Photo
Archive
Lite
Your photos are already organized in folders. Photo Archive Lite works with that — no import, no catalog, no waiting.
Your photos are already organized in folders. Photo Archive Lite works with that — no import, no catalog, no waiting.
For every photographer who has tried to leave Lightroom, the same wall: every alternative wants to import your photos into its catalog first. Years of organizing folders by date, by shoot, by trip — and the new app wants to redo all of that work in its own database. The folder structure you spent a decade building becomes raw material for someone else's index.
Photo Archive Lite doesn't have a catalog. Open a folder, browse what's in it, rate the photos you care about, add keywords, export selections. Every action writes to XMP sidecar files next to your photos. Close the app and your work travels with the files — into Lightroom, into Photo Developer, into anything that speaks XMP. No import, no waiting, no proprietary anything.
The folder structure you already built is the only catalog you need.
Point Photo Archive Lite at any folder on disk. Thumbnails load progressively — small folders are instant, archives with thousands of photos start showing results in seconds. A persistent EXIF cache means revisiting the same folder later is nearly instant. RAW and JPEG versions of the same shot are automatically grouped — press J to collapse the pair, R to cycle members.
Rate with number keys (1–5). Pick or reject with P/U/X. Add keywords with Cmd+Shift+K, set copyright with Cmd+Shift+R. Every action is multi-select aware: rate ten photos at once, keyword fifty in a single command. Open the loupe with Space and use arrow keys to move through the set without leaving full screen.
When you're ready to share, export selections as JPEG with quality presets (Web 80%, Print 95%, Archive 100%), resize options, and customizable filename patterns. Embedded metadata travels with the export — keywords, copyright, EXIF, the lot.
The folder structure you already built — by date, by shoot, by trip — is the source of truth. Photo Archive Lite reads what's there. No import step, no proprietary database, no waiting for a catalog to build.
1–5 for ratings. P/U/X for pick/unflag/reject. Arrow keys to navigate, Space for the loupe. Designed for photographers who rate hundreds of photos in a session and don't want to lift their hand to a mouse.
Ratings, keywords, copyright, picks — all written to standard XMP sidecars next to your photos. Lightroom-compatible. Delete the app and your metadata stays. Move a folder to a new drive and everything follows.
Filter by rating, pick status, file type, keywords, date range, copyright status, or which suite apps have edited the photo. Quick presets get you to "All Picks" or "Unrated" in one click. Filters compose — rating ≥3, no copyright set, edited in Photo Developer is a real query that returns in milliseconds. Tested on archives with thousands of photos.
"To collect photographs is to collect the world."
Susan Sontag, On Photography
A folder-based photo browser for macOS. Rate, keyword, filter, and export — backed by XMP sidecars that stay with your photos. No import, no catalog, no subscription. The archive you already have, made browsable.