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How do you open a Photos library from an old Mac?

By Kayabyte · Last updated 3 November 2026

Short answer: copy the library to a drive formatted APFS or Mac OS Extended (Journaled), connect it to the new Mac, quit Photos, hold Option while opening it, and choose the library. Opening a library in Photos can change it, so keep the old copy untouched and open a second copy. Before you wipe the old Mac, check that the originals are really in that library.

Step 1: Check what the old library holds

If the old Mac still runs, open Photos there. In Photos, Settings, iCloud, see whether Optimize Mac Storage is on. If it is, the Mac holds smaller copies and the originals are in iCloud. Choose Download Originals to this Mac and let it finish before copying, if you still have that iCloud library.

Step 2: Copy the library

  1. Quit Photos on the old Mac.
  2. Connect a drive that meets Apple’s requirements and isn’t used for Time Machine.
  3. In Finder, open your Pictures folder and drag Photos Library to the drive. It looks like one file. It’s a package, so it may take a long time.

If the old Mac has died but you have a Time Machine disk from it, see restoring from Time Machine. If you only have its internal disk, a repair shop or an enclosure can get it mounted, and then the library can be copied from there.

Step 3: Open a copy on the new Mac

  1. Copy the library from the drive to the new Mac, or make a second copy on the drive. Leave the first copy alone.
  2. Quit Photos, hold Option and open it.
  3. Click Other Library, choose the copy and click Choose Library.

Opening a library in Photos can change it, which is why you keep the first copy. Apple says that switching to another library turns off iCloud Photos and Shared Albums, and that merging with iCloud through the System Photo Library setting can’t be undone. Look through the old library before you make it your System Photo Library.

If Photos refuses an old library

Where AlbumRescue adds something

If Photos opens the copy, you’re done, for free. AlbumRescue adds a look at what’s in an old library without opening it in Photos, a comparison with today’s library, and folders with sidecars if you want to keep the old library as plain files.

Limits for old libraries: libraries from macOS 10.14 or earlier and iPhoto libraries are not supported. Libraries from macOS 10.15 up to 15 were tested only on synthetic test libraries built to match, not on real ones from those systems, so an unusual older library could behave differently. If it can’t read the layout, it stops and says so. It can’t get originals that stayed in iCloud, doesn’t export edits, and doesn’t write into Photos.

Steps with AlbumRescue

  1. Connect the drive and open AlbumRescue. Click the library, or Choose a Library, then click Scan.
  2. Open Compare and pick today’s library to see the albums and items missing there.
  3. Read Before you pay. It says how many originals are really in this copy.
  4. Choose Export for folders. The first 10 photos are free.

The scan, lists, comparison and 10 saved photos are free. The full export is USD 34 once, for 2 Macs.

Download AlbumRescue and scan for free. macOS 15 or later.

Questions

How do I transfer a Photos library from an old Mac to a new Mac? Copy the library by drive as above. Apple’s Migration Assistant page says it transfers documents, apps, user accounts and settings and lets you choose files and folders, but it doesn’t name Photos libraries and we haven’t tested it for this, so check the library on the new Mac before you wipe the old one. If you use iCloud Photos, what is in iCloud reaches the new Mac that way, but check for items kept only on the old Mac first.

Can a new Mac open a Photos library from an old Mac? Usually, by holding Option while opening Photos and choosing it. Opening it can change it, so open a copy.

Do I lose my new photos if I switch to the old library? Switching doesn’t delete anything, but Apple says Photos turns off iCloud Photos and Shared Albums when you switch. Switch back the same way when you’re done.

Is it safe to wipe my old Mac after copying the library? Only after you’ve opened the copy and checked that your albums and full-size photos are there. A library using Optimize Mac Storage may hold smaller copies only.

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.