The archive app for photographers and videographers · Mac
Know where every frame lives.
Find past work across every drive, even the ones in a drawer. See which files have another copy, and when it was last checked.
Starts with what you have
No moving. No renaming.
Your originals stay put.
Mantle works with the drives and folders you already have. It doesn't move or rename your files unless you ask.
Sound familiar?
Ten drives. One of them fails. Is your best work backed up?
Your archive grew one drive at a time. Mantle shows what's on every drive and which files have no other recorded copy, without moving a single file.
Find the work you remember.
Type it the way you'd say it, like "boats at sunset in Palawan" or "DJI drone photos from Australia in 2026", and Mantle finds it. Open a result to see the original, every copy, and which drives they're on, even with the drive unplugged.
Import & protection
Back up as you import. See what still needs a copy.
Copy a shoot to your working and backup drives in one go. Mantle checks every copy, records when it was checked, keeps edits and exports linked to the original, and shows what still needs another copy.
Start with one drive.
No reorganizing. Your originals stay where they are. Add one drive, find a photo, and check its copies, all in your first session.
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Add one drive.
Begin with the files and folders you already have. Nothing gets moved or renamed.
No copyingyour files stay where they are
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Find a photograph.
Open any folder and browse right away, RAW files included, even before indexing finishes. Pause anytime.
Fast RAW previewsopen any folder, no waiting
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Check its copies.
See where the original lives and every copy Mantle has recorded, including drives that are unplugged.
No waitingsearch during indexing
Measured on an M1 iMac (8 GB) reading a USB hard drive: about 400 files cataloged a minute. Faster from an SSD, and up to twice as fast on Macs with 16 GB or more.
PROJECTS
Keep every project together.
Every job gets one home, whether it's a shoot or a design project. Photos, footage, layouts, fonts, client files and paperwork stay linked, wherever they're stored, and Mantle shows what still needs a backup. The files belong to a project, even when they live in different places.
Shoots
Photos and footage, the Lightroom catalog, client files, releases and invoices. Set how many copies the shoot needs.
Design projects
Source assets, working files, client material and deliverables. Mantle follows every linked image and font in your InDesign, Illustrator and Photoshop files, even outside the project folder, and shows which have a backup.
ONCE YOU'VE FOUND IT
Pick the keepers. Try another look.
Tools for working with the photos you've found. Automatic First Pass suggests the best frame from each burst, and saved versions let you try a different look without replacing the original. Open any photo in Lightroom or Photoshop when you want.
Choose your keepers
Edit, then try another look.
More ways to work.
LIGHTROOM IMPORT
Bring Lightroom with you
Bring your Lightroom Classic collections, ratings, keywords and edited previews into Mantle, so you see your photos the way you edited them. Found a drive full of old catalogs? Mantle finds them all.
SMART SEARCH & COLLECTIONS
Save a search. Keep it current.
Save a search for five-star RAW photos taken in 2026. Matching work appears automatically as you add photos or change ratings.
PEOPLE & EVENT TAGS
Find everyone
Find people by face, privately on your Mac. Shooting races or events? Mantle reads bib numbers and name badges too. Review suggested matches before applying them.
VIDEO & AUDIO
Find the moment in your footage
Match camera clips with sound from a separate recorder, transcribe interviews on your Mac, and jump straight to the moment something was said.
RECORDS
The paperwork stays with the picture
Attach model releases, licenses, tear sheets and invoices to a photo, or to a whole project. Drop in a new tear sheet and Mantle finds the published photos for you.
MOVE, RENAME & SYNC
Rename and reorganize, safely
Rename hundreds of files at once or move whole folders, and Mantle keeps track of everything. Live Sync copies new files to your backup drives automatically.
AUTOMATIC STACKING
Tidy bursts automatically
Related frames from a burst are grouped into one stack, so your library stays easy to scan. Picking the keepers is up to you, or to First Pass.
AI PHOTO & VIDEO ANALYSIS
Search what’s in the picture
Optional AI adds descriptions, keywords and timestamps to your photos and videos, so more of your archive turns up when you search, down to the right moment in a clip. You see the estimated cost before anything runs.
Optional online analysis, from about 2¢ per 100 photos.
AI AGENTS
Works with your AI agents
Ask the AI assistant you already use to search your archive, read a photo's details, find its versions and check what still needs a backup. You choose what it can see, and you approve every connection.
Also in Mantle:
“When my drives started to fail, I couldn't tell which photos had another copy. So I built Mantle.”
One-time purchase. 12 months of updates included.
Price announced before launch. At launch, try Mantle free for 14 days, no credit card.
| Included in your license | Everything that runs on your Mac: search, backups and copy checks, First Pass, editing and versions, face recognition, transcription and projects. |
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| Updates | 12 months of new features included. Your license doesn't expire: keep using the versions included with your purchase, and add another year of updates whenever you like. |
| Optional online AI | Ask Mantle includes 1,000 questions a month. Online photo analysis is optional and pay-as-you-go: from about 2¢ per 100 photos for extra visual tags written to IPTC keywords, or about 5¢ per 100 with titles, descriptions and alt text too. You see the estimated cost before anything runs. |
Private preview
Selected preview testers get a free Mantle license to keep. Request early access to be considered. If you aren't selected, we'll offer you a launch discount.
For Macs with Apple silicon. Intel and Windows versions are planned.
App and update pricing will be announced before launch.
License details
Your license doesn't expire. Keep using the versions included with your purchase. Want newer features after the first year? Add another year of updates whenever you like. There’s no auto-renewal, and you never pay for years you skipped.
At launch, the 14-day trial starts when you activate Mantle—not when you download or sign in. No credit card or automatic charge.
- Mac
- macOS 14 or later, on a Mac with Apple silicon (M1 or newer).
- Planned platforms
- Intel and Windows versions are planned.
Common questions
What happens if a drive fails?
Mantle shows where your other recorded copies live and which files may have existed only on the failed drive. Connect a surviving drive to use those originals. Saved previews aren’t full-resolution backups, and Mantle can’t recover files that existed only on failed hardware.
Will Mantle move or change my files?
No. Mantle reads your files where they are. Nothing is moved, renamed or changed unless you ask.
Can I browse my archive when a drive is unplugged?
Yes. Once a drive is indexed, Mantle keeps saved previews so you can search and browse with the drive in a drawer. Plug it back in when you need the full-size original. Video playback also needs an available source.
Can I keep using my photo or video editor?
Yes. Open supported photos in installed Lightroom, Capture One or Photoshop with one click, and export supported sequences to your video editor.
Do I need to upload my archive?
No. Your catalog stays on your computer. Cloud storage connections and online AI are optional. Account sign-in, licensing and updates use the internet separately.
Search on your Mac is included without online analysis; optional photo analysis starts at about 2¢ per 100 photos for extra visual tags written to IPTC keywords, or about 5¢ per 100 with titles, descriptions and alt text too.
What files does Mantle index?
RAW and JPEG photos, video, audio, PDFs and documents, plus design files: Photoshop, Illustrator, InDesign, Affinity, Sketch, Figma and XD files, and fonts. Previews appear where the format provides one.
Can I use Mantle with ChatGPT, Claude or other AI agents?
Yes, with assistants that support the Model Context Protocol (MCP). Approve a connection in Mantle and the assistant can search the projects you chose, read metadata, find versions and check backup status. It can't change your files.