Photos "Import All New Items" does not import all valid files, several import rounds on same folder are required

I'm currently on Sonoma 14.1.1 and Photos 9.0 but I've had this problem for ages, including the behaviour where you have to do several rounds of photo importing.

From what I can tell, videos exported from Photos end ".MOV" and live photos end ".mov".

The ".mov" live photos seem to import along with plain photos but, as sn0brdr says, even though the videos appear in the import window, they don't get imported.

I found a fix using the terminal with the following command:

open -a /System/Applications/Photos.app  <PATH_TO_DIRECTORY>/*.MOV

You'll see Photos show an import window with only videos, and the button reads "Import all videos". This button works. Just like sn0brdr, it doesn't work if I use the builtin Photos "Import" to select the directory.

I keep images in directories structured "YYYY/MM/DD/".

So, for example, to import all videos from 2023 I would do:

open -a /System/Applications/Photos.app  2023/*/*/*.MOV

Sometimes I've hit a problem where there are too many or something, so I break it down by month.

Good luck!

Photos may stop the import, if you have two items with the same filename included in one import session. If you import in very small groups, it is less likely that the selected items to import will include two files with the same filename.

How are you importing from the old, corrupted Photos Library? Are you importing directly from the library or did you copy the originals folder out of the library?

Just to be sure, have you tried to repair the library with Photos?

Have you checked, if the old library is on a compatible external volume? repairing the library will not help, if you are trying to keep your Photos Library on an unsupported volume. The library needs to be on a locally mounted volume, not a network share, the file system format should be either macOS Extended (Journaled) or APFS, and the volume must not have been used for Time Machine backups or have other backup software installed. Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support

trying tp inspect to inner working:

at this moment I have 150 video imported, but they should be only referenced, not copied from the external HD.

in Photos Library.photoslibrary/originals have 253 .mp4, count is stable, using "find . -type f | wc -l"; they have a code name, dont know where they appear

Play memory video is the function right for me, few seconds for every video, so I can trace the download

This has been an issue for me for a few years now. Gone are the days of plugging in your iPhone, opening Photos, and clicking "Import All New Photos" (with delete after import checked). It is not a fluid process. I am constantly faced with no imports, no progress bar, or partial imports. Something is definitely wrong and as a photographer who uses Lightroom for archiving clients files (Canon files not iPhone), I'm about to find a new way to backup my iPhone photos and videos. I used Apple Photos for years and quite frankly I'm very tired of combing through files to make sure they were actually imported before being deleted. Very frustrating. Why is this even an issue????

Problems like this really compound the amateur essence that runs throughout OSX. At what point does anything work enough to justify the outrageous price of your products? Can you not employ professional software developers and not destroy their ability to develop and release quality software???

Help!! How do I import unsupported photos from my memory card?

The fact that you cannot manage iCloud Photos within the same library as your local photos is an amazingly greedy decision by Apple.

The absurd complexity is the shameless cherry on top.

DID YOU GET A RESOLUTION?

Thanks Daryl, I have not tried this but assume it probably works. It's just this is so ridiculous that this would have to be the solution.

ok, goood to know I was doing the same, if doesnt import anymore, delete album and restart mac.

Hi sn0brdr,

To clarify, do you recall if there was any specific error or message when the library was original corrupted? Or any errors during the consecutive import processes afterwards?

Let us know, as these details will help us determine our next steps.

Cheers!