How do I set permissions on macOS for Lightroom Classic?

Over the last few years, macOS has introduced tighter security to limit which apps can access specific files and folders. Issues can include problems importing and exporting photos, missing images, sync issues, and even crashes. As a result, it’s sometimes necessary to set some security permissions for Lightroom manually.

These instructions can also be used for the cloud-based Lightroom Desktop app.

macOS File and Folders permissions

File & Folder permissions have been needed since Catalina, here’s how to set them correctly:

Open macOS System Preferences (found under the Apple menu).
Select Security & Privacy.
Go to the Privacy tab.
Select Files and Folders in the left pane.
Lightroom Classic should appear in the right. (If it doesn’t, click the + button to add Lightroom to the list of apps.) Ensure that all of the checkboxes for Lightroom are checked.
Click the lock icon to save the changes.
Restart your Mac.

Full Disk Access (optional)

Some have decided they wish to allow Lightroom access to all of the files and folders, rather than just the specific folders. (If you do, then Full Disk Access supersedes Files & Folders, so you don’t need to do both.) Here’s how:

Open macOS System Preferences (found under the Apple menu).
Select Security & Privacy.
Go to the Privacy tab.
Select Full Disk Access in the left pane.
Click the lock in the bottom left and enter your computer’s password (not your Adobe one).
Click the + button (under the list of applications in the right pane) and negotiate to the Applications folder.
Look for the Adobe Lightroom Classic folder and select the app inside (Adobe Lightroom Classic) and then click Open.
Back in the Full Disk Access section, ensure the checkmark is checked.
Click the lock to save the changes.
Restart your Mac to ensure the changes are applied.