Sync star ratings with Apple Photos?
- In Manage Apple Photos, your first rating asks whether this collection should keep stars in Cullibrate or sync with Apple Photos. Cancel leaves the photo unchanged.
Stars you set or clear here will also change Apple Photos. If you use iCloud Photos, Apple syncs them to your other devices and shared-library participants.
Colour labels, tags and rejects stay in Cullibrate.
Change this collection's choice in its collection dropdown or Library tile ⋯ menu → Sync stars with Apple Photos. Preferences → General → Apple Photos → Sync star ratings sets only the default for future collections.
Native star syncing requires macOS 27 or later. Stars stay in Cullibrate on this device.
Remember my choice for future Apple Photos collections also updates that default. Existing collections retain their own choice; duplicates retain the source collection's choice.
The first-use sheet shows a replacement acknowledgement only when the collection already has local stars. Photos stores one rating per photo, so synced collections containing the same photo share its Photos rating.
View synced stars in Photos on Mac and iPhone
- On a Mac, open Photos → Settings → General and turn on Show Ratings Controls.
- On iPhone with iOS 27 or later, open Photos → Collections, tap your Apple Account profile and turn on Show Ratings Controls.
Cullibrate can detect native star support and Photos permission. It cannot read Show Ratings Controls or settings on your iPhone. For cross-device syncing, use iCloud Photos with the same Apple Account and allow time for Apple to sync.
Changing the star source retires star Undo/Redo entries from the previous source. Other history is retained. Subsequent star changes can be undone as usual.
Allow Cullibrate to access Photos in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Photos, then try again.
If stars are missing on another device, check its OS version, Show Ratings Controls, Apple Account and iCloud Photos. A save to the Mac Photos library does not confirm iCloud delivery.