Cullibrate can work with your Apple Photos library on a Mac, and with the iCloud Photos library that iCloud for Windows syncs to a PC. There are two workflows: Copy & Cull copies photos out of the library into a folder you own, and Manage culls in place inside the library without copying anything.
Copy & Cull
Copy & Cull is the ingest workflow. It copies the photos you select into a destination folder, downloading anything that is only in iCloud. The result is an ordinary file collection: you cull the copies, ratings are written to XMP, and your Photos library stays untouched.
Manage
Manage opens a managed collection that stays connected to the photos already in your library. Nothing is copied. Your ratings, tags, rejects, and colour labels are stored in Cullibrate and layered over the library. Photos itself changes only when you run Delete, Offload, or Export from the Manage button.
Open either workflow
- Choose File → Import from Apple Photos… (on Windows, File → Import from iCloud Photos…). The import builder opens with your Photos library as a source.
- Under Plan, choose Copy & Cull to copy photos out, or Manage to work inside the library. File → Manage Photos Library… opens the builder in Manage directly.
- Pick a timeline range (Last 3 months, Last year, All photos, or a custom range) or, on a Mac, an album, then select the photos you want.
- Click Copy & Cull or Manage to start. Copy & Cull also asks for a destination folder.
What a managed collection is
- It shows the photos from the scope you chose, read directly from the library. Thumbnails load without downloading originals; full-size previews download on demand.
- Culling state lives in Cullibrate. Rating, tagging, or rejecting a photo does not change anything in Photos.
- It cannot be combined with cards, drives, or folders, and capture time, creator, and copyright cannot be edited because there are no files to write to.
- Pressing Delete, or choosing Remove from Apple Photos, removes the selected photos from the library after a one-time iCloud notice and a confirmation.
macOS and Windows compared
- Albums: available on macOS. Windows offers timeline ranges only.
- Favorites: on macOS you can filter by Favorites and mark picks as Favorites during cleanup. Not available on Windows.
- Edits: macOS can show the edited photo, compare it with the original, and export originals, edits, or a full archive. Windows uses the current version that iCloud syncs, including edits; there is no separate original or edited choice.
- Archives: the For archive and Ingest as archive options, which include every resource such as adjustment data and Live Photo video, are macOS only.
- Live Photos: identified and badged on both platforms. Motion playback is macOS only, because iCloud for Windows does not deliver the video.
- Delete confirmation: macOS shows the native Photos confirmation. Windows shows Cullibrate's own confirmation, moves the synced files to the Recycle Bin, and iCloud syncs the removal to Recently Deleted on your other devices.