How to Merge Apple Photos Libraries in macOS Monterey
For years, merging Apple Photos libraries meant third-party tools, tedious exports, or awkward workarounds. With macOS Monterey, Apple finally introduced a built-in way to import one Photos library into another — and yes, it’s about time.
This guide walks through how the new feature works, what Apple got right, and where things still feel a little unfinished.
🎓 What You’ll Learn
• How to merge Apple Photos libraries using macOS Monterey
• Where to find the Photo Library Manager
• How Apple handles duplicates during import
• Known limitations and real-world bugs
• When this feature is safe to use — and when to be cautious
🆕 The New Import Photo Library Feature
Starting in macOS Monterey, Apple Photos includes a new option under File → Import that allows you to select an existing Photos or iPhoto library and merge its contents into your current library.
This removes the need for:
• Third-party duplicate tools (in many cases)
• Manual exports and re-imports
• Complex library switching workflows
At least in theory.
🗂️ Accessing Photo Library Manager
To see all Photos libraries on your Mac:
1. Quit Photos
2. Hold Option and click the Photos app
3. Choose which library to open — or create a new one
Only one library can be set as the System Photo Library, which is the only one that syncs with iCloud Photos.
⚠️ Duplicate Detection: The Good and the Not-So-Good
During testing, Apple Photos correctly identified many duplicates — but not all of them.
In some cases:
• Libraries re-imported photos already merged
• The same library showed different duplicate counts on repeated imports
• Drag-and-drop imports detected duplicates more reliably than library imports
This suggests the feature works, but may still be immature in early Monterey releases.
🧪 Real-World Testing Observations
Apple Photos:
• Correctly skips many duplicates
• Occasionally misidentifies already-imported photos
• Behaves differently depending on import method
This doesn’t make the feature unusable — but it does mean you should:
• Test with smaller libraries first
• Keep backups before merging
• Be prepared to run a duplicate cleanup afterward
🔁 Alternatives If You Run Into Issues
If you encounter duplicate problems, you may want to:
• Use a dedicated duplicate-detection tool
• Manually review imports
• Reference older workflows for pre-Monterey systems
I’ve linked related videos below to help with both older macOS versions and duplicate cleanup.
🧠 Final Thoughts
This is a huge step forward for Apple Photos.
The ability to merge libraries natively has been overdue — and while the feature isn’t perfect yet, it’s promising. With refinement, this could become the go-to method for consolidating libraries across old Macs, backups, and archived drives.
For now: useful, powerful, and worth using carefully.