XMP files getting regenerated

[ronbyram]

GAng  I have LRC 14.3.1 installed and I have RAW files and also sidecar XMP files. But without editing files etc, LRC is Recreating Exisiting xmp files.   up to 14k   Is this a auto thing? Why does LRC do this?

[Claire H.]

Hi @ronbyram, Let's try to get this figured out! Lightroom Classic is likely recreating XMP files, even if they exist, because it is configured to automatically write changes to XMP files as part of the catalog settings. This behavior ensures that your editing history and changes are preserved alongside your image files. To prevent LrC from overwriting existing XMP files, you can turn off the "Automatically Write Changes Into XMP" setting in the Catalog Settings. This will ensure that LRC does not create new XMP files but instead relies on the ones already in your folder. 

To change the setting:

1. Go to Edit > Catalog Settings (Windows) or Lightroom Classic > Catalog Settings (Mac OS). 

2. Click on the Metadata tab. 

3. Deselect the option Automatically Write Changes Into XMP. 

If you have multiple XMP files for the same image, you can safely delete the ones that are no longer needed. You can also try resetting Lightroom Classic's preferences to their default state, which may resolve the issue. Hope this helps! ^CH

[ronbyram]

Thanks for the reply. But the question is WHY does it auto when I dont make any changes?  just trying to learn and figure this thing out

[johnrellis]

I think you're tripping over a long-standing bug that Adobe hasn't prioritized to fix: 

https://community.adobe.com/t5/lightroom-classic-bugs/p-save-metadata-to-file-doesn-t-always-set-met...

LR incorrectly thinks photos' metadata needs saving immediately after saving it.  The only known workaround is to disable Catalog Settings > Metadata > Automatically Write Changes To XMP.