Does auto-tagging need the internet?

No. The dialog says it runs fully offline using the index on your computer.

Where do the XMP files go?

Export writes a separate .xmp sidecar file next to each photo, holding its keywords, rating and caption.

Smart Features Advanced 5 min read Updated Oct 23, 2026 Pluto Photos 2.5.2

How to Auto-Tag Photos and Export Keywords to Lightroom as XMP

Short answer

Open Discover, then Auto-Tag. Click Run auto-tagging to add keywords to every indexed photo, then Export tags to XMP to write a .xmp sidecar file next to each photo for Lightroom, Bridge or digiKam.

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#1. Open Auto-Tag

Open the Discover menu and choose Auto-Tag. The dialog has two steps. It says the tagging runs fully offline using the same index as Contextual Search, so your photos have to be indexed first. If it says No indexed photos yet, run the Contextual Search scan first.

The Auto-Tag and XMP Export dialog with two steps: Run auto-tagging and Export tags to XMP — Step 1 tags, step 2 exports.

#2. Run auto-tagging

Click Run auto-tagging. It adds searchable keywords such as dog, beach or sunset to every indexed photo and shows a progress bar. When it finishes, you get a summary, here Tagged 99 photo(s) with 491 keyword(s).

The Auto-Tag dialog showing Tagged 99 photos with 491 keywords — Done: 99 photos tagged.

#3. See the tags on a photo

Click a photo in the library. The new keywords are in the Tags section of its details panel, next to any tags you added yourself, and you can remove any you don't want. You can also use them in smart albums with Has Tag.

The keywords on one photo, with one tag added by hand.

#4. Export the tags to XMP sidecars

Back in the dialog, click Export tags to XMP. It writes a .xmp file next to each photo with its keywords, rating and caption, and reports it, here Wrote 99 XMP sidecar file(s). The dialog says programs such as Lightroom, Bridge and digiKam can read the sidecars, so the keywords travel with your photos.

The Auto-Tag dialog after both steps: 99 photos tagged and 99 XMP sidecar files written — Both steps finished.

#Tips

Auto-tags are suggestions. Remove the ones that are wrong. They're ordinary tags.
Add your own keywords with ratings and tags before you export, so the sidecars carry them too.
Run it again after you import new photos, and export again to refresh the sidecars.

#Questions

Does auto-tagging need the internet?: No. The dialog says it runs fully offline using the index on your computer.
Where do the XMP files go?: Export writes a separate .xmp sidecar file next to each photo, holding its keywords, rating and caption.

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