Mac app
Picsta Uploader
Upload a whole wedding from your Mac and get on with your evening. Pick an event and a folder: the gallery goes up first so the couple can start looking, then, on a professional account, your originals follow, overnight if need be.
Free · macOS 10.15 or later · Apple Silicon and Intel
New to it? Follow the step-by-step guide with pictures.
What it does
- Uploads a folder and everything in it, thousands of photos at a time, with no browser tab to keep open
- Gallery copies first, so the gallery can be shared within minutes
- Originals afterwards for professional accounts: your JPEGs as exported (location removed), kept exactly up to 30 MB
- Watches a folder: export from Lightroom or copy a card into it and new photos upload by themselves
- Carries on through Wi-Fi drops and picks up where it stopped after quitting or a restart, never sending a photo twice
- Lives in the menu bar, with one notification when everything is in, not one per folder
- Sub-events and, for group events, who can see, just like the website
Signing in, safely
The app never asks for your password. It shows a short code and opens picsta.app, where you check the code matches and approve it while signed in. The app then appears under Settings, Privacy & Security, Your devices, where you can sign it out at any time.
Only approve a code that is showing on a computer you are using right now.
Step by step
- 1
Download and open the app
Download Picsta Uploader for Mac, open the file and drag the app into Applications.
- 2
Connect it to your account
Click Connect to Picsta. Your browser opens picsta.app/connect with a short code: check it matches the app, tick the box, then click Connect. No password is typed into the app.
- 3
Choose the event and the quality
Pick the event, then Standard, HD or Original (professional accounts with photo storage).
- 4
Add a folder
Tick Keep uploading new photos from this folder if you'll export more into it later, then click Add a folder, choose the folder with the edited photos and click Start upload.
- 5
Leave it running
Close the window if you like: the uploads carry on from the menu bar. Picsta sends one notification when the gallery is in, and the app tells you when everything, originals included, has finished.
Frequently asked questions
Is Picsta Uploader free?
Yes. It comes with every Picsta account. What you can upload depends on your plan, exactly as on the website.
Do I need a professional account?
No. Anyone can upload Standard and HD photos with it. Originals, your JPEGs as exported (location removed), need a professional account on a plan with photo storage. Each original is kept exactly up to 30 MB; a bigger file is re-encoded to fit, at full size where it can be. JPEGs over 95 MB go up in HD.
What if my Mac sleeps or the Wi-Fi drops?
While there is work, the app keeps your Mac from going to sleep on its own; keep the lid open (closing it puts the Mac to sleep and pauses the uploads until it wakes). If the connection drops, it waits and carries on when it's back. If you quit the app, it picks up where it stopped when you open it again, and it can open itself when the Mac starts. A memory card or drive that was unplugged is waited for too.
How do guests see the photos so quickly?
The app sends a sharp gallery copy of every photo first, so the gallery and sharing are ready within minutes. With Original chosen, the full files follow afterwards, and the Download button gives guests the original once it has arrived.
Which files does it upload?
JPEG and PNG photos, including everything in subfolders. Hidden folders and photo libraries are skipped. Originals are sent for JPEGs; other files go up in HD. Photos already in the event are skipped.
How do I disconnect it?
Sign out in the app, or in Picsta go to Settings, Privacy & Security, Your devices and sign out Picsta Uploader. Connecting needs a verified email, and the app can only upload: it can't delete, share or download anything.
Is there a Windows version?
Not yet. On Windows, upload from the browser at picsta.app: it also sends the gallery first and the originals after.
Related guides
Start your gallery in minutes
Create a private event gallery, share it with a link, and let everyone find their own photos with a selfie. Free to start.