Items copied when referencing cross-library

I've got years as a UNIX specialist, I know the difference. I'm getting full files copies, not links.

FCPX.guru wrote: ....I'm getting full files copies, not links.

How can you tell? It seems difficult to perceive the difference between a hard link and an actual file. When I test with large files copied within FCPX to another managed library on the same volume, it's not taking up double the space. Unless it's using hard links, how is FCPX doing that? On APFS that might be possible without hard links but I have no idea how to test that.

On HFS+ looking inside each library with terminal, ls -i seems to show the same inode number for a file copied from one managed library to another. I thought that indicates it's the same file referenced by two hard links. If I edit that file outside FCPX (say with Photoshop) the link count shown by ls -l decrements by one and ls -i then shows the two files having different inode numbers.

On a separate issue, I am seeing some duplicate clips in some cases when loading a project XML in an event with the same existing media. It's inconsistent but seems more likely to happen with large libraries and projects containing multicam clips.

I'm using an unmanaged library where I leave all media in place somewhere else, so that's not the issue.

The issue for me is that the "clips" inside the library (that may or may not reference actual files) are being duplicated into the project's library, not referenced directly from the source library.

I mean, I surely they figured that some people don't want to have copies of all their generic asset clips littered across all the other libraries that contain the projects themselves right?

nickjbedford wrote: I'm using an unmanaged library where I leave all media in place somewhere else, so that's not the issue.

The issue for me is that the "clips" inside the library (that may or may not reference actual files) are being duplicated into the project's library, not referenced directly from the source library.

I mean, I surely they figured that some people don't want to have copies of all their generic asset clips littered across all the other libraries that contain the projects themselves right?

please , does it make a difference if you copy a project directly from a Library to an other or copy it inside a "transfer event " ?