Quick summary

Imagen couldn't export your culling results to Lightroom Classic because the Lightroom catalog is currently locked. This happens when Lightroom Classic is open at the same time Imagen tries to write to it.

The fix is simple: close Lightroom Classic completely, then let Imagen retry.

How to fix this

Step 1: Close Lightroom Classic completely

Lightroom must be fully quit, not just minimized or with the window closed.

• Mac: Click Lightroom in the Dock to bring it into focus, then press Cmd+Q. Clicking the red X only closes the window, not the app.
• Windows: In Lightroom, go to File > Exit. Clicking the X button is not enough.

Step 2: Make sure Lightroom is actually closed

Lightroom can continue running in the background even after you think it's closed. Double-check:

• Mac: Open Activity Monitor (search in Spotlight) → search "Lightroom" → if any process appears, select it and click Force Quit.
• Windows: Press Ctrl+Shift+Esc to open Task Manager → look for any Lightroom process → click End Task.

Step 3: Wait for Imagen to retry

Once Lightroom is fully closed, Imagen will retry the export automatically. You don't need to do anything else. The next retry should succeed within a minute or two.

You can also trigger the export again manually from within the app if you prefer.

Still seeing the error?

If Lightroom is confirmed closed but the error keeps appearing, there may be leftover temporary files from a crash. Try this:

1. Open Finder (Mac) or File Explorer (Windows) and go to the folder containing your Lightroom catalog (.lrcat file).
2. Look for files named [catalog-name].lrcat.lock, [catalog-name].lrcat-wal, or [catalog-name].lrcat-shm.
3. Delete those files — they are safe to remove when Lightroom is confirmed fully closed.
4. Retry the export in Imagen.

If the issue continues, ask our team for help.