Photos added in Lightroom not syncing back to Cloud folder in Classic

Report · Apr 11, 2025

I have used Lightroom and Lightroom Classic together for many years, and I have generally been able to correct any sync issues. I used to load all my images into Classic on my desktop and add to a synced folder, wait for the smart previews to upload, then copy the originals to Lightroom (cloud) on the desktop to upload the originals to the cloud. Recently I've been culling in Bridge and copying photos directly to Lightroom on my laptop. I have a Cloud folder designated for new cloud originals in Classic, and photos have shown up there with no issues.

However, my last several uploads on my laptop have not downloaded into Classic. I can see them in Lightroom (cloud) on my desktop, and the originals are in the cloud, but I can't get Classic to see them. I've checked for sync errors in both all my Lightroom apps and in the web interface, but nothing appears to be wrong with the photos. I've confirmed my Cloud folder is configured correctly in Classic and even synced the folder to ensure the files weren't hiding out in there. If I edit existing photos in Classic, the changes sync correctly back to the cloud.

I manually backed up my catalog (shut down Classic and copied all the catalog files to a temp folder) and tried rebuilding sync data, but that doesn't seem to do what it used to, since Adobe revamped sync.

Any ideas? FWIW, I do IT for a living, and I think I've checked all the obvious problems..

Report · Apr 11, 2025

Hi @Ken Tryon! I understand the frustration.
What version of Lightroom Classic are you using? Does this happen with every photo or only some specific ones? When you go to Lightroom Web is there an all sync error collection?
Thanks!
Alek

Report · Apr 11, 2025

I don't know the exact versions, but they are both the most recent production releases.
I checked LR Web, and it isn't showing any sync errors.
All photos were syncing in the past and none sync now.

Now that you ask, there are some sync errors in Lightroom desktop, which could be bunging up the process. They aren't the photos I want, but they could be blocking the others from syncing.

BRB

Report · Apr 12, 2025

OK . . .

I checked for sync errors and found that there were several files stuck in sync in Lightroom on my desktop. I deleted them, emptied everything else from the trash (yeah, I know that's backward), restored them, cleared the cache, and the sync errors went away. Classic on my desktop was happy as well. Lightroom on my laptop still wouldn't stop syncing, but no errors showed there or in Lightroom Online.

I shot an event today and uploaded the files from Lightroom on my latptop. I checked Classic on my desktop, and the files were syncing correctly. In fact, everything synced correctly except the photos from a trip we took last month. That was too neat to be a coincidence, so I searched for a date during that vacation and discovered that the files had indeed synced, and I had put them all in a folder for our vacation. So much for not missing anything obvious. Hopefully I provide some humor to people who are reading this.

I do still have a sync issue. Lightroom on my laptop is stuck in a perpetual sync, although there are no errors there or in Lightroom online, and I haven't discovered any missing files online. I have about 85,000 images in Classic and about 76,000 are synced, so checking takes a while. I've been working on catalog cleanup for ages and hope to finish this decade.

I emptied the trash and cleared the cache on my laptop, but the sync wheel keeps spinning. I don't see any obvious errors, but at this point that may not mean much. Any suggestions for clearing the sync?