---
title: Lightroom Classic plugin
description: Download the Lightroom plugin, connect your studio, and publish photos to LYGHTBOX galleries.
section: Client experience
order: 4
---

# Lightroom Classic plugin

Upload photos from Lightroom Classic to your LYGHTBOX galleries and update them when you make edits. The plugin works with LYGHTBOX Uploader on your Mac to upload JPEG photos.

[Download the Lightroom Classic plugin](https://downloads.lyghtbox.com/lightroom/lyghtbox-lightroom.zip)

Install and connect [LYGHTBOX Uploader](/docs/uploader) first. The uploader requires **macOS 13 or later on a Mac with Apple silicon**. Keep it running while Lightroom publishes.

## Install and connect

1. Unzip the plugin download and keep the **LYGHTBOX.lrplugin** folder somewhere permanent on your Mac.
2. In Lightroom Classic, open **File → Plug-in Manager → Add** and select that folder.
3. In the Library module's **Publish Services** panel, add **LYGHTBOX**.
4. In LYGHTBOX, open **Settings → Galleries → Connections**. Enter a **Device name** and choose **Create connection**.
5. Copy the connection key before leaving that page; it will not be shown again. In Lightroom, choose **Enter connection key** and paste it.
6. Choose **Test connection**. The status should say **Connected**.

Connect the plugin and the uploader to the same LYGHTBOX account.

## Create or link a gallery

Create a **Gallery** group in Lightroom's Publish Services panel. Link an existing gallery, or create one for a project or booking. Search for the item you need, then select a result. **Show more** loads additional results.

New galleries stay unpublished until you publish them in LYGHTBOX.

Select the Gallery group before creating a **Scene**. Choose **Create a new scene** or **Link an existing scene**. The collection name becomes the scene name, and saving creates the scene even when it has no photos.

To link a scene in a different gallery, cancel the dialog, select that Gallery group, and reopen the scene dialog.

## Arrange and publish photos

Add photos to a Scene collection and choose **Publish**. Lightroom waits until the uploaded photos are ready in LYGHTBOX. Within a scene, use Lightroom's **User Order** to drag photos into your preferred sequence.

Scenes in a Gallery group follow their collection names. Names such as **01 Getting Ready**, **02 Ceremony**, and **03 Reception** give you a specific order; those numbers also appear in LYGHTBOX. When you save, rename, or publish a scene, the scenes linked to that Gallery group are sorted by name again in LYGHTBOX. This replaces any order you chose for them there.

Any watermark you add in Lightroom stays on the uploaded photos and client downloads. If you turn on watermarking in LYGHTBOX, clients can view watermarked previews but cannot download photos.

**Publish in Lightroom uploads your photos.** To make a draft gallery available to clients, open it in LYGHTBOX, review its settings, and publish and share it there. Follow the [Galleries guide](/docs/galleries).

## Edit, move, or remove photos

- **Update an edit:** publish the photo again. Clients keep their favourites for that photo.
- **Move between scenes:** add the photo to the new scene, remove it from the old one, and publish. Keep each photo in one scene within the same gallery.
- **Remove a photo:** choose **Lightroom only** to keep it online, or **Lightroom and LYGHTBOX** to remove it from both. Removing the online photo also removes its favourites.

Your galleries and photos stay in LYGHTBOX when you remove a Lightroom scene or disconnect the plugin.

## Update the plugin

1. Download the plugin using the link above and quit Lightroom.
2. Unzip the download and replace the contents of your existing **LYGHTBOX.lrplugin** folder, keeping it in the same location.
3. Reopen Lightroom and check the version in the plugin settings.

Keep your existing Publish Service and connection key so its galleries and scenes stay linked. Update the uploader separately using **Check for updates** in its Settings or menu bar.

## If publishing stops

Open LYGHTBOX Uploader and check its connection and upload list. Confirm both apps use the same account, then try **Publish** again using the existing collection.

After an interruption, the plugin also checks upload status automatically. To check manually, use **LYGHTBOX: Sync upload status** from Lightroom's Library menu. Wait for Lightroom to finish publishing or checking your uploads before trying again. Photos with newer edits may still need **Publish**.

If photos appear in LYGHTBOX but Lightroom still shows them as unfinished, try **Publish** again from the same collection. See the [Uploader guide](/docs/uploader) for help with missing files or photos that will not upload.