CachePix is a photo catalog app for Mac and Windows. It catalogs the photos on your drives, then syncs a searchable catalog to free iPhone and Android companion apps, so you can browse your archive with the drives unplugged. Your photos never go to the cloud.
Nothing is imported or moved. CachePix builds a catalog that points at your files where they are. Because you catalog photos without importing them, some people call this photo indexing software, others personal digital asset management. The job is knowing what's on your drives without plugging them all in. New to the idea? Here's what a photo catalog is.
Mac and Windows. CachePix runs on Apple silicon Macs and 64-bit Windows. Features marked On Mac have been tested on Mac only so far.
Catalog any folder or drive
Open Drives & Folders, choose Catalog a Folder…, and pick a folder or a drive: internal, external or removable. Cataloging runs in the background with a progress bar.
Need the computer back? Cancel. The work so far is kept, and the next run skips files whose path and size haven't changed. One catalog task runs at a time, using 2 to 8 worker threads.
Added photos to a drive since? On Mac, Re-index drive (or Re-index on a folder) catalogs the new files. It doesn't yet remove entries for files you've deleted or moved.
Know the disk space first. Before cataloging, CachePix makes previews for about 24 sampled photos and estimates how large the preview store will get. The folder isn't changed.
The code sets no cap on photos or drives. Removing a folder or forgetting a drive only clears CachePix's own catalog entries and cached previews. Your files stay exactly where they are.
Browse with the drives unplugged
This is what makes CachePix offline photo management software. Each cataloged JPEG, PNG, WebP and RAW photo gets a 512px thumbnail and an HD preview on your computer, so the Library works with the drives in a drawer.
HD previews default to 2048px at JPEG quality 80. Preview Quality… offers 1600, 2048, 2560 or 3072px, at quality 75, 80 or 85.
- The viewer always shows the cached HD preview, even with the drive connected.
- On Mac: a green or gray dot shows whether each drive is connected, and a connected drive adds Copy Full-Resolution… and Reveal in Finder.
CachePix checks your plan online at least once every 14 days. For the workflow, see how to find photos across drives.
One search box, 13 fields
The Library has one search box, labeled "Search filename, person, keyword…". It looks inside 13 fields: filename, people, keywords, caption, headline, title, city, state, sublocation, creator, event, category and supplemental categories.
Matching ignores case and finds partial words. Words combine, so "Maria Lisbon" finds photos that match both, even when Maria is a person and Lisbon is the city.
- Results run newest capture date first, undated photos last, 200 to a page.
- The star saves a search to the Library sidebar with a live photo count.
- Click a person chip to search for that name.
- On Mac: narrow a search to one drive or to a folder on it.
Capture dates come only from EXIF DateTimeOriginal. There's no date search on the desktop, so lean on the newest-first order or the phone app's Year filter. More on how to search photo metadata.
Duplicates and RAW+JPEG pairs
Identical copies on different drives become one photo with each location listed. Edited or re-saved copies stay separate.
CachePix identifies each photo by a SHA-256 hash of its contents, so a match means identical bytes. CachePix doesn't delete any copies. What you keep is your call.
RAW+JPEG pairs count once too, which keeps a RAW photo catalog tidy. Files with the same name in the same folder become one photo: the RAW is its identity, and the JPEG supplies the preview.
Drives that change names (On Mac)
On Mac, CachePix tracks each drive by its volume ID, so a renamed drive re-links the next time you connect it. Rename "Photos 2019" to "Archive A", or let it mount under a different path, and the catalog still knows which drive it is.
More on CachePix on Mac.
Reads the metadata you already wrote
Want photo cataloging software with tags you've already written? If you keyworded in Photo Mechanic or Lightroom, CachePix reads what's saved in your files and in the XMP sidecars next to RAW files: people (XMP PersonInImage), keywords (IPTC Keywords merged with XMP dc:subject) and the other search fields above, from XMP first and IPTC-IIM as the fallback.
Metadata stored only in a Lightroom catalog (.lrcat) isn't read, and neither are star ratings or color labels. The IPTC Photo Metadata Standard defines the people, keyword, caption, headline, title, location, creator and event fields.
Tagged more photos since? Keep adding keywords, captions and names in the app you already use, such as Photo Mechanic or Lightroom Classic, and save them to the files or their sidecars. Then connect the drive and run Sync Search Metadata. It re-reads only the files whose metadata changed. If a change doesn't show, use its Re-read every photo option.
Your files stay put
Cataloging never modifies, moves, renames or deletes your files. CachePix writes metadata only when you edit it, and only the fields you changed, as standard XMP in the file or in a sidecar next to RAW files. More in the CachePix FAQ.
Export
Export Preview… saves one HD preview. Batch Export saves a set of HD previews, each named with _preview.jpg on the end. Both work with the drives unplugged, and your metadata is embedded in each copy. Handy when someone asks for a photo and the drive is at the office.
On Mac, batch Export can also copy originals from a connected drive.
Storage & Backup
- Move Store copies the preview store to another folder or a bigger drive, and checks each preview before switching.
- Back Up writes a timestamped catalog snapshot, with or without the previews.
- Restore swaps in a backup on the next launch and keeps the old database as a fallback.
The catalog database always stays on this computer. There are no automatic or scheduled backups, so run Back Up after a big cataloging session.
Your phone carries the catalog
Open Pair Phone… and click Turn On. The catalog syncs one way, from your computer to your phone, over your local network. Pair once by scanning a QR code. There's no server for you to install or run.
Full-size originals stay on your drives. The phone carries thumbnails and HD previews.
Your photos, previews and catalog never leave your own computer and phone. CachePix's only online service is your account: email sign-in, the plan check, and Stripe billing in your browser. More about the phone app, and how much space it uses on your phone.
Supported formats and requirements
CachePix catalogs JPEG, PNG, WebP and 15 RAW formats (CR2, CR3, NEF, NRW, ARW, SR2, RAF, ORF, RW2, DNG, PEF, SRW, X3F, IIQ, 3FR). HEIC and TIFF photos are cataloged and searchable, and previews for them are coming on Mac. Video isn't supported.
| Status | Formats |
|---|---|
| Thumbnails and previews | JPEG, PNG, WebP and 15 RAW formats. RAW previews come from the camera's embedded JPEG. |
| Searchable, no preview yet | HEIC, HEIF, TIFF. The tile shows the filename. |
| Not cataloged | GIF, BMP, video (MOV, MP4 and others), Live Photo motion |
| Platform | Requirement |
|---|---|
| Mac | Apple silicon (M1 or later) on macOS 12 or later |
| Windows | 64-bit Windows (x64). The installer fetches Microsoft WebView2 if it's missing. |
| iPhone and iPad | iOS 18 or later |
| Android | Android 9 or later, on a device with a camera (the current build requires one) |
| Not supported | Intel Macs, Linux, Windows on ARM |
Ready? Get the download for your Mac or PC, and see pricing.
What CachePix doesn't do
Better to know now than halfway through a trial.
- No facial recognition or AI. CachePix has no facial recognition, face detection or AI tagging. People names come from metadata in your files, or names you type in CachePix.
- No video, GIF or BMP.
- No camera, lens, exposure or GPS search, and no map. Location search uses the IPTC City, State and Sublocation text.
- No filters on the desktop, and no sort options or date search yet.
- No reading of ratings or color labels set in other apps.
- No albums on the desktop. It has saved searches instead.
- No Lightroom catalogs, collections or develop edits, and no reading of other apps' library databases or export files.
- No photo editing. CachePix doesn't change how your photos look.
- Not a backup. CachePix is a catalog, not a backup. It makes your archive findable. It doesn't make a second copy, so keep backing up your drives.
Need one of those? Compare photo catalog software side by side before you choose.
Photo cataloging software questions
Which file formats does CachePix catalog?
CachePix catalogs JPEG, PNG, WebP and 15 RAW formats, including CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF, ORF, RW2 and DNG, with thumbnails and previews. HEIC and TIFF photos are cataloged and searchable, and previews for them are coming on Mac. Video isn't supported, and GIF and BMP files aren't cataloged.
Does CachePix read keywords and captions from Photo Mechanic or Lightroom?
Yes, when that metadata is saved in the files or their XMP sidecars. CachePix reads people, keywords, caption, headline, title, city, state, sublocation, creator, event and category fields from XMP, with IPTC-IIM as the fallback, and reads the XMP sidecar next to RAW files. It doesn't read Lightroom catalogs (.lrcat), collections, develop edits, star ratings or color labels.
How does CachePix handle duplicate photos?
CachePix identifies each photo by a SHA-256 hash of its contents. Identical copies on different drives become one photo with each location listed. Edited or re-saved copies stay separate. A RAW and a JPEG with the same name in the same folder count as one photo. CachePix doesn't delete any copies.
How much disk space do previews take on my computer?
CachePix estimates it for your library before you start: it makes previews for about 24 sampled photos and projects the preview store's size. Thumbnails are 512px. HD previews default to 2048px at quality 80, and you can pick 1600, 2048, 2560 or 3072px. You can move the store to another drive.
Does CachePix catalog video?
No. CachePix 0.2.1 catalogs still photos only. MOV, MP4 and other video files are skipped, the motion half of a Live Photo is ignored, and GIF and BMP files aren't cataloged either. CachePix leaves those files where they are on your drive, so you can keep managing video in another app.
How large a library can CachePix handle?
The CachePix code sets no cap on photos or drives, and we haven't published a benchmark. Our storage measurement used a real library of 190,566 photos (885.66 GB) in two folders on one external drive, cataloged on a Mac and synced to an iPhone in August 2026. See how much space it uses on your phone for the method.
Does CachePix read my star ratings and color labels?
No. CachePix 0.2.1 doesn't read star ratings or color labels already in your files, including those set in Lightroom or Photo Mechanic. The desktop app has no rating or label filter, so mark your picks with a keyword such as "best" or "print" in the app you keyword with.
Sources
- IPTC Photo Metadata Standard. IPTC (official site). Checked October 7, 2026.