AI keywording that lands in your catalog, not just a CSV
Download an .xmp sidecar for every file — titles, descriptions and keywords in the standard packet Lightroom Classic, Bridge and Photo Mechanic read — and let your catalog embed the metadata into every export.
No credit card required — start with 15 free credits.
If your Lightroom catalog is the single source of truth, a CSV export is the wrong shape: you want metadata that lives with the file. PixTagger generates an XMP sidecar per photo — dc:title, dc:description and dc:subject keywords in the standard XMP packet — so you read it into your catalog once and every JPEG you export carries the metadata embedded. Agencies that read embedded IPTC/XMP on upload, like Alamy, Depositphotos and 123RF, pick it up with zero extra steps. And because sidecars are generated purely from the metadata, your originals never leave your computer.
How it works
From shoot to upload-ready in under a minute.
1. Tag your batch
Drop photos in the browser — the stock-tuned pipeline writes titles, descriptions and keywords you can review and edit.
2. Download XMP sidecars
One click exports a .zip with an .xmp file per photo, named to match your originals.
3. Read into your catalog
Unzip next to the originals and use Read Metadata from File in Lightroom (or File Info in Bridge). Every export from then on carries the metadata embedded.
FAQ
Questions, answered.
Do XMP sidecars work with RAW files?+
Yes — sidecars are the standard way to keyword RAW formats, since RAW files themselves are never modified. The .xmp sits next to your .CR2/.NEF/.ARW and your catalog pairs them by name.
I only shoot JPEG — will a sidecar work for me?+
Not on its own, and this is worth knowing before you download. Adobe writes XMP inside JPEG, TIFF, PSD and DNG files, and uses a separate sidecar only for proprietary RAW formats — so an .xmp dropped next to a finished .jpg is generally ignored by Lightroom and Bridge. The sidecar route is for photographers whose catalogue starts at the RAW file: the metadata goes in there, and the JPEGs you export from the catalogue carry it embedded. If you work only in JPEG, use the marketplace CSVs instead, which is what Getty, Adobe, Shutterstock, Pond5 and Dreamstime take anyway.
Do XMP sidecars work for video or vector files?+
No. Video metadata has to live inside the .mov or .mp4 container, and no agency reads a .xmp placed next to a clip; vectors carry XMP inside the .eps itself. For footage and illustrations use the marketplace CSV exports — Getty ESP and qHero, Adobe, Shutterstock, Pond5 and Dreamstime all take one.
How does this get my keywords into Alamy or 123RF?+
Those agencies read the IPTC/XMP metadata embedded in the files you upload. Once your catalog has the sidecar metadata, every JPEG you export carries it — so the agency fills in caption and keywords automatically on upload.
Do you need my original files to make the sidecars?+
No. Sidecars are generated purely from the metadata we created for each filename — your originals stay on your computer. For tagging, photos are resized in the browser before analysis; full-size files are never uploaded.
What exactly is inside the sidecar?+
The standard XMP packet with three fields your catalog already understands: dc:title for the title, dc:description for the caption text IPTC maps to, and dc:subject for the keywords. Nothing proprietary and nothing that needs our software to read it later — if you stop using PixTagger tomorrow, the metadata in your catalog is unaffected.
Can I get sidecars and marketplace CSVs from the same run?+
Yes — one tagging run gives you the sidecars plus the Getty, Adobe, Shutterstock, Pond5 and Dreamstime CSVs and Meta hashtags. Useful when the same shoot goes to an agency that imports a CSV and to one that reads embedded metadata: you are not paying twice or tagging twice to serve both.
Related guides
Every agency's metadata format
which agencies read embedded IPTC/XMP instead of a CSV.
Getty controlled vocabulary, explained
how keywording works across the agencies you upload to.
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Keyword once. Keep it in your catalog forever.
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