Can I limit how much Lightroom CC stores locally while keeping my photos in the cloud?
Asked 12/30/2021
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2 answers
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I use Lightroom CC across several devices and rely on cloud sync, but one device is reporting that its local drive is full even though I still have cloud storage available. I expected the cloud to hold my full library and each device to keep only what I currently need.
Is there a way in Lightroom CC to control local storage so a device does not keep everything downloaded locally? For example, can I limit cached/local copies and only work with selected photos or albums without filling a small internal drive?
Originally by Photography Stack Exchange contributor. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Photography Stack Exchange contributor
4y ago
2 Answers
2
I'm assuming Lightroom Classic for this...
Synchronisation services are not backup services or offline storage services. Many people make the same mistake with such as iCloud.
A synchronisation service enables multiple devices to share the same data. Removing data from one device will remove it from all synchronised devices.
You can therefore only sync as much data as you have space for locally.
From Adobe - How does sync work in Lightroom Classic?
My desktop is running out of space if I turn on sync in Lightroom Classic. What should I do?
Lightroom Classic downloads original images from the cloud if sync is turned on. If you have a considerable number of images on the cloud, it may take space on your local hard disk.
Can I delete images from Lightroom Classic after syncing it with the cloud?
If you delete images from Lightroom Classic after syncing it with the cloud, the images will be deleted from the cloud as well.
For Lightroom [cloud version] then you can set local storage allocation in prefs - see Lightroom | Local Storage Preferences
Originally by user57929. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
user57929
4y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
Yes. In Lightroom CC, check Preferences > Local Storage. That is where you control how much Lightroom keeps on the computer.
The key point is that sync is for keeping your library available across devices, not as a separate backup/archive system. Deleting synced photos from one device can remove them from the synced library everywhere.
If your drive is filling up, adjust the Local Storage settings so Lightroom keeps fewer full local copies and relies more on cloud-stored originals, downloading items as needed. That is the setting relevant to your goal.
If you are actually using Lightroom Classic, be aware that Classic behaves differently: when sync is enabled, it downloads originals from the cloud to local storage, so local disk space can become a limit.
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