How to Open AAE File on Windows, Mac & iPhone (and What It Is)

What is an AAE file?

An AAE file is a small sidecar file that Apple Photos creates when you edit a photo or video on an iPhone, iPad or Mac. It stores the edit as a list of instructions (crop this area, apply this filter, brighten by this much) while the original photo stays untouched. That is what makes Apple's editing non-destructive: Photos redraws the edited version from the original plus the instructions, and Revert to Original simply throws the instructions away.

The file is an Apple property list, normally written as XML text, and it is tiny: around 1 KB. It always pairs with a photo of the same name, so IMG_1234.AAE belongs to IMG_1234.HEIC or IMG_1234.JPG. AAE files arrived with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite in 2014, when Apple replaced iPhoto and Aperture with the new Photos app. Apple never said what the letters stand for; "Apple Aperture Edits" is a common guess.

Bottom line: open AAE files only to check what was edited. The picture you want is always the matching HEIC or JPG photo, or its edited IMG_E copy.

How to open an AAE file, step by step

Short answer: you can open AAE files to read them, but no app outside Apple Photos can turn it into the edited picture. Here's what to do instead:

1. Find the matching photo. In the same folder, look for the file with the same name and a photo extension, such as IMG_1234.HEIC or IMG_1234.JPG. That is the unedited original.
2. See what was edited. Drop the .AAE into the viewer above for a readable list of edits, or open it in Notepad (Windows) or TextEdit (Mac) to read the raw XML.
3. Get the edited version from the Apple device. AirDrop or email the photo to yourself from Photos, or export it on a Mac. The copy you receive has the edits built in.
4. Delete AAE files you don't need. On Windows, Android or Linux nothing uses them, and deleting one never harms the photo.

What's inside an AAE file

Every AAE file has the same six fields. The edit itself is in adjustmentData, which looks like random text because it is base64-encoded and compressed. In Apple's own format, once you decompress it (raw deflate), you get a short piece of JSON with the original photo's size and orientation, the iOS build that saved it, and an adjustments list with one entry per edit. When you open AAE files in the viewer on this page, that's the part it decodes. Here is a real AAE file posted on Apple's developer forums:

<plist version="1.0">
<dict>
  <key>adjustmentBaseVersion</key>
  <integer>0</integer>
  <key>adjustmentData</key>
  <data>PY67DsIwDEX/5c4Z+oJK2dhgAQkkGBCDS1Ia1DRV4nap+u+kFLHZR/cee4LVTIqY…</data>
  <key>adjustmentEditorBundleID</key>
  <string>com.apple.camera</string>
  <key>adjustmentFormatIdentifier</key>
  <string>com.apple.photo</string>
  <key>adjustmentFormatVersion</key>
  <string>1.4</string>
  <key>adjustmentTimestamp</key>
  <date>2019-09-26T14:42:41Z</date>
</dict>
</plist>

Decoded with our viewer, that adjustmentData unpacks to this JSON (152 bytes compressed):

{"metadata":{"masterHeight":4032,"masterWidth":3024,"orientation":6},
 "formatVersion":1,
 "versionInfo":{"buildNumber":"17A577","appVersion":"","schemaRevision":0,"platform":"iOS"},
 "adjustments":[]}

In other words: a 3024 × 4032 photo, rotated, saved by the Camera app on iOS, with an empty edit list. Files like this one change nothing visible.

The field names match Apple's developer framework for photo editing, where each edit is saved as adjustment data with a format identifier and version, and Photos keeps only the most recent edit for each photo.

Why do I have AAE files when importing iPhone photos to Windows?

You see AAE files because those photos were edited on the iPhone, and a USB import copies what the iPhone actually stores: the untouched original plus the edit file. Apple says it plainly in its support note on importing edited photos: most programs show the original, unedited image, and the .AAE files "contain the edits made on the device, and do not indicate a problem with the images."

For an edited photo you'll usually find up to three files side by side:

• IMG_1234.HEIC (or .JPG) — the original, as shot.
• IMG_E1234.HEIC (or .JPG) — an edited copy with the changes built in, which many imports also bring along. The "E" stands for edited.
• IMG_1234.AAE — the edit instructions.

Edits don't have to be yours. A filter or effect chosen in the Camera app, or a camera app that processes every shot, is saved as an edit too, which is why some people find AAE files next to photos they never touched.

Open AAE files on Windows 11 and 10

Windows can open AAE files as text but can't apply the edit. To look inside one:

1. Right-click the .AAE file and choose Open with.
2. Pick Notepad. If it isn't listed, choose another app and select it from the list.
3. You'll see XML with the six fields described above. The edit itself is the unreadable block under adjustmentData; drop the file into the viewer on this page to decode it.

If what you really want is the edited picture on your PC, the AAE file won't get you there. Use the IMG_E copy if your import brought one, or send the photo from the iPhone by AirDrop to a Mac, by email, or from iCloud Photos on the web, as Apple recommends. Windows' own Photos app needs the HEIF and HEVC extensions to show .HEIC photos; see how to open a HEIC file on Windows.

Open AAE File on Mac

On a Mac, Photos reads AAE data automatically for photos in its library, so you normally never see the files. Loose AAE files show up when you import with Image Capture or copy a camera folder by hand; Image Capture brings in the original, the IMG_E edited copy and the AAE file.

• To open AAE files as text: Control-click the file, choose Open With > TextEdit, or drop it into the viewer above.
• To get a finished photo with the edits: in Photos, select the photo and choose File > Export > Export [number] Photos, then pick JPEG, HEIC, TIFF or PNG. The exported file has the edits applied and needs no AAE file.
• To get the untouched original: choose File > Export > Export Unmodified Original instead.

AAE files on iPhone and iPad

You never need to open AAE files on an iPhone or iPad: they live inside the photo library and are applied automatically every time you view an edited photo. What you can control is the edit itself:

1. Remove an edit: open the photo, tap Edit, then Revert and confirm Revert to Original. The edit record is dropped and the original is shown again.
2. Share the edited version: tap the Share button and use AirDrop, Mail or Messages. The recipient gets the photo with the edit applied, not an AAE file.

Android, Google Photos and Linux

Nothing outside Apple's ecosystem applies AAE edits. If AAE files end up on an Android phone, in Google Photos or on a Linux PC (for example after copying an iPhone's camera folder), they just sit there as small unknown files and the photos appear unedited. Any text editor can open AAE files to show their XML, and the viewer above works in Chrome on Android too. The fix is the same everywhere: send the edited photo from the Apple device, then delete the AAE files.

Can you convert AAE to JPG?

No. An AAE file contains no image, so there is nothing to convert to JPG. Renaming IMG_1234.AAE to .jpg gives you a broken file, and no "AAE to JPG converter" can build the edited picture from it. What people who try to open AAE files as pictures actually want is the edited photo as a JPG, and there are reliable ways to get it:

One trade-off from Apple: a shared or downloaded edited copy can't be reverted to the original on the receiving computer, because the edit is now part of the pixels. Keep the original if you might want to undo it later.

Can I delete AAE files?

Yes. Deleting an AAE file never deletes or damages the photo; you only lose the record of the edit. On Windows, Android and Linux the file does nothing, so deleting it changes nothing you can see. The only reason to keep them is if you might move those photos back to a Mac, because Apple's apps are the only ones that can read the edit.

To clear them in bulk on Windows:

1. Open the folder with your imported photos in File Explorer.
2. Type *.aae in the search box at the top right and wait for the results.
3. Press Ctrl+A to select all of them, check the list only contains .AAE files, then press Delete.

Before you do, make sure you have the edited version of any photo whose edit you care about (an IMG_E copy, or a re-shared copy), because the original photo alone will look unedited.

How to avoid AAE files when moving iPhone photos

There is no iPhone setting that turns AAE files off. A common tip is to change Transfer to Mac or PC (under Settings > Apps > Photos on current iOS, or Settings > Photos on older versions) to Automatic or Keep Originals, but that option only decides whether photos and videos are converted to JPEG and H.264 when copied over USB. Apple documents it as a format setting, not an edit setting.

What does avoid them:

• Share instead of copying files. AirDrop, Mail and Messages send the finished edited photo with no sidecar.
• Export from Photos on a Mac with File > Export > Export Photos; the result has the edits applied.
• Use iCloud Photos between Apple devices; edits sync inside the library and you never handle AAE files.
• Revert edits you don't want before importing, so there is nothing to record.

Common AAE problems and how to fix them

"My edits are gone" after copying photos to a PC

The PC shows the original because it can't read the AAE file. Look for the matching IMG_E file, or resend the photo from the iPhone by AirDrop, email or iCloud.com.

Lightroom says it can't import .AAE files

Adobe apps use their own XMP sidecars and don't understand Apple's edit format. Skip the AAE files during import; use the edited copy from your Apple device, or redo the edit in Lightroom.

"How do you want to open this file?" in Windows

Windows has no app registered for .AAE. Choose Notepad if you want to open AAE files as text, or simply ignore or delete the file; there's no app to install that would show the edited photo.

I renamed the AAE file to .jpg and it won't open

That's expected: it's text, not an image. Rename it back or delete it, and get the edited photo from the device as described in the convert section.

A file called .AAE is big or won't open in Notepad

A real AAE file is about 1 KB of XML. If yours is megabytes in size, it's probably a different file that was renamed. The viewer on this page detects JPEG, PNG, HEIC, video, ZIP and PDF content and tells you what it really is.

Related file extensions

Sources and technical references

Apple has never published the AAE format, so the facts here come from Apple's support and developer documentation, the decoded structure of real files, and open-source tools that read them.

• What to expect when you import edited photos from your iPhone, iPad, or iPod to your Mac or PC — Apple Support — AAE files hold the edits; programs show the original; AirDrop, email or iCloud.com give the edited version (archived article).
• PHAdjustmentData — Apple Developer Documentation — adjustment data as an app-defined edit "recipe" with a format identifier and version; Photos keeps only the most recent edit.
• Photos shared as Adjustments.plist — Apple Developer Forums — the real AAE/property list example decoded on this page.
• Using HEIF or HEVC media on Apple devices — Apple Support — Keep Originals controls JPEG/H.264 conversion when importing (Settings > Apps > Photos).
• Export photos, videos, slideshows, and memories on Mac — Apple Support — File > Export > Export Photos and Export Unmodified Original.
• Undo and revert photo edits on iPhone — Apple Support — Revert to Original.
• Transfer photos and videos from your iPhone or iPad to your Mac or PC — Apple Support — USB import to Windows with the Apple Devices app and Microsoft Photos.
• osxphotos (open source) — reads Photos adjustment data, trying raw deflate and zlib decompression and JSON/property-list parsing, as this viewer does.
• Property list — Wikipedia — XML and binary (bplist) plist formats; <data> values are base64.
• Photos (Apple) — Wikipedia — Photos replaced iPhoto and Aperture; on the Mac it shipped in OS X 10.10.3 on April 8, 2015.
• What Are AAE Files from an iPhone? — How-To Geek — AAE introduced with iOS 8 and OS X Yosemite in 2014; the name's meaning is unconfirmed by Apple.

Frequently asked questions