How do you export all your photos from a corrupted Photos library on a Mac?

By Kayabyte · Last updated 11 November 2026

Short answer: make a copy of the library first, then pick the route that matches what you need. If you only need the picture files, open the library as a package and copy the originals folder, which needs no working database. If you also need albums, captions and keywords, try Apple’s repair tool on a copy, then the journal rebuild on a second copy, or read the library with a tool that does not need Photos to accept it. Originals that stayed in iCloud are not in a damaged copy, whatever you use.

Step 1: Copy it, and note where the originals are

Quit Photos and copy the .photoslibrary to a disk with room, and keep that copy untouched. Everything below changes things, so work on further copies. Apple also says to back up the library before using its repair tool (page checked 11 November 2026).

Then ask one question: were your originals stored on this Mac? With Optimize Mac Storage on, many are only in iCloud, and no export from a damaged copy can bring them back. If the library is your current one and still opens at all, set Photos to download originals first.

Route A: just the files (free, works with no database)

In Finder, Control-click the library copy and choose Show Package Contents.
Open the originals folder.
Copy it to another folder or drive.

You get the original files, free, even if the database is gone. You lose the organisation: the folders and file names mean nothing to you, and there are no albums, captions or keywords. A video may have only a still picture, so check a few.

Route B: files plus albums, with Photos itself

If you want the library back in Photos, work on copies:

Repair. Quit Photos, hold Option and Command while opening it, click Repair. Apple says the tool analyses the library’s database and repairs inconsistencies it finds, and that Photos opens the library when it finishes.
Rebuild from the journals. If repair fails, move the database folder out of a second copy and open that copy with Option held down. In our one test, Photos rebuilt the library from the change journals in resources/journals, including albums, folders, captions, keywords and favourites. Apple does not document this, so it may change, and People names may not come back. The full steps are in what to do when repair fails.
Export from the rebuilt library. When it opens, select everything and choose File, Export, Export Unmodified Original, or export album by album as described in how to export Photos albums to folders.

Route C: read it without Photos

Free: the osxphotos command-line tool reads a library by path. We have not run it on damaged libraries, and its page says macOS 26 had limited testing.

With AlbumRescue (the Mac app we make): it reads a private copy of the database and never opens or changes the library, so it does not matter whether Photos agrees the library opens. If the journals are intact it reads albums from them; if they are gone it salvages what it can from the damaged database file; if neither works it says that only the photo files can be saved. Export writes folders with the original files, XMP sidecars and a CSV report that lists every item and every skipped item with the reason.

What it cannot do: it does not fix the library or write into Photos, so albums do not go back into Photos through it. It cannot get originals that are not in the copy. Edits are not exported. Shared albums and libraries from macOS 10.14 or earlier are not supported, smart albums are named in the report but not exported as folders, and People names are not read from journals. Damage can lose links between a photo and an album without a count.

What to expect from any route

Count the photos in the originals folder and compare with what you remember or with the CSV report.
Open a few files from each year. A file that exists can still be damaged.
Keep the damaged library until you have checked the export.

Steps with AlbumRescue

Open AlbumRescue, click Choose a Library and pick the copy, then click Scan.
Read Overview, which says what was lost as far as that can be counted, then check Albums and Missing or Limited.
Choose Export. The first 5 photos are free, so you can check the files before paying.

The scan, lists, comparison and 5 saved photos are free. The full export is USD 34 once, for 2 Macs, with one year of updates and a 30-day refund. Download AlbumRescue and scan for free. macOS 15 or later, Mac only, works offline and uploads nothing.

Questions

Can I get my photos out if Photos will not open the library at all? Often yes. The originals folder inside the package holds the files if they were stored on this Mac, and a tool that reads the library itself does not need Photos to open it.

Will I keep my albums? Only if the journals or the database are readable. The originals folder alone has no albums.

Does Photos repair delete anything? Apple describes it as repairing inconsistencies. Because we cannot promise it never loses anything, run it on a copy.

What about photos only in iCloud? They are not in a damaged copy, so no tool that reads the copy can save them.

Apple, Mac, macOS, iCloud and Time Machine are trademarks of Apple Inc. AlbumRescue is made by Kayabyte and is not affiliated with or endorsed by Apple.