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Photolibrary trash bin

Why is the Photos Library.photoslibrary keep showing up in the trash bin after being deleted before?

MacBook Pro 16″, macOS 12.4

Posted on Jun 29, 2022 12:26 PM

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Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Posted on Jun 29, 2022 12:40 PM

Photos.app has a default library. Usually in ~/Pictures, if it hasn't been moved. Assuming you moved your 'photolibrary' file to the trash. So now the Photos.app is recreating the folder structure whenever it - or it's background utility programs that ensure the app is functioning properly - are started. Similar to when you reboot your system.


If you empty the trash and then start the Photos.app. Does the folder return? If so, follow the instructions below.


Start the Photos.app while holding the 'Option' key to get a dialog that allows you to create a new library somewhere else. Set that new one as default. Then delete what's left in the trash. It should be gone for good.

2 replies
Question marked as Top-ranking reply

Jun 29, 2022 12:40 PM in response to dazedinamaze

Photos.app has a default library. Usually in ~/Pictures, if it hasn't been moved. Assuming you moved your 'photolibrary' file to the trash. So now the Photos.app is recreating the folder structure whenever it - or it's background utility programs that ensure the app is functioning properly - are started. Similar to when you reboot your system.


If you empty the trash and then start the Photos.app. Does the folder return? If so, follow the instructions below.


Start the Photos.app while holding the 'Option' key to get a dialog that allows you to create a new library somewhere else. Set that new one as default. Then delete what's left in the trash. It should be gone for good.

Photolibrary trash bin

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