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Lightroom profiles are not showing: the causes in order.

Lightroom lists profiles in a different place than presets, and it reads them only at startup. These are the causes in order, with numbered steps for each, checked against Adobe's help pages for Lightroom Classic, Lightroom and Camera Raw in October 2026.

01Restart

Lightroom reads profiles only at startup, so a restart comes before anything else.

The order of these sections follows the most common support questions about profile packs. A restart solves most of them and takes a minute.

  1. Close Lightroom and open it again. Camera Raw in Photoshop reads profiles at startup as well, so restart Photoshop there.
  2. Camera profiles load at startup too, so a restart also covers those.
  3. Open a photo in the Develop module and look in the Profile Browser, which the next section describes.

02Where to look

Lightroom lists profiles in the Profile Browser, and the Presets panel shows presets only.

This is the most common mix-up. A pack can contain profiles and presets, and Lightroom shows them in two different places.

  1. Open a photo in the Develop module of Lightroom Classic.
  2. Click the grid icon at the top of the Basic panel. The Profile Browser opens with a list of groups.
  3. Open the groups and look for the name of your pack.
  4. For presets, look at the Presets panel on the left side of the Develop module.

03Manage Profiles

An installed profile group can stay hidden until you tick it in Manage Profiles.

  1. Open the Profile Browser with the grid icon at the top of the Basic panel.
  2. Click the plus icon and choose Manage Profiles.
  3. Tick the groups that belong to your pack.

04Dimmed presets

Presets that do not fit the open photo appear dimmed or stay hidden.

Lightroom Classic checks every preset against the photo that is open. A preset made for raw files, for example, does not fully apply to a JPEG, so Lightroom shows it dimmed and in italics or leaves it out of the Presets panel.

  1. Open a raw file and look at the Presets panel again.
  2. To see every preset on every photo, open Preferences, then the Presets tab, and under Visibility tick Show Partially Compatible Develop Presets.

05Your app

Lightroom Classic, Lightroom (cloud), Camera Raw and the browser version import in different places.

Check which app you use, then use the matching route.

App Import route
Lightroom Classic Develop module, then File, then Import Develop Profiles and Presets. Or open the Profile Browser, click the plus icon and choose Import Profiles
Lightroom (cloud), desktop app File, then Import Profiles and Presets
Camera Raw in Photoshop Filter, then Camera Raw Filter, open the Profile Browser, click the three dots in the upper right corner and choose Import Profiles and Presets
Lightroom on phone or tablet Profiles imported in the cloud-based Lightroom app on a computer sync to the phone, see the phone section below
Lightroom in the browser (lightroom.adobe.com) Custom profiles cannot be imported in this version
  1. Find your app in the table.
  2. Import the ZIP file of the profiles through that route.
  3. Restart the app and check the Profile Browser.

06File types

Lightroom takes profiles as .xmp and .dcp files, and a ZIP file with profiles imports in one step.

Film and creative profiles come as .xmp files, camera profiles as .dcp files and lens profiles as .lcp files. Presets come as .xmp, .lrtemplate or .dng files.

  • ZIP files. Lightroom Classic imports XMP presets and profiles, DCP profiles and LCP profiles as part of a ZIP file, so there is no need to unzip them first. A .lrtemplate preset cannot be part of a ZIP file.
  • Wrong place. A profile imported through a route that only takes presets, or a preset searched for in the Profile Browser, looks like a failed import. The table above lists the route for each app.
  • Browser version. Lightroom in the browser imports no custom profiles at all, whatever the file type.

07Phone

Lightroom Classic does not sync profiles to your phone.

  1. Import the profiles in the cloud-based Lightroom app on your computer, signed in with the same Adobe account as your phone.
  2. Wait until the cloud icon is solid. Give the sync a minute.
  3. On the phone, open a photo, tap Edit and open Profiles.
  4. If the profiles are still missing, import them again in the cloud-based app to trigger a new sync.

08Manual install

A manual install only works when the files sit in the right two folders.

Lightroom Classic and Camera Raw read from the same two folders, so one copy covers both. Both folders are hidden by default. Profiles and presets go into Settings, camera profiles go into CameraProfiles. Lightroom (cloud) has no manual route and needs the import menu.

  1. Unzip the download.
  2. On macOS, open Finder and press Cmd+Shift+G. Enter ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRaw/Settings for profiles and presets, and ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRaw/CameraProfiles for camera profiles.
  3. On Windows, press Win+R. Enter %AppData%\Adobe\CameraRaw\Settings for profiles and presets, and %AppData%\Adobe\CameraRaw\CameraProfiles for camera profiles.
  4. Copy the files into the matching folder and restart Lightroom Classic or Photoshop.

If "Store presets with this catalog" is enabled in Lightroom Classic, presets go into the Settings folder next to the catalog. Profiles stay in the CameraRaw folder.

09Already exists

Lightroom shows an "already exists" notice when a profile with the same name was imported before.

The notice comes from Lightroom and points to a repeated import. It does not mean the file is damaged.

  1. Open the Profile Browser and look for the group.
  2. Restart Lightroom.
  3. Click the plus icon, choose Manage Profiles and tick the group.

10Update

If nothing above helps, update Lightroom to the latest version.

When the files are in place and the steps above change nothing, the cause can sit in the Lightroom installation itself.

  1. Update Lightroom to the latest version and restart it.
  2. As a last resort, reinstall Lightroom cleanly.

11This library

Analog Vision Studio has its own group names, an installer and a camera rule.

This section applies to the film profiles of Lumenary Vision, Analog Vision Studio. The profiles run in Lightroom Classic 7.3 or newer, Lightroom (cloud) 1.3 or newer and Camera Raw 10.3 or newer.

  1. The Profile Browser groups are named after the film stock, the scanner and the version, for example ◭ Gold 200 · Frontier · Professional and ◭ Gold 200 · Frontier · Standard. No group is called Analog Vision Studio.
  2. The installer for Mac and Windows puts the profiles, camera profiles, workflow presets and the AVS Lab Tech plugin into Lightroom Classic and Photoshop in one go. If Photoshop was open, restart it.
  3. By hand, unzip the download once and leave the ZIP files inside folders 1, 2 and 3 zipped. Folder 1 holds the profiles, folder 2 the camera profiles and folder 3 the workflow presets. Import them together, then restart Lightroom.
  4. For the cloud-based Lightroom app, the installer button Prepare for Lightroom (cloud) puts the import files on the desktop. Import them in that app, and Lightroom syncs them to the phone.
  5. Professional needs a raw file from a camera on the supported cameras list. On a JPEG, or on a camera that is not listed, the Professional profiles do not show. Standard works with JPEG files and with raw files from any camera Lightroom supports.
  6. The AVS Lab Tech plugin runs in Lightroom Classic 12 or newer only.

The install guide shows each route with screenshots, and the Capture One install guide covers the Capture One editions. The difference between profiles and presets is explained on Lightroom profiles vs presets.

12Test

You can test your installation with two free profiles first.

The free sample contains Kodacolor 100 and Vision 3 250D at 0 EV in the Standard version, which is enough to check the import route on your setup.

FAQQuestions

Questions, answered.

Why are my Adobe Lightroom profiles missing after the import?
The most common reasons are that Lightroom has not been restarted, that you are looking in the Presets panel instead of the Profile Browser, or that the group is switched off in Manage Profiles. Restart Lightroom first, then check the Profile Browser.
Where do imported profiles appear in Lightroom?
In the Develop module, click the grid icon at the top of the Basic panel to open the Profile Browser. Presets are listed separately in the Presets panel on the left side of the Develop module.
How do I import profiles into Lightroom Classic?
Open the Develop module and choose File, then Import Develop Profiles and Presets. The second route is the Profile Browser: click the plus icon and choose Import Profiles. Both take a ZIP file, so there is no need to unzip it. Restart Lightroom afterwards.
Why can't I import presets in Lightroom?
Most failed imports use the wrong route or the wrong file. The browser version of Lightroom imports no custom profiles, a .lrtemplate preset cannot be imported as part of a ZIP file, and a preset made for raw files appears dimmed or hidden while a JPEG is open.
Do I need to restart Lightroom after importing profiles?
Yes. Profiles, and camera profiles in particular, are only read when Lightroom starts. Camera Raw in Photoshop behaves the same way.
Why are my Lightroom profiles missing on my phone?
Lightroom Classic does not sync profiles to mobile. Import them in the cloud-based Lightroom app on your computer with the same Adobe account and wait until the cloud icon is solid. Then open a photo on the phone, tap Edit and open Profiles.
Can I import profiles into the browser version of Lightroom?
The browser version at lightroom.adobe.com does not support importing custom profiles. Use Lightroom Classic, the Lightroom (cloud) desktop app or Camera Raw instead.
Where are Lightroom profiles stored?
On macOS, profiles and presets go into ~/Library/Application Support/Adobe/CameraRaw/Settings and camera profiles into the CameraProfiles folder next to it. On Windows, the matching folders are in %AppData%\Adobe\CameraRaw. Restart Lightroom Classic or Photoshop afterwards.
Why are the Professional profiles missing on my photo?
In Analog Vision Studio, Professional needs a raw file from a camera on the supported cameras list. On a JPEG or an unlisted camera, use the Standard version.

Next step

If you want to test your setup on two profiles first, the free sample is made for that.

See the Essential EditionGet the free sample