What Is an XMP File? Lightroom Presets and Metadata Explained

If you've downloaded a Lightroom preset or shot RAW, you've met XMP files. Here's what they are, how to open them, and how to pull one out of a finished photo.

What Is an XMP File?

XMP (Extensible Metadata Platform) is Adobe’s format for storing metadata — information about an image rather than the image itself. In photography you’ll run into .xmp files in two main roles:

  1. Lightroom presets — Since Lightroom 7.3, presets are distributed as .xmp files. The file contains slider values: exposure, tone curve, color grading, grain, and so on.
  2. RAW sidecar files — When you edit a RAW file (like a Nikon .NEF or Sony .ARW), Lightroom and Camera Raw save your edits in a small .xmp file next to it, leaving the original untouched.

The same XMP data can also live inside a JPG. When you export from Lightroom with metadata included, the full edit recipe travels embedded in the file — which is what makes preset extraction possible.

How to Open an XMP File

An XMP file is plain text (XML), so any text editor can open it — you’ll see entries like crs:Exposure2012="+0.85". Readable, but not exactly friendly.

For a visual view, upload a JPG containing XMP data to the Lightroom preset viewer: it displays every adjustment in a Lightroom-style panel — tone curve, HSL, color grading, effects — instead of raw XML.

How to Install an XMP Preset in Lightroom

Short version: File → Import Develop Profiles and Presets in Lightroom Classic, or drop the file into the Presets panel. Our preset installation guide covers desktop and mobile step by step.

How to Get an XMP File Out of a Photo

This is the underrated trick: if a JPG was exported from Lightroom with metadata intact, the entire edit is still in the file. Upload it to PixelPeeper, see the settings, and download them as a ready-to-install .xmp preset — the full walkthrough is in how to copy a preset from a photo.

That also means the reverse: if you don’t want to share your editing recipe, strip the metadata before publishing your photos.

XMP vs. DNG Presets

You’ll see mobile presets distributed as DNG files instead of XMP. The difference:

  • XMP — just the settings, tiny file, needs desktop Lightroom (or sync) to install
  • DNG — a whole photo with the settings baked into its metadata, importable directly in the free Lightroom mobile app

Same edit data, different packaging. More in what is a DNG file.

Can I Delete XMP Sidecar Files?

If you still want your edits: no — for RAW workflows the sidecar is your edit. Deleting photo.xmp next to photo.NEF throws away the develop settings (the RAW stays intact). If you’ve already exported final JPGs and don’t need to revisit the edits, archiving or deleting sidecars is safe.