free · no upload · no install · no account
Cull a whole shoot
before your coffee cools.
OnlineCull opens thousands of RAW files straight from your drive, in your browser. Rate with your keyboard, zoom to check focus, and export picks that Lightroom understands. Your photos never leave your machine.
or drop a folder anywhere on this page|
CR2 · CR3 · NEF · ARW · RAF · DNG · ORF · RW2 · PEF · JPEG
Three steps, one coffee
Open a folder
Point OnlineCull at a card or a shoot folder. Previews appear in seconds because nothing is uploaded anywhere: your files are read in place, on your machine.
Cull with the keyboard
Arrows to move, 1 to 5 to rate, P to pick, X to reject, Z to check focus at 1:1. The same muscle memory as Photo Mechanic or Lightroom, with zero setup.
Hand off to your editor
Export XMP sidecars that Lightroom, Bridge and Capture One read on import, copy your picks into a selects folder, or just grab the list of keepers.
The Photo Mechanic trick,
without Photo Mechanic
Every RAW file already contains a full-size JPEG that your camera rendered the moment you pressed the shutter. Culling apps that feel instant never decode the sensor data; they show you that embedded preview.
OnlineCull does exactly this, in the browser: it parses the RAW container, pulls the preview out and paints it, in a few milliseconds per file, on a pool of background threads. A 48 GB wedding needs zero upload and zero import, because the photos are read from your own disk.
Cloud culling tools ask you to upload that 48 GB first. Desktop tools ask for an install and often a license. Your browser already has everything it needs.
Reads what your camera writes
Tested against real files from the raw.pixls.us archive. RAW+JPEG pairs collapse into a single card so you cull photos, not duplicates.
Where OnlineCull sits
| OnlineCull | Desktop culling apps | Cloud culling | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price | Free, unlimited | $100+ or subscription | Subscription |
| Install | None, it is a web page | Download + updates | None |
| Your files | Stay on your machine | Stay on your machine | Uploaded in full |
| Works on a locked-down laptop | Yes | Rarely | Yes |
| Time before first preview | Seconds | Minutes of import | Hours of upload |
| Lightroom handoff | XMP sidecars | XMP sidecars | Varies |
AI culling assistants are great at volume; OnlineCull is for photographers who want their own eyes on every frame, fast. Both can coexist in one workflow.
Questions photographers ask
- Are my photos uploaded somewhere?
- No. OnlineCull runs entirely in your browser. Files are read locally with the File System Access API and never leave your computer. You can load a 50 GB shoot on hotel wifi: there is no upload, so there is nothing to wait for.
- How can a browser open RAW files that fast?
- Every RAW file carries a full-size JPEG preview that the camera rendered at capture time. OnlineCull parses the CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF, DNG, ORF, RW2 or PEF container and pulls that preview out directly, the same trick that makes Photo Mechanic famously fast. No demosaicing, no waiting.
- Does it really cost nothing?
- Yes. No account, no 200 photo cap, no watermark, no trial clock. Open as many folders as you like.
- How do my ratings get into Lightroom?
- OnlineCull writes standard XMP sidecar files next to your RAWs (or hands them to you as a ZIP). On import, Lightroom Classic, Bridge and Capture One read the star ratings; picks arrive with a green color label and rejects with a red one.
- What happens to RAW+JPEG pairs?
- Shoots with RAW+JPEG enabled show one card per photo, marked +JPG, instead of annoying duplicates. Copying your picks brings both files along.
- Which browsers work?
- Chrome and Edge give the full experience, including writing XMP sidecars next to your files. Safari and Firefox can open folders and cull all the same; exports arrive as downloads instead.
- Do my ratings survive a reload?
- Yes. Marks are stored in your browser, keyed to each file. Close the tab, come back tomorrow, reopen the same folder and your stars and flags are still there.