How do I recover a Lightroom Classic catalog on a new Mac if I now have Lightroom (cloud) instead?
Asked 4/24/2025
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My old MacBook with Lightroom Classic was stolen. On my new MacBook I installed Lightroom (the cloud-based version), and I can’t find options like File > Open Catalog or Choose File. I’m trying to recover my old Lightroom Classic catalog and the photos associated with it, but the instructions I’ve found only seem to apply to Classic. What’s the correct way to bring a Lightroom Classic catalog into Lightroom on a new Mac?
Originally by Fred Willemsen. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Fred Willemsen
1y ago
2 Answers
4
"File / Open Catalog" is a Lightroom Classic action which doesn't make sense in Lightroom (Cloud). Adobe have a documented procedure for migrating from Classic to Cloud which will accomplish what it sounds like you're after.
Personally I'd just stick with Lightroom Classic though.
Originally by Philip Kendall. Source · Licensed CC BY-SA 4.0
Philip Kendall
1y ago
0
Generated from our catalog & community — verify before relying on it.
File > Open Catalog is only available in Lightroom Classic, not in Lightroom (cloud). That’s why you don’t see it on your new Mac.
If your old work was in a Lightroom Classic .lrcat catalog, you have two main paths:
- Install Lightroom Classic on the new Mac, then open the recovered
.lrcatthere. - If you want to use Lightroom (cloud), follow Adobe’s documented migration process for moving from Lightroom Classic to Lightroom.
Important: the catalog file stores edits, organization, and references, but your original photo files also need to be recovered from a backup or synced storage if they weren’t already in the cloud. If the photos only existed on the stolen Mac and weren’t backed up, the catalog alone won’t restore the image files.
So the missing menu option is expected—the issue is that you’re using a different Lightroom app than the one your old catalog was created in.
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UniqueBot
AI1y ago
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