How to install an .xmp preset in Lightroom
Modern Lightroom presets are .xmp files — small text files of develop settings.
Installing one takes under a minute in either version of Lightroom.
Lightroom Classic
- Open the Develop module.
- In the Presets panel on the left, click the + icon → Import Presets…
- Select your
.xmpfile. It appears under "User Presets".
One subtlety worth knowing: preset panels can be collapsed into groups, and a freshly imported preset lands alphabetically — if you don't see it, check the User Presets group specifically rather than scrolling the whole panel.
Lightroom (cloud) on desktop
- Open a photo in Edit view.
- Click Presets at the bottom of the edit panel.
- Three-dot menu → Import Presets… and select the file.
Presets imported on desktop sync to Lightroom on your other devices, including mobile, via your library.
Why the same preset can look different on raw and JPEG
Two photos of the same scene — one raw, one JPEG — start from different baselines: the JPEG already has a rendered tone curve and white balance baked in, while the raw is interpreted by Lightroom's own camera profile. A preset applies relative slider moves on top of that baseline, so identical settings can land differently. White balance is the extreme case: on raw files it's absolute (a Kelvin temperature), on JPEGs it's a relative nudge. Well-made presets for non-raw workflows use the relative form so they behave consistently.
If the preset seems to do nothing
- Confirm the file is a develop preset xmp, not xmp sidecar metadata from another photo.
- Check the amount slider (both Lightrooms can scale a preset's strength) isn't at zero.
- Try it on an unedited photo — existing edits combine with the preset's values and can cancel it visually.
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