LPF Organizer is designed for photographers and photo enthusiasts who want a simple way to keep their collections organized.
It automatically sorts photos by capture date, keeps RAW, JPEG and XMP files together, handles duplicates safely, and preserves a clear folder structure—without the complexity of a full digital asset management system.
LPF Organizer — Main Features
LPF Organizer is a free macOS utility for photographers who want to review, rename, and organize image files without creating a catalog or changing the original photo content.
Organize
Select individual photos or entire folders; folder scanning is recursive.
Organize into date-based folder structures such as **Year / Date**, **Year / Month / Date**, **Year / Month**, or **Date only**.
Copy or move files to the destination.
Preview the planned result before changing files.
After a completed operation, click generated year/date folders in the result view to open them in Finder.
Collision-safe naming prevents silent overwrites.
Exact duplicate checking is performed when a destination collision actually needs to be resolved.
Undo files copied or moved in the current session.
Review persistent operation History and recent destinations.
RAW, JPEG and XMP groups
Files with the same basename in the same source folder are treated as one logical photo group. For example, DSCF1234.RAF, DSCF1234.JPG, and DSCF1234.XMP stay together. XMP sidecars follow their photo and never create a photo group by themselves.
Filename templates
Optional filename templates can combine capture date/time, camera and lens information, exposure data, serial numbers, original name, sequence and a description. Extensions are preserved, unsafe filename characters are sanitized, and every member of a RAW/JPEG/XMP group receives the same generated basename.
Cull
Fast thumbnail grid with adjustable thumbnail size.
Keep / Maybe / Reject / Unmarked decisions.
Reject excludes the complete logical photo group from organizing; it does not delete the source.
Large preview and two-image Compare mode.
Filters for All, Keep, Maybe, Reject, Unmarked and Candidates.
Keyboard-first workflow for fast culling.
Automatic grid scrolling keeps the complete selected card visible.
Returning from Preview restores the previous grid position.
File safety
Its job is deliberately limited to selecting, grouping, naming, copying/moving and organizing files.
What LPF Organizer is
LPF Organizer is a native macOS utility built around a simple photographer-oriented workflow:
Select → Cull (optional) → Rename (optional) → Copy or Move
The design goal is deliberately narrower than applications such as photo catalogs, RAW developers or metadata editors. LPF Organizer handles files. It helps you decide which photographs to keep in a transfer, keeps related files together, creates predictable folders and filenames, and performs the resulting file operation safely.
This focus is intentional. LPF Organizer does not maintain a photo library database, develop RAW files, write ratings into XMP, edit metadata, score sharpness, identify faces, or modify image content.
2. Selecting source files
Choose File → Choose Photos or Folders… or press ⌘O. You can select files or folders, and folders are scanned recursively. You can also drag supported sources into the Organize workspace.
LPF Organizer supports common rendered formats such as JPEG, HEIC/HEIF, TIFF, PNG and WebP, plus RAW formats including RAF, CR2/CR3, NEF/NRW, ARW, ORF, RW2, PEF, DNG, SRW, X3F and RAW. XMP files are recognized as sidecars.
The app reads capture metadata using Apple's native image frameworks. It prefers the original capture timestamp and falls back to the digitized timestamp when needed.
3. Logical photo groups
A central design decision is that a photograph can consist of more than one physical file. Files in the same source directory with the same basename are grouped together. For example:
DSCF1234.RAF
DSCF1234.JPG
DSCF1234.XMP
are one logical photo group.
This matters throughout the app. A culling decision applies to the group, generated filenames stay coordinated, XMP sidecars travel with the image, and Undo handles the files that were actually transferred. An orphan XMP file does not become a photograph on its own.
When both RAW and a rendered companion such as JPEG are present, the rendered image is preferred for fast visual culling. The original RAW file itself is still copied or moved unchanged.
4. The Cull workspace
Culling is optional. Switch to it with the workspace control or ⌘2.
Decisions
There are four states:
Unmarked — no decision yet; still eligible for organizing.
Keep — explicitly keep; eligible for organizing.
Maybe — undecided candidate; eligible for organizing.
Reject — excluded from organizing.
Reject is intentionally non-destructive. It does not delete, move, rename or modify the source. It only tells the Organize stage to exclude that logical photo group when Use Cull selections is enabled.
Grid navigation
Use ← and → to move through photos. The grid scrolls only when necessary and keeps the complete selected card visible. K, M and R set a decision and advance. S advances without changing the current decision. Return performs Keep and advances. ⌘Z undoes the last culling decision.
Thumbnail borders and K/M/R indicators communicate state without relying on color alone.
Preview
Press Space for a large preview. Returning to Grid restores the previous grid viewport, so Preview behaves like a temporary closer look rather than navigation to a new place.
Compare
Press C to pin the current image as Compare 1. Navigate to another image and press C, or click another thumbnail, to select Compare 2. Compare shows both images side by side and retains their culling-state indicators. Esc cancels selection of the second image or leaves Compare; G returns to Grid.
Filters
Use All, Keep, Maybe, Reject, Unmarked or Candidates. Candidates combines Keep and Maybe for a useful review pass.
5. Destination and folder structure
Return to Organize with ⌘1 and choose a destination with ⇧⌘D.
Available folder structures include:
Year / Date — `YYYY/YYYY-MM-DD`
Year / Month / Date — `YYYY/MM/YYYY-MM-DD`
Year / Month — `YYYY/MM`
Date only — `YYYY-MM-DD`
Custom year/month/day component structure
Invalid path components are rejected. The goal is to create predictable, portable filesystem structures rather than hide organization inside a proprietary database.
Recent destinations are remembered for convenience.
6. Filename templates
Renaming is optional. With renaming disabled, LPF Organizer preserves the original filename.
A filename template can use:
Date and time
Camera model or make + model
Lens
Shutter speed, aperture, ISO and focal length
Camera serial and lens serial
Original filename
Sequence number
Your description
Tokens can be reordered and removed. Recent filename templates are remembered after real Copy/Move operations.
Generated names are sanitized for safe filesystem use, preserve the original extension, and can use an ASCII-safe option. Missing metadata is represented predictably instead of silently changing the template. All physical members of one logical photo group share the same generated basename.
7. Preflight Preview
Before a real operation, the Organize preview is a preflight view. It shows where each logical photo group is planned to go and highlights duplicate or collision situations before files are changed.
The list intentionally uses lightweight file symbols instead of hundreds or thousands of small thumbnails. Visual review belongs in Cull; Organize is optimized for file planning and destination inspection. Selecting an item can still show a larger inspector preview and metadata.
8. Copy, Move and Dry Run
Choose Copy when the source should remain untouched. Choose Move when the successful transfer should remove the original from its current location.
Dry Run lets you exercise planning without performing the file operation. A real operation can be started with the main Organize button or ⌘Return.
LPF Organizer never silently overwrites a different file. Name collisions are resolved safely. Exact file comparison is only performed when an actual destination collision needs to be checked for duplication; this keeps large imports efficient without weakening duplicate correctness.
9. Result view, Finder and Undo
After a real Copy or Move, the preflight area becomes the result view and preserves the completed-operation snapshot. Generated year/date headings that contain output become clickable and open the corresponding destination folder in Finder.
Undo applies to files actually copied or moved in the current session. It is intentionally separate from the culling ⌘Z, which only undoes a culling decision.
10. History and performance report
History records real operations, including time, Copy/Move mode, destination, source count, organized/skipped/error counts and cancellation state. Dry Runs are not recorded.
The Performance Report is a diagnostic feature retained from performance tuning. It reports source scanning, logical grouping, metadata work, destination/duplicate planning and total preview-build time. It is useful when testing unusually large sets or new camera/file combinations.
11. File safety and metadata philosophy
LPF Organizer does not develop RAW images and does not alter the contents of photographs. RAW, JPEG and other source files are copied or moved as files. Metadata is read to support capture-date organization, naming and the inspector, currently not rewritten.
Likewise, XMP sidecars are companions rather than a place where LPF Organizer stores ratings. This keeps culling decisions local to the workflow and avoids unexpected changes that could affect Lightroom, Capture One or another photography application.
12. Why the app is designed this way
The app grew from a practical need: take photographs from files or cards, quickly review them, keep RAW/JPEG/XMP companions together, give them useful names, and place them into a clean date-based archive without building another catalog.
Several design choices follow from that goal:
Logical groups instead of individual files because one photograph often has RAW, JPEG and XMP components.
Reject is non-destructive because culling should not become accidental deletion.
Culling is optional because sometimes the job is simply to organize everything.
Filename templates are optional because preserving camera filenames is a valid workflow.
Preflight before execution because photographers should see the planned filesystem result before files move.
Exact duplicate handling and no silent overwrite because file safety is more important than clever automation.
Native macOS technologies and no third-party RAW engine because LPF Organizer needs metadata and previews, not RAW development.
No Organize thumbnail wall because visual decisions belong in Cull and large imports should remain responsive.
Keyboard-first Cull controls because hundreds or thousands of images are faster to review without repeated pointer travel.
No catalog/database dependency because the organized files and folders should remain useful in Finder and in any photography application.
13. Recommended workflow
A typical import can be as simple as:
Select one or more source folders.
Open Cull and review with K/M/R/S and Space.
Return to Organize and enable **Use Cull selections** if you culled.
Choose the destination and folder structure.
Keep original filenames or configure a filename template.
Review the preflight result.
Choose Copy or Move and run the operation.
Use the result view to open generated destination folders in Finder.
For a transfer where every image should be retained, skip Cull entirely and go directly from source selection to Organize.
LPF Organizer helps you bring order to your photo collection by automatically sorting photos into a clear folder structure based on when they were taken. It works directly with your files and does not require a photo library or database.
LPF Organizer is designed for photographers and photo enthusiasts who want a simple, transparent way to organize their collections. It is especially useful if you work with RAW, JPEG and XMP files and prefer a conventional folder-based archive.
LPF Organizer reads the capture date stored in the photo's metadata and uses it to create an organized folder structure by year and shooting date.
LPF Organizer supports common image formats as well as RAW formats from many digital cameras, including JPEG, HEIC, RAF, CR2/CR3, NEF, ARW and others.
Yes. RAW and JPEG versions of the same photograph are recognized as related files so that they can be kept together when your photos are organized.
LPF Organizer recognizes XMP sidecar files and keeps them together with the photographs they belong to. This allows metadata and editing information stored in XMP files to remain associated with the corresponding images.
No. LPF Organizer organizes your files but does not modify the image data itself. Existing metadata contained in your photographs is preserved.
Yes. Dry Run lets you preview the planned operation before any files are actually copied or moved.
Yes. You can choose between Copy and Move. Copy is particularly useful when creating a new organized archive while keeping the original files untouched.
LPF Organizer includes duplicate detection and filename-collision handling. It checks for conflicts rather than simply overwriting an existing photograph.
Yes. LPF Organizer keeps an operation history and provides undo functionality for supported operations.
No. LPF Organizer works directly with the files on your Mac. Your photographs are not uploaded to a cloud service by LPF Organizer.
No. LPF Organizer works locally on your Mac and its core photo-organizing functionality does not require an internet connection.
No. Photos and their metadata are processed locally on your Mac. LPF Organizer does not send your photographs or their metadata to an external server for processing.
Yes. You can select a folder and LPF Organizer will process supported photographs within it, including files contained in its subfolders.
Yes. LPF Organizer supports drag and drop, allowing you to add files and folders directly from Finder.
Yes. LPF Organizer includes a Finder Quick Action, so selected files or folders can be sent to LPF Organizer directly from Finder's contextual menu.
Yes. LPF Organizer can work with accessible external storage, including external drives and network storage, provided macOS gives the application access to those files.
Yes. If the files are available to macOS as normal files, LPF Organizer can work with them like other folders. Synchronization and downloading of files remain the responsibility of the respective cloud-storage service.
No. LPF Organizer focuses on file organization rather than photo editing or cataloguing. You can use it on its own or as part of a workflow with applications such as Apple Photos, Lightroom, Capture One or Nitro.
No. LPF Organizer does not create a proprietary photo library. Your photographs remain ordinary files in ordinary folders, accessible through Finder and other compatible photo applications.
A simple XMP workspace; interoperability with Gentlemen Coder's Nitro and other editing software
Use of MacOS sandbox
UI polishing
Finish development of the LPF Explorer App
Develop less software, take more photos