What is the LRTEMPLATE file format?
.lrtemplate is a plain-text file associated with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, an image editing and photo-management application. .lrtemplate files store develop presets - saved packages of image-adjustment settings that can be applied to photos with a single click. Preset files allow users to quickly apply a pre-configured set of develop adjustments, such as exposure, contrast, tone curve, HSL color tuning, and noise reduction, ensuring consistent results across a batch of images.
Compared to the more popular Photoshop, Lightroom doesn't offer as many advanced tools for editing images and is more focused on organizing photos, with options to add tonal and color enhancements. Lightroom is not as powerful as Photoshop but is faster, and edits performed using its tools are non-destructive. .lrtemplate files allow for greater standardization of edits by letting photographers save and share their preferred develop settings.
Internally, .lrtemplate uses Lua table syntax - the same scripting language built into Lightroom - so the file is human-readable and can be inspected in any text editor. A typical file begins with s = { and contains an id, internalName, title, and a nested value.settings block holding all develop adjustments.
.lrtemplate is a legacy format. In April 2018, Adobe Lightroom Classic CC 7.3 replaced it with the .xmp preset format. When Lightroom Classic is launched, it automatically converts existing .lrtemplate files to .xmp and renames the originals by appending ~~ to the filename. Newer versions of Lightroom (cloud and mobile) cannot import .lrtemplate files directly and require .xmp instead.
Security & safety
RISK: LOWAn .lrtemplate is passive plain-text settings (Lua), with no executable payload, so opening or editing one is safe. The only real-world caution is sourcing: download preset packs from reputable sellers, as sketchy "free preset" sites bundle adware in their installers and the preset itself does nothing on its own without Lightroom. There's no malware risk in the file format.
Format details
in a nutshellPrograms that open LRTEMPLATE files
Windows2 apps
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Paid Develop module > Presets panel > right-click > Import, select the .lrtemplate; or drop it in the 'Develop Presets' folder. Lightroom Classic auto-converts it to .xmp on launch.
Any text editor (Notepad, Notepad++)
Open-source Open to read or lightly edit the Lua settings table - useful to inspect what a preset does. Don't break the Lua syntax. 
macOS2 apps
TextEdit
Built-in Open the .lrtemplate as plain text to read the Lua settings (use plain-text mode).
Adobe Lightroom Classic
Paid Import via the Presets panel or place in the Develop Presets folder; Lightroom Classic converts .lrtemplate to .xmp automatically. Technical details
deep spec| Format type | Plain-text Lua table; not binary - readable and editable in any text editor |
| MIME type | text/plain |
| Character encoding | UTF-8 |
| File header | No binary magic bytes; files begin with the Lua table assignment s = { at byte 0 |
| Top-level Lua keys | id, internalName, title, type, value (which nests a settings sub-table) |
| Develop adjustments stored | Exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, tone curve, HSL, luminance, saturation, noise reduction, sharpening, lens corrections, camera calibration |
| Preset type marker | type = "Develop" field identifies it as a Develop module preset, distinct from export or print presets |
| Unique identifier | id field holds a UUID that uniquely identifies each preset within Lightroom's catalog |
| Compression | Uncompressed plain text; file size stays small without any compression layer |
| Hand-editability | No encryption or obfuscation; a text editor can inspect, duplicate, or manually tweak any develop parameter value |
| Typical file size | 1-10 KB |
| Operating systems | Windows, macOS (wherever Adobe Lightroom Classic is supported) |
| Scripting language basis | Lua - Lightroom's embedded scripting engine; .lrtemplate syntax is a Lua table literal |
| Compatible Lightroom versions | Lightroom 1.0 through Lightroom Classic CC 7.2; superseded by .xmp presets in version 7.3 (April 2018) |
| Auto-conversion behavior | Lightroom Classic 7.3+ converts .lrtemplate files to .xmp on launch and renames originals by appending ~~ to the filename |
| Edit model | Non-destructive - presets adjust only Develop module parameters; original image pixels are never altered |
| Released | 2007, with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.0 |
| Latest version | Legacy format; replaced by XMP presets in Lightroom Classic CC 7.3 (April 2018) |
| Specification | helpx.adobe.com |
LRTEMPLATE conversions
Community Q&A
asked by usersNo questions yet - be the first to ask about LRTEMPLATE files.
