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Version Management in RawTherapee: A Flexible Approach

When it comes to version management in photo editing, Adobe Lightroom offers a history panel and virtual copies, allowing users to revert to previous edits and compare different versions easily. However, this system is deeply tied to Lightroom’s catalog, which has some drawbacks: the catalog can grow significantly in size over time, making backups more cumbersome, and users are locked into Lightroom’s ecosystem.

RawTherapee, in contrast, takes a different approach that is more flexible and lightweight. It does not use a catalog or history panel but instead stores all edit instructions in separate sidecar .pp3 files. Here’s how it works:

How RawTherapee Handles Version Management

RawTherapee saves edits in .pp3 sidecar files, which store all processing parameters for a given RAW file. Unlike Lightroom’s catalog, these files are small—typically just a few kilobytes—and are stored alongside the original RAW file. This means:

• Your RAW files remain untouched.
• The .pp3 file contains all adjustments, including exposure, color grading, sharpening, and more.
• Each time you open the RAW file, RawTherapee reads the .pp3 file and applies the saved adjustments.

Creating Different Versions of an Edit

Since RawTherapee doesn’t have a built-in snapshot or history feature, users must manually create versions of an edit. Here’s how:

1. Duplicate the .pp3 file manually:
   • If your RAW file is named image.RAW, its sidecar file will be image.pp3.
   • To create a version, duplicate the .pp3 file and rename it (e.g., image_v1.pp3, image_v2.pp3).
   • You can swap .pp3 files by renaming them back to image.pp3 before reopening the RAW file.
   • You can even edit these .pp3 files manually! Just open them in a text editor like Notepad on Windows, Kate on Linux, or TextEdit on macOS.
2. Use Processing Profiles:
   • RawTherapee allows you to save and load different sets of adjustments as Processing Profiles.
   • After making an edit, save the profile via File > Processing Profile > Save Current Profile As….
   • Later, you can apply different profiles to the same image without manually handling .pp3 files.
3. Export Multiple Versions:
   • You can export different edits of the same RAW file with different names, keeping separate versions as final outputs.

Advantages of RawTherapee’s Version System

• ✅ Lightweight Storage – .pp3 files take up negligible disk space compared to Lightroom’s catalog.
• ✅ No Vendor Lock-in – Since edits are stored in .pp3 sidecar files, they remain separate from the software, making it easy to migrate or back up.
• ✅ Non-Destructive Editing – The RAW file itself is never altered.
• ✅ Flexible Organization – Users have full control over how they manage versions, without being tied to a catalog.

Potential Drawbacks (And Their Solutions)

• ❌ No Automatic History Panel – Unlike Lightroom, you can’t step back through each individual change -> Solution: Save intermediate .pp3 files at key stages of your edit.
• ❌ No Virtual Copies – You can’t create multiple in-app versions of the same file -> Solution: Use different .pp3 files or Processing Profiles to store alternative edits.

Conclusion

RawTherapee’s version management is different from Lightroom’s but offers significant advantages in flexibility, storage efficiency, and independence from proprietary systems. While it requires a more hands-on approach to managing versions, simple techniques like saving multiple .pp3 files or using Processing Profiles make it a powerful and adaptable workflow for photographers who prefer full control over their edits.

Visual Overview and Process Steps
Here’s where and when you can create these .pp3 files:

• When you click the disk icon and select “Save Current Image” in the save popup, make sure to check “Save current processing parameters with image.” -> 1
• At the same time, you can also enable “Automatically add suffix” to keep track of different versions while preserving their edit history. -> 2
• In the Queue, check the box “Save processing parameters with image.” -> 3
• Finally, click on the disk icon “Save Current Profile” in the editing interface to save a version at any time -> 4

Manually Loading a Previously Saved Profile

To manually open a saved profile, use the “Load a profile from file” icon, located right next to the “Save current profile” icon.

You can apply multiple profiles to a single photo. For example, you might create a profile specifically for a certain camera, containing only sharpening and noise reduction settings.

To control how a profile is applied, use the “Processing Profile Fill Mode” icon, found among the processing profile icons. Clicking this allows you to apply a .pp3 profile either fully or partially. This way, you won’t accidentally overwrite other adjustments—such as exposure tweaks or another applied profile.

By using clear and structured profile names, you can create an endless variety of profile sets and versions, giving you precise manual control over your edits.

This article was written by Marc R.
While I primarily speak Dutch and have some knowledge of English and a little French, ChatGPT helps ensure my writing is grammatically correct. I often mix Dutch and English in my drafts, and ChatGPT steps in to translate and correct.

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