P: AI Masks Require updating and/or disappear

[Shelemiah]

Hello,

I recently had a call with Adobe support with no luck. I have found some threads on this but nothing presents a solution and it seems hard to find what the actual issue is.

If I edit a client gallery and use any healing brush tool or AI masking tool, the mask or healing brush/generative AI will get a red dot underneath after going back to the start of the gallery, my AI edits are gone....

I also noticed this happens 100% of the time when I quite and reopen lightroom, I can fix the mask, update ai settings but it just resets each time I open lightroom.

We tested a new catalogue, we tested a bunch of things with no luck. 

We really need a fix on this Adobe it is killing workflow, not sure what broke this setting. I can't revert to an old version because I have lots of photos (I do 1 catalogue per year) and can't go back weeks of client work.

Also this catalogue was started at the begining of 2025 so there is no version 13 of this catalogue to revert to and test.

PLEASE HELP ADOBE!

[Seelenblickfotografie]

Hey ich habe das Problem das mein Ki Entfernen Tool nicht richtig funktioniert. Ich wende es auf ein paar Bilder hintereinander an und was ich gemacht habe ist bei den ersten Fotos wieder weg. Auch dieses neue "Werkzeug" um Ki basiert Bearbeitungen zu aktualisieren funktionierte null. 

[nikunj.m]

Hi, thanks for reaching out, and we're sorry about the trouble!

Please go to the Help menu in Lightroom Classic, then System Info, and copy the text. You can share the info with us by either pasting it as a reply here or in a text file and sharing the file with us. 

Meanwhile, you can try to reset the preferences of Lightroom using the steps mentioned here: https://adobe.ly/4lcJBFM

If you continue to experience the same behavior, it might also help to share a small video of the issue. 

Thanks,
Nikunj

[johnrellis]

@Seelenblickfotografie, a fair number of people have reported these symptoms in LR 14. Try this workaround, which helps many but not all:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/p-ai-masks-need-updating-constantly-eve...

[johnrellis]

Moderators, @Rikk Flohr: Photography, please merge with this thread:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/p-ai-masks-need-updating-constantly-eve...

[sarahb53645011]

@johnrellis Have you found/heard any info on why the .lrcat-data file is corrupted or can't be written to anymore? I've had this issue pop up now multiple times in the past 3 months or so, but I think I've gone at least a month without any issues after the last time I cleared and re-built the data file until it happened again today. It just takes so much time to figure out which galleries/photos have been affected so I can fix them, and it would be amazing if I didn't have to keep going through this process. Thanks for any advice/tips!

[johnrellis]

@sarahb53645011: "Have you found/heard any info on why the .lrcat-data file is corrupted or can't be written to anymore?"

Unfortunately not.

LR 14.0.1 fixed a bug with similar symptoms:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-bugs/p-subject-mask-from-previous-versions-are-requ... 

though it may have had a completely different underlying cause than what people have been reporting here the last many months.

The .lrcat-data file uses the open-source Rocksdb embedded database. Given how widely used Rocksdb is, including by web-scale services including Facebook, Yahoo, and Linkedin, it's more likely that the bug resides in LR proper rather than Rocksdb.

[johnrellis]

Moderators, @Rikk Flohr: Photography, please merge with this similar thread:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/ai-masks-and-spot-removal-need-constant...

[DrewsCrows]

Im having the same problem, only my AI edits disappear after I move to another photo. Not even when just when I close lighroom. So frustrating! It only started happening a week ago! 

[johnrellis]

See here for a workaround that helps many not but all:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/p-ai-masks-need-updating-constantly-eve...

[Sky Photography]

Is anyone else having Ai mask issues in LrC? Generative ai - for example, I remove, come back to photo and says "Some Remove settings need to be updated". Update All button, but, I come back and still need to update again. I've searched the web, but very little, but recent which makes me think it's a new problem.

Ai Masks are the same.

I'm all up to date on Mac and LrC updates.

Read/write on Cat locations.

It's stopping me from delivering weddings

Is anyone else getting super frustrated out there?

[john beardsworth]

The lack of other reports is an indication that it's not a common problem, and I don't think I've seen anything like you describe.

Are these photos synced?

[Sky Photography]

Hi John,

Thanks for your reply.

It's only been in the last week and 4 complete weddings edited!

I'm in a Photographers Facebook group, and others are reporting the same issue.

I'm not using syncing.

[Joel32689053anap]

If they are synced is that what could be causing the ai masks to have to be updated all the time?

[danw94986099]

Definitely a problem. This happens to me every couple of weeks

[JohanElzenga]

Do not optimize your catalog. Not as part of a backup (uncheck the option when you make a backup) and not by using the menu. That is the bug that causes this.

[KristiHowell70]

I'm having this problem currently. Every time I edit they don't save and I have to redo every AI edit. I have spent so much time on just one wedding and still they don't publish with the edits. What is wrong with this?

[johnrellis]

@KristiHowell70: "Every time I edit they don't save and I have to redo every AI edit."

Have you tried these steps, which help many but not all with these symptoms:

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/masks-in-lrc-need-constant-updating/m-p...

[GoldingD]

Not on a MAC, but is something going wrong with the access rights to the file .lrcat-data  ??

[johnrellis]

These symptoms can occur when LR can't write the .lrcat-data file for some reason, either because LR has corrupted it or there is a permissions issue. LR stores computed masks in that file. Try these steps:

1. In LR, do Edit > Catalog Settings > General > Show. That will open Windows File Explorer on the current catalog folder.

2. Exit LR.

3. Move the file <catalog>.lrcat-data to the Desktop.

4. Start LR.

5. In Library, select all photos and do Photo > Develop Settings > Update AI Settings. That will recompute all the AI masks, which could take a while. But it won't update Generative Removes, so you'll have to go to each photo with Remove, click on Remove, and then Update.

[Jhp2012]

This does not work at all for me.  Absurd I need to update a single photo at a time.  This problem is enough to make me want to leave the Adobe platform after being a customer for 12 years.

[Rikk Flohr: Photography]

@Jhp2012  Please see: https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-discussions/p-subject-mask-from-previous-versions-a... 

[TINAWESL]

#5 of this worked for me! I export my catalog to my editor and when they sent it back, all the AI filters didn't translate and also they only showed up as smart previews without the needed data. So what I did was export the edited catalog as a new catalog, opened the new catalog and followed #5 above:  In Library, select all photos and do Photo > Develop Settings > Update AI Settings. That will recompute all the AI masks. Success! 

[kiraleej68311215]

THANK YOU!! 

[Wim15C3]

I’m encountering a critical and persistent bug in Lightroom Classic 14.3.1 on macOS that affects AI Remove, AI Masking, and Denoise workflows.

AI Remove / AI Masking resets after edit
– After applying a mask or content removal, the edits disappear when switching modules or reopening the image. The “Update Settings” prompt keeps reappearing even after updating.

Denoise becomes disabled after one use
– When I apply Denoise, it runs (no crash), but cannot be re-used unless I restart Lightroom.

Update All prompts don’t persist
– Even after applying “Update All,” the prompt comes back on the same images after some navigation.

I’ve tried:
– Clearing Camera Raw + Video Cache
– Disabling GPU
– Reinstalling Lightroom
– Testing in a new catalog
– Resetting individual images

None of these steps resolved the issue. I’m a professional photographer currently working on a book with 3000+ images. This is affecting delivery and deadlines.

This needs urgent attention. Please confirm this bug is known and provide a timeline or temporary patch.

Kind regards,
Wim 

[Claire H.]

Hi @Wim15C3, Welcome to the Lightroom Classic Community Forums! Thanks for all of this information. To better help you with this issue, we would like a few more details. Can you send me a screen recording or screenshots of the issues you're experiencing and your system info, so we can try replicating them? You can find this by going to Help > System Info, copying and pasting it into a text file, and attaching it here. Thanks! ^CH