these clips were uploaded first, so look in your uploaded clips, and deleted uploads stay in Recently Deleted for 30 days |
| PC Storage Limit reached | The oldest recordings vanish as new ones arrive | Raise the cap or enable Only Delete Full-length Recordings |
| Folder moved in File Explorer | Clips listed but will not play, or library empty | Move files back, reset Capture Folder Location, restart Medal |
| Reinstalled without clips.json | Files still in the folder, library empty | Re-import the files or sync them as an external recorder |
| Formatted PC with no backup | Folder is gone entirely | Only uploaded clips survive; back up the capture folder next time |
| New computer | Only clips synced to the cloud show up | Copy the old capture folder over and import it |
| External or network drive chosen | Folder error when moving or saving | Pick a folder on a local internal drive |
Short answer: check Capture Folder Location first, then the cleanup settings
Your clips are wherever Settings > PC Storage > Storage Settings > Capture Folder Location points. Medal's support pages say it creates a dedicated folder on your main drive by default and give C:\Medal\ as an example, so read the actual path in that field rather than guessing.
If the files are not there, the cause is almost always one of these. Free up space deletes local copies after a clip has uploaded to the cloud, once storage passes the limit you set, oldest first. The PC Storage Limit removes the oldest video files when Medal reaches the cap.
Moving the folder in File Explorer can leave Medal unable to find the clips. Reinstalling without restoring clips.json means Medal may not recognize files that are still on disk. And formatting or switching PCs loses anything you did not back up or upload.
The good news is that after a moved folder or a reinstall, the video files are usually still on your drive and just need to be pointed at or re-imported. If you want the general picture of choosing a save drive for any recorder, see how to change your recording save location.
How to find and bring back missing Medal clips
- 1Read the real path in Capture Folder LocationOpen Medal, go to Settings > PC Storage > Storage Settings and note the full path under Capture Folder Location. The same panel shows how much space Medal clips and other files use on that drive.
- 2Open a clip's file locationIn the library, right click any clip that still plays and choose Open File Location. If a listed clip does not play and its file is missing from the Clips folder, Medal is pointing somewhere the file no longer is.
- 3Check Free up space and the PC Storage LimitLook at the PC Storage Limit and the Free up space options. If a limit is set, Medal deletes the oldest files once it is reached. Raise it, or turn on Only Delete Full-length Recordings so saved clips are protected and only long session recordings are removed.
- 4Fix a folder you moved by handMove the video files back to the original folder, set Capture Folder Location to that folder again and restart Medal. To move clips properly, click Browse, pick the new folder and press Move Clips, and do not start a game or close Medal until it finishes. If files are missing outright, work through why recordings are not saving.
- 5Recover what can be recoveredFor clips that were uploaded or synced, open Albums > Recently Deleted and restore them within 30 days. For local files, check the Windows Recycle Bin; if Use Recycling Bin was on, restore the file to the capture folder and import it back into the library.
Keep this from happening again
- Write down your Capture Folder Location path somewhere outside Medal so you can find the files even if the app breaks.
- Before formatting, copy the whole capture folder plus the store folder and medal-{userID}.db files from %APPDATA%\Medal\ to another drive, and restore them to the same paths.
- Leave Use Recycling Bin turned on so local deletions go to the Windows Recycle Bin first.
- Size your storage cap from real numbers. See how much space an hour of game recording takes.
- Keep the capture folder on a local internal drive; Medal's support page says external, network and cloud drives are not supported for saving clips.
If you want a cleanup rule you can predict
Medal's cloud sync is genuinely useful if you share a lot, and its limits make sense once you know they exist. If you would rather keep everything on your PC with a rule that is easy to remember, DOR is a free Windows game recorder that works differently.
Launch a supported game and it detects it and records the whole match automatically, and every recording lands in My Clips inside the app.
Old footage is only cleaned up when the full gameplay video allowance, 5GB by default, is exceeded, oldest first, and your recent recordings and videos you liked are kept. In VALORANT it also tags kills, aces and clutches as highlight clips automatically.
You can trim any part in the app and export an mp4 or share a dor.gg link from DOR Studio. See how DOR auto recording works and the VALORANT hub.
