Finder directory containing latest iCloud Photos

finderphoto-streamphotos

I often want to included a recent photo in an email, file upload, or other similar context.

I want to select this image via the normal macOS file picker.

I do not want to go through the hassle, each time, of exporting the photo from my Mac Photos library or AirDropping it from my iOS device.

I'm fine finding and exporting older photos via Photos. But I want the most recent photos easily available in this directory so that I can quickly select them with the macOS file picker.

Is there any way I can "mirror" my latest iCloud Photos into a much-simplified Finder directory?

Requirements:

  • I want to save this file location in my Finder sidebar, just like I do for my "Downloads" folder, "Screenshots" folder, etc. ~/Pictures/Recent/ or similar.

  • The single directory should contain all of my latest photos from the last day or week or so. Or just the latest 100 images. No subdirectories for each image.

  • The images should be in common image formats such as .jpg, not .HEIC.

  • I don't want the images to be iCloud "masters", or pick up edits, or delete from iCloud, or anything like that. Just a dumb copy of photos from iCloud.

I expect that this will need to be done via a script or regular automated process.

Do any tools exist that provide this functionality?

How can I create such a regularly-updated directory of my recent photos?

Best Answer

You can access Photos directly in the standard macOS file selector

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If you don't see the sidebar you can enable it with the dropdown behind the icon on top left

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