IngestChoose Apple Photos in the source sidebar and connect to your System Photo Library. Ingest requests Photos read/write access when you connect or send photos, not simply when it launches. It uses the library designated as the System Photo Library in Photos; it does not open an arbitrary library file.
Integration is on by default. Turn off Settings → General → Apple Photos integration to hide the Photos source, commands, send controls, and Photos actions. You can also disable it for individual workspaces in Settings → Workspaces. A workspace can use Photos only when the global switch is on. Your saved Photos review state and recipes remain available if you turn it back on. Finish an active Photos operation or import review before disabling it.
Use Library, Favorites, or an ordinary album to browse. Find albums narrows the sidebar while keeping matching folders and their parents. Search photos by filename, caption, or keywords; caption and keyword search requires macOS 27. Unfiled shows photos outside ordinary albums. Unreviewed tracks what you have reviewed in Ingest, independently of album membership.
The first search across a large library can take time as Photos supplies filenames and keywords. Your current photos stay visible while results are prepared.
Review and file a selection
Apple Photos uses the same browsing layout as files and folders. Choose Grid, Preview, or Split from the photo controls, or press ⌘1, ⌘2, or ⌘3. Preview includes a selection filmstrip; Split keeps the grid beside the preview. Space opens Preview and returns to the previous layout.
Click once to select a photo, use the arrow keys to move through the current view, and use Command-click or Shift-click to select several photos. Available image detail appears progressively; recently viewed previews are reused.
Photos stored on your Mac work without internet. If an older photo’s larger image is only in iCloud, Apple Photos must download it; a local thumbnail may appear first. That wait depends on your internet connection and Photos, not Ingest. For offline viewing, choose Download Originals to this Mac in Photos → Settings → iCloud and let syncing finish. This uses more storage. The info button beside the album title and Ingest Settings → General explain this limitation in the app.
The inspector shows basic photo information first, then loads expanded Histogram and Camera Details sections as needed. Opening Photos does not automatically start whole-library image analysis; choose Analyze Review Photos when you want it. On connection, you can begin browsing while Ingest prepares your albums. Unfiled and album organization become available when that preparation finishes.
Use the toolbar’s Sources and Inspector buttons, ⌥⌘S and ⌘I, to show or hide the sidebars. The right-hand inspector follows Settings → Sidebar information and includes tags, ratings, color labels, favorites, Photo Info, and album/review actions. Its histogram measures the current rendered Photos image. Choose a photo to see its information; widen the window if the shared layout has collapsed a pane to make room.
Select photos, then press G to add them to one or more albums. Press R to mark them reviewed, ⇧R to mark and advance, F to toggle favorite, or Space to preview. Ingest tags, color labels, and reviewed marks stay local. Favorites are native Photos changes.
Create albums and folders with the plus menu. Use a collection’s context menu to rename or move it. Within an editable album, ⌥⌘← and ⌥⌘→ move selected photos earlier or later. Pressing Delete removes photos from that album only. Delete from Library… is a separate action with confirmation; it removes photos from every album and follows Photos’ Recently Deleted and iCloud behavior.
Metadata and organization
Press M to review metadata changes. Favorites, capture dates, and locations work on supported macOS versions. Native captions, keywords, and star ratings require macOS 27. On earlier versions, ratings are local to Ingest; copying those ratings into Photos later requires an explicit review.
Choose Organize Photos into Albums to preview a grouping recipe, folder and album paths, manual assignments, and photo order. Apply adds photos to the reviewed destinations without removing unrelated album contents. Rules run when you apply them; they do not continuously synchronize. Shared Album publishing and native Smart Album rule editing are not included.
Send files to Apple Photos
Select files in a writable folder and choose Send to Apple Photos…. Review the album and import choices first. The default uses existing JPEGs or JPEG companions; files with no JPEG are reported as skipped. Choose RAW or RAW + JPEG explicitly when needed. RAW + JPEG creates separate Photos assets, not a paired asset. Ingest stages copies and verifies their bytes before importing, leaving the source files unchanged.
Memory cards must finish ingest and backups before sending. File-based Organize offers Send Groups to Photos…; a Photos post-ingest action opens the same reviewed flow. Browse JPEG Export can offer sending after export.
Import receipts reuse confirmed previous Ingest imports by content hash. This is not a scan for every duplicate already in your library. Open Photos Import History to reconcile an uncertain submission. Ingest does not silently retry a submitted import whose result is unknown or missing; Allow a New Import is an intentional retry that may create a duplicate. A successful import confirms addition to Photos, not completion of iCloud upload.
Send Photos selections to Decks
Select stills in Photos and choose Send to Decks… or press ⇧⌘E. Ingest prepares the current rendered images, downloading through Apple Photos when necessary, and copies them into a portable transfer. Choose a new or existing project in Decks.
Photos imports, album changes, metadata edits, and deletions can sync through iCloud if you have enabled iCloud Photos. See Photos privacy and storage.