FL Studio 
To export a full song from FL Studio, save the project, clear any unintended Playlist time selection and choose File > Export. Select an audio format, set Mode to Song, leave Split Mixer Tracks off and check that the sounds you want reach the Master. For a finished song, start with Leave remainder so the ending has room to decay. Render, then listen to the actual file in a media player before sending it.
Rendering turns the arrangement into audio, and that is all it does: it will not bring back a missing instrument or pick the right delivery specification for you. The sensible order is short. Decide what you are sending, check the range and signal path, choose the format, then check the result.
Using the standard Trial? You can export audio and save an FLP, but you cannot reopen that saved project until you purchase and unlock FL Studio, and your edition and plugin licenses have to cover the plugins in the project. Keep needed work open while you make and check your exports. Image-Line explains the difference in its Trial limitations; saving an FLP does not mean you can reopen it right away.
Choose what you need to send
| You need | Deliverable | Next step |
|---|---|---|
| One finished mix for listening or delivery | A full-song audio file | Follow the steps below |
| Separate drums, vocals or instruments | Aligned audio outputs | Use the stems export workflow |
| An editable FL Studio session | FLP plus required project audio | Check the zipped loop package and dependency checks |
| Notes and compatible control data | A MIDI file, not the sound | Follow the MIDI export guide |
A ZIP will not ship all your installed software. The project-format documentation separates the FLP and its included Sampler Channel/Audio Clip files from external libraries that third-party plugins manage. Those libraries are generally left out unless the plugin's saved format embeds them, so the recipient still needs suitable plugins and licenses.
Save a version and check the mix path
Use File > Save new version to keep the previous project version instead of overwriting it; the File menu reference describes how the numbered copies work. In the standard Trial, that saved copy is for reopening after purchase and unlock, so keep the current session open for the export checks.
Give the audio file a useful name, such as Night-Train_mix-03.wav or Night-Train_review-03.mp3, and put it in a folder you will find again. A clear mix version helps a collaborator far more than yet another file called “final.”
- Play the arrangement in Song mode. Pattern mode is for the selected pattern, not the whole Playlist arrangement.
- Check the Master route and mutes. A normal full-mix render takes the Master output. A track routed elsewhere and never reaching the Master will be absent; muted Mixer tracks, including a muted Master, are excluded.
- Keep the intended effects. In the export dialog, check
Enable insert effectsandEnable master effects. Disabling either changes the processing included in the file. Leave both enabled when you want the processed mix you were hearing; deliberately dry deliveries are a different job. - Record external hardware first. Hearing a MIDI-controlled synth during playback does not mean its sound is inside the project. Record its audio and place it in the Playlist before the offline render.
- Check peaks and the ending. Avoid clipping a fixed-bit-depth output, and listen to the last reverb or delay rather than guessing where it stops.
The Export Project reference documents these render controls and the external-hardware limitation. If the routing itself needs work, use the Mixer routing guide. If the mix needs limiting or a different loudness balance, deal with that in the mastering workflow before you export another copy.
Set the exact song range
A highlighted time selection often explains why a long project turns into a short file. Song-mode export decides the range in this order:
- If there is a Playlist time selection, export that selected range.
- Otherwise, a time marker beyond the last bar containing Playlist data can define the endpoint.
- Without that later marker, use the last bar containing Playlist data.
The Tail setting then handles any sound that keeps going past the chosen endpoint. These are fallbacks tried one after another; their lengths are never added together.
For the whole song
Clear any accidental time selection. One documented way is to double-click the Playlist's time ruler, and the Playlist selection instructions explain how a time selection differs from selecting clips. Make sure the highlight is gone before you open the export dialog. If a long decay still needs extra room, the export documentation recommends a Repeat marker beyond the last Pattern, Audio or Automation Clip. In this case it only extends the render endpoint; it will not duplicate the song inside the file.
For an excerpt or loop
Keep a time selection only when you want that section. Check its start and end against the ruler, since the selected clips can mislead you. After sending the excerpt, clear the selection before your next full-song render. The Playlist guide covers arrangement and marker editing in more detail.
Export a full song in nine steps
- Save a new project version. Use
File > Save new version. In standard Trial, keep needed work open because saved projects require purchase and unlock to reopen. - Choose one finished mix. Leave
Split Mixer Tracksoff for this job. - Confirm Song mode and the range. Clear an unintended Playlist time selection, or keep one only for a deliberate excerpt. Check any later endpoint marker.
- Check the sound reaching the Master. Review routing and mutes, and record required external hardware to audio before rendering.
- Open the export menu. Choose
File > Exportand the needed audio format, then choose a destination and useful file name. - Set the range, tail and effects. In the export dialog use
Mode: Song, normallyLeave remainder, and the insert/master effects settings that match the intended mix. - Match the delivery specification. Confirm the format, sample rate, bit depth or bitrate, and stereo/mono choice. Do not substitute a listening MP3 when someone requested a production WAV.
- Render and locate the file. Enable
Show file(s) when completeif useful, then clickStart. - Verify the actual export. Open it in a media player without closing the working project. Check the beginning, loudest section, missing parts, final decay, format and file name.
Choose WAV, FLAC or a listening copy
WAV for production handoff
FL Studio's WAV export gives you uncompressed, lossless audio. That makes it a sensible starting point when another engineer or editor will keep working on the mix, but ask for their required specification. A requested 24-bit WAV serves them better than an unexpected 32-bit file their software cannot use. FL Studio also offers 32-bit float for compatible downstream processing and 16-bit when the destination calls for it. More bits will not rescue a clipped recording or a weak mix.
FLAC for smaller lossless files
FLAC saves storage without throwing away any of the decoded audio. Image-Line's typical estimate is 20–30% smaller than the equivalent WAV, though your song may differ. The compression level affects encoding work and file size and leaves the decoded sound untouched. Check that the receiving service or application accepts FLAC before using it for delivery.
MP3, OGG and M4A for convenient playback
FL Studio's MP3, OGG and AAC-in-M4A export options are lossy listening formats. A 320 kbps MP3 makes a handy review copy when compatibility matters, but keep the lossless file for any further production. In this export dialog, MP3 supports 32, 44.1 and 48 kHz. MP3 can also add a little silence at the start, so use WAV whenever sample-accurate loop repetition or alignment matters.
MIDI is a different thing altogether. It carries notes and compatible control data, and none of the sound of your synth preset, effects chain or finished Master. The file-format overview keeps audio exports, MIDI and project files apart.
Choose the tail for the job
Leave remainder: let the ending decay
Leave remainder is the default and a good starting point for a finished song. It lets released notes and effects ring on past the endpoint. Listen to the result, and if a long tail still stops too early, push the endpoint out with a later Repeat marker and render again.
Wrap remainder: handle a deliberate loop
Wrap remainder starts from the last bar and mixes qualifying decay back into the beginning of the loop. Decay from notes before that last bar is not included. Check the seam by looping the resulting WAV, because switching to Wrap will not hide every join.
Cut remainder: stop at the boundary
Cut remainder stops at the selected endpoint. Use it when the delivery needs that exact boundary and the ending was written for it, since it can chop off a reverb or released note that would otherwise continue.
Check quality settings without turning everything up
Match the recipient's specification first. The output sample rate lives in Options > Audio settings; see the Audio Settings reference. Music projects often run at 44.1 kHz and video work usually at 48 kHz, but neither habit overrides a rate someone actually requested. The audio settings guide explains rate and device configuration.
Render resampling matters when Sampler or Audio Clip audio is repitched or its sample rate changes, and it is set separately from live interpolation. HQ for all plugins affects supported native plugins and sends the relevant rendering notification to VST plugins, while a third-party plugin may still have quality controls of its own. Changing these settings can change the result, so compare a short test section before assuming maximum settings always sound closest to playback.
The export dialog's Dithering control is documented for converting FL Studio's 32-bit internal audio to 16-bit WAV and MP3. If you use it, apply it once, at the final conversion, and never again to material that is already dithered. This describes that particular control; other audio workflows may dither at other bit depths.
For one stereo mix, leave Split Mixer Tracks off, and don’t enable Mono merged unless you really need a single combined channel. WAV marker options only matter when the next tool uses the marker data. The export settings guide goes deeper into destination choices and quality controls.
Trim PDC silence is a WAV-only start option
Trim PDC silence is on by default and removes the extra starting delay that plugin delay compensation adds to a WAV render. Turn it off only when you deliberately need to keep that delay. It does not switch off compensation inside the mix, fix a recording offset or remove MP3 encoder padding. If the complaint is “the file starts late,” figure out which of those problems you actually have before touching it.
Fix a short, missing or different export
| What you hear | What to check first |
|---|---|
| Only one pattern | Set export Mode to Song rather than Pattern. |
| Only part of the arrangement | Clear an unintended time selection, then inspect the later marker, last data bar and tail. |
| A synth or bus is missing | Check mutes and whether it reaches the Master. Record external hardware before offline rendering. |
| Reverb, processing or mastering has disappeared | Check Enable insert effects and Enable master effects, then the actual effect routing. |
| The final decay is cut off | Use Leave remainder or extend the endpoint with a later Repeat marker. |
| The file distorts but playback seemed clean | Check Master peaks and whether the live playback path was masking clipping. |
| An MP3 will not line up precisely | Use WAV for the alignment-sensitive job; WAV PDC trimming is not an MP3-padding fix. |
| The mix sounds different in another player | Check the player's and operating system's enhancements, then compare plugin quality and live/render interpolation. |
On Windows, the FL Studio ASIO driver's live limiting can hide an overload that is still there in the render; other drivers do not all behave this way. Image-Line's export-versus-playback troubleshooting also covers playback enhancements and plugin differences. Test one cause at a time.
When checking levels, keep the Master fader and the monitoring control apart. The mixing and clipping reference explains that Monitor Volume does not change rendered levels. Internal floating-point headroom also does not protect a fixed-bit-depth output from clipping. Check the Master, but there is no compulsory minus-six peak target for every delivery.
Listen to the file you will actually send
Open the exported file in a media player while the production session is still available. Check the first attack, a busy or loud section, any part that went missing before, and the final decay. Then confirm the format, channel layout, name and folder. A finished progress bar only proves the render ended; it cannot tell you whether you picked the right mix.
If something is wrong, change the relevant setting and export a clearly named revision, keeping the only useful copy intact while you compare. In the standard Trial, finish the exports you need before closing work you cannot reopen yet.
If you need an editable handoff instead of a finished audio file, pick the right route in Export & Collaboration. For saving and arrangement habits earlier in the process, go back to the Workflow guides.
Frequently asked questions
How do I export a full song from FL Studio?
Save the project, clear an unintended Playlist time selection and choose File > Export. Select an audio format, use Song mode, leave Split Mixer Tracks off and normally start with Leave remainder. Check Master routing and the insert/master effects options, render, then verify the actual file in a media player.
Should I export WAV or MP3?
Use the requested WAV specification for a production handoff or further editing. MP3 makes a convenient lossy listening copy but can never replace the lossless mix. Use WAV whenever sample-accurate loop repetition or alignment matters, because MP3 can add leading silence.
Why does FL Studio export only part of my song?
A Playlist time selection takes priority in Song mode. Clear an unintended selection and check for a marker beyond the last bar containing data. Without that later marker, the last data bar defines the endpoint; the Tail setting handles sound continuing beyond it. Pattern mode is a separate reason to get only one pattern.
Why are sounds or effects missing from my export?
Check mutes and whether the intended tracks reach the Master. Record external instruments to audio before offline rendering. If processing is missing, check Enable insert effects and Enable master effects as well as the effect routing.
Which Tail setting should I use?
Start with Leave remainder for a finished song. Wrap remainder is for a deliberate loop and only handles qualifying last-bar decay. Cut remainder stops at the chosen boundary, so use it only when that exact ending is intended.
Can I export a song in the FL Studio Trial?
Yes. The standard Trial allows audio export and saving projects, but reopening saved projects requires purchase and unlock, with edition and plugin licenses that cover the plugins used. Keep needed work open while you make and check your exports, because a saved FLP cannot be reopened in the Trial right away.
