External photos library to iCloud
I have 104,000 photos sitting in a Photos library on an external drive. How do I get this library into iCloud?
Mac Pro, macOS 12.1
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Only one library at a time can sync with iCloud Photos. To use the library on your external volume with iCloud, do it this way:
- Ensure your external volume is suitable for an iCloud Photos Library - the external drive needs to have been prepared as described here: Move your Photos library to save space on your Mac - Apple Support
- Make the external library your system Photos Library: quit Photos , if it is running on a different library, then double click the external library to open it in Photos. Open the Photos > Preferences (Settings) > open the "General" tab, click "Uses as System Photos Library. System Photo Library overview in Photos on Mac - Apple Support (CA)
- Make the external Library your iCloud Photos Library: Open the iCloud tab, click the checkmark for "iCloud Photos". Close the preferences panel and wait. Use iCloud Photos to store photos in iCloud - Apple Support (CA)
Watch the status bar below All Photos for the progress of the syncing or any problems. The upload can take several days without any visible progress. Just wait. For example, I just synced again a library with 50000 photos and videos, it took 10 days, even with a fast internet connection.