File hygiene — the practice of properly storing, naming, organising and tracking ECU files — separates professional tuning operations from amateur ones. Poor file hygiene leads to wrong files being flashed, lost originals, and costly mistakes.
Naming convention: use a consistent format that includes vehicle info, date and file type. Example: BMW_F30_330i_B48_VIN-XXXXX_2024-01-15_original.bin
Storage: always maintain at least two copies of every original file on separate media. Never overwrite an original. Store modified files separately from originals with clear labelling.
Version tracking: when working through revision cycles, number each revision clearly. Maintain a log of what changed in each revision and why.