How to View and Edit XMP Sidecar Files

If you shoot RAW and notice a same-named .xmp file sitting next to your .CR2, .NEF, or .ARW files, that's a sidecar — a small text file that stores metadata and edit history without ever touching your original RAW capture.

Why RAW editors use sidecars

RAW files are meant to stay exactly as the sensor recorded them — that's the whole point of shooting RAW. Rather than modifying that original data, editors like Lightroom and most metadata tools write your changes — keywords, copyright, ratings, GPS corrections, develop adjustments — into a companion XMP file instead. Your RAW file never changes; the sidecar carries everything else.

What's actually inside an XMP file

XMP is a plain XML format, so technically you can open one in a text editor and read it directly. In practice it holds structured metadata fields — IPTC and EXIF-equivalent tags like copyright, creator, keywords, GPS coordinates — plus, depending on the software that wrote it, non-destructive edit instructions like exposure or crop settings.

The catch: sidecars are easy to orphan

A sidecar is only useful as long as it stays next to its matching RAW file with the same filename. Rename or move the .CR2 without also renaming the .xmp, and most software won't recognize the two as a pair anymore — the edits effectively vanish from that file's perspective, even though the sidecar still exists on disk.

The Exif Forge way

Sidecars follow their file automatically

Exif Forge reads and writes XMP sidecars as part of normal editing — batch rename keeps sidecars matched to their RAW file, so nothing gets orphaned.

Edits to RAW files always go to a companion .xmp sidecar

Batch rename renames sidecars in lockstep with their file

Full EXIF, IPTC and XMP fields, grouped and editable

Original RAW capture is never modified

See the Editor

FAQ

Can I just delete the .xmp file if I don't want it?

You can, but you'll lose whatever metadata edits or develop settings are stored in it — the original RAW file itself is untouched, but any changes made through your RAW editor live only in the sidecar.

Why doesn't the editor just write directly into my RAW file?

Most RAW formats are designed to preserve the original sensor data unmodified as a matter of principle — sidecars let editors record changes non-destructively without ever touching the source file.

What happens to the sidecar if I rename or move the RAW file?

If you rename or move only the RAW file, the sidecar gets orphaned and most software won't find it anymore. Any tool that renames files should rename the matching sidecar in the same operation.