diff --git a/apps/web/src/components/project-controls.tsx b/apps/web/src/components/project-controls.tsx
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..1d6dd1b
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/web/src/components/project-controls.tsx
@@ -0,0 +1,78 @@
+import { useRef, useState } from 'react'
+import { Download, Upload } from 'lucide-react'
+
+import { Button } from '@/components/ui/button'
+import { downloadProject, importProject } from '@/lib/project'
+import { usePhotoStore } from '@/stores/photo-store'
+import { settingsSnapshot, useSettingsStore } from '@/stores/settings-store'
+
+export function ProjectControls() {
+  const photos = usePhotoStore((state) => state.photos)
+  const replaceAll = usePhotoStore((state) => state.replaceAll)
+  const inputRef = useRef<HTMLInputElement>(null)
+  const [busy, setBusy] = useState(false)
+  const [error, setError] = useState<string | null>(null)
+
+  const handleSave = async () => {
+    setBusy(true)
+    try {
+      await downloadProject(
+        photos,
+        settingsSnapshot(useSettingsStore.getState()),
+      )
+    } finally {
+      setBusy(false)
+    }
+  }
+
+  const handleOpen = async (file: File) => {
+    setBusy(true)
+    setError(null)
+    try {
+      const { photos: imported, settings } = await importProject(file)
+      replaceAll(imported)
+      useSettingsStore.setState(settings)
+    } catch {
+      setError('Could not open that project file.')
+    } finally {
+      setBusy(false)
+    }
+  }
+
+  return (
+    <div className="flex flex-col items-end gap-1">
+      <div className="flex items-center gap-2">
+        <input
+          ref={inputRef}
+          type="file"
+          accept="application/json,.json"
+          hidden
+          onChange={(event) => {
+            const file = event.target.files?.[0]
+            if (file) void handleOpen(file)
+            event.target.value = ''
+          }}
+        />
+        <Button
+          variant="outline"
+          size="sm"
+          disabled={busy}
+          onClick={() => inputRef.current?.click()}
+        >
+          <Upload className="size-3.5" />
+          Open
+        </Button>
+        <Button
+          variant="outline"
+          size="sm"
+          disabled={busy || photos.length === 0}
+          onClick={() => void handleSave()}
+        >
+          <Download className="size-3.5" />
+          Save
+        </Button>
+      </div>
+      {error && <span className="text-destructive text-xs">{error}</span>}
+    </div>
+  )
+}
diff --git a/apps/web/src/lib/project.ts b/apps/web/src/lib/project.ts
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..060bf70
--- /dev/null
+++ b/apps/web/src/lib/project.ts
@@ -0,0 +1,112 @@
+import {
+  type Crop,
+  DEFAULT_CROP,
+  DEFAULT_ORIENTATION,
+  type Orientation,
+} from '@/lib/crop'
+import { type Photo } from '@/lib/photos'
+import { type SettingsSnapshot } from '@/stores/settings-store'
+
+// A portable project file: the layout, captions, settings and the images
+// themselves, all in one self-contained JSON. No account, no cloud — just a
+// file you own, that re-opens the exact same sheet anywhere.
+
+const PROJECT_VERSION = 1
+
+interface ProjectPhoto {
+  name: string
+  captionTop: string
+  captionBottom: string
+  place?: { city: string; country: string }
+  takenAt?: number
+  cameraLine?: string
+  crop: Crop
+  orientation: Orientation
+  /** The image embedded as a data URL (base64). */
+  dataUrl: string
+}
+
+interface ProjectFile {
+  version: number
+  settings: SettingsSnapshot
+  photos: ProjectPhoto[]
+}
+
+function fileToDataUrl(file: File): Promise<string> {
+  return new Promise((resolve, reject) => {
+    const reader = new FileReader()
+    reader.onload = () => resolve(reader.result as string)
+    reader.onerror = () => reject(reader.error)
+    reader.readAsDataURL(file)
+  })
+}
+
+export async function buildProjectFile(
+  photos: Photo[],
+  settings: SettingsSnapshot,
+): Promise<ProjectFile> {
+  const projectPhotos = await Promise.all(
+    photos.map(async (photo) => ({
+      name: photo.name,
+      captionTop: photo.captionTop,
+      captionBottom: photo.captionBottom,
+      place: photo.place,
+      takenAt: photo.takenAt,
+      cameraLine: photo.cameraLine,
+      crop: photo.crop,
+      orientation: photo.orientation,
+      dataUrl: await fileToDataUrl(photo.file),
+    })),
+  )
+  return { version: PROJECT_VERSION, settings, photos: projectPhotos }
+}
+
+export async function downloadProject(
+  photos: Photo[],
+  settings: SettingsSnapshot,
+  filename = 'polaroid-project.json',
+): Promise<void> {
+  const project = await buildProjectFile(photos, settings)
+  const blob = new Blob([JSON.stringify(project)], { type: 'application/json' })
+  const url = URL.createObjectURL(blob)
+  const link = document.createElement('a')
+  link.href = url
+  link.download = filename
+  link.click()
+  URL.revokeObjectURL(url)
+}
+
+/** Parses a project file back into live photos (new ids, fresh object URLs). */
+export async function importProject(file: File): Promise<{
+  photos: Photo[]
+  settings: Partial<SettingsSnapshot>
+}> {
+  const parsed = JSON.parse(await file.text()) as ProjectFile
+  if (!parsed || !Array.isArray(parsed.photos)) {
+    throw new Error('Invalid project file')
+  }
+  const photos = await Promise.all(
+    parsed.photos.map(async (entry) => {
+      const blob = await (await fetch(entry.dataUrl)).blob()
+      const rebuilt = new File([blob], entry.name || 'photo', {
+        type: blob.type,
+      })
+      return {
+        id: crypto.randomUUID(),
+        file: rebuilt,
+        url: URL.createObjectURL(rebuilt),
+        name: rebuilt.name,
+        size: rebuilt.size,
+        captionTop: entry.captionTop ?? '',
+        captionBottom: entry.captionBottom ?? '',
+        place: entry.place,
+        takenAt: entry.takenAt,
+        cameraLine: entry.cameraLine,
+        crop: entry.crop ?? DEFAULT_CROP,
+        orientation: entry.orientation ?? DEFAULT_ORIENTATION,
+        enriching: false,
+      } satisfies Photo
+    }),
+  )
+  return { photos, settings: parsed.settings ?? {} }
+}
diff --git a/apps/web/src/routes/index.tsx b/apps/web/src/routes/index.tsx
index 7d880e4..db26fb8 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/routes/index.tsx
+++ b/apps/web/src/routes/index.tsx
@@ -3,6 +3,7 @@ import { createFileRoute } from '@tanstack/react-router'
 import { A4Preview } from '@/components/a4-preview'
 import { PhotoDropzone } from '@/components/photo-dropzone'
 import { PhotoGrid } from '@/components/photo-grid'
+import { ProjectControls } from '@/components/project-controls'
 import { usePhotoStore } from '@/stores/photo-store'
 
 export const Route = createFileRoute('/')({
@@ -14,12 +15,15 @@ function Home() {
 
   return (
     <main className="mx-auto flex min-h-svh w-full max-w-4xl flex-col gap-6 p-4 sm:gap-8 sm:p-8">
-      <header className="flex flex-col gap-1">
-        <h1 className="text-2xl font-semibold tracking-tight">Polaroid</h1>
-        <p className="text-muted-foreground text-sm">
-          Add your photos to start building polaroid-style A4 sheets. Everything
-          stays on your device.
-        </p>
+      <header className="flex items-start justify-between gap-3">
+        <div className="flex flex-col gap-1">
+          <h1 className="text-2xl font-semibold tracking-tight">Polaroid</h1>
+          <p className="text-muted-foreground text-sm">
+            Add your photos to start building polaroid-style print sheets.
+            Everything stays on your device.
+          </p>
+        </div>
+        <ProjectControls />
       </header>
 
       <PhotoDropzone compact={hasPhotos} />
diff --git a/apps/web/src/stores/photo-store.ts b/apps/web/src/stores/photo-store.ts
index b8ce424..82eed49 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/stores/photo-store.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/stores/photo-store.ts
@@ -30,6 +30,8 @@ interface PhotoState {
   /** Re-derives auto date captions when the date format changes. */
   applyDateFormat: (format: DateFormat) => void
   remove: (id: string) => void
+  /** Replaces the whole set (e.g. opening a project file), revoking old URLs. */
+  replaceAll: (photos: Photo[]) => void
   clear: () => void
 }
 
@@ -172,6 +174,11 @@ export const usePhotoStore = create<PhotoState>((set) => {
         if (target) URL.revokeObjectURL(target.url)
         return { photos: state.photos.filter((photo) => photo.id !== id) }
       }),
+    replaceAll: (photos) =>
+      set((state) => {
+        state.photos.forEach((photo) => URL.revokeObjectURL(photo.url))
+        return { photos }
+      }),
     clear: () =>
       set((state) => {
         state.photos.forEach((photo) => URL.revokeObjectURL(photo.url))
diff --git a/apps/web/src/stores/settings-store.ts b/apps/web/src/stores/settings-store.ts
index e1b5b27..2f21393 100644
--- a/apps/web/src/stores/settings-store.ts
+++ b/apps/web/src/stores/settings-store.ts
@@ -26,6 +26,14 @@ export interface SettingsSnapshot {
   showCaptions: boolean
 }
 
+/** Extracts the persistable settings (no action functions) from store state. */
+export function settingsSnapshot(state: SettingsState): SettingsSnapshot {
+  return PERSISTED_SETTINGS_KEYS.reduce(
+    (snapshot, key) => ({ ...snapshot, [key]: state[key] }),
+    {} as SettingsSnapshot,
+  )
+}
+
 export const PERSISTED_SETTINGS_KEYS: (keyof SettingsSnapshot)[] = [
   'framePadding',
   'captionFontId',