Why Can't I Find the Product Image RawTherapee Sent to My External Editor After a Restart?

Understand which file entered the external editor

RawTherapee's external-editor workflow is not simply another application reading the same RAW with all RawTherapee settings understood. RawTherapee renders an intermediate image using the current processing state and makes that file available to the external editor.

RawPedia documents the relevant directory under Preferences > External Editor > Output Directory. Its File Paths documentation identifies the default as the operating system's temporary location, with application-specific organization.

That intermediate differs from the original RAW and its PP3 processing profile. The RAW and PP3 preserve the original capture and RawTherapee development settings; they do not automatically preserve retouching performed later in another application.

When a file appears missing, identify whether the merchant is looking for the original, the rendered intermediate or a separately saved retouched result. These require different recovery steps.

Inspect the directory before assuming deletion

Open RawTherapee's external-editor preferences and record the configured output directory. Inspect that exact filesystem location, including relevant subdirectories and file modification times.

If the intermediate remains present, copy it to an intentional working location before further editing. Confirm that it belongs to the correct product and represents the expected RAW treatment.

If the file is absent, inspect the external editor's own recent files, saved projects and export locations. A temporary directory may be cleaned by the operating system or other maintenance, but the fact that the computer restarted does not establish when or why any particular file disappeared.

If the original RAW and PP3 remain available, RawTherapee may be able to render a new intermediate. That does not restore unsaved retouching performed on the missing previous intermediate.

Hypothetical ceramic-lamp retouch

Hypothetical illustration—not an executed RawTherapee workflow: a merchant develops a RAW photograph of a ceramic lamp, then opens a rendered intermediate in an external editor to remove dust from the backdrop.

The editor works on the intermediate but has not established a separate saved project or final TIFF. After restarting the computer, the merchant cannot locate the file used for retouching.

The proposed investigation first checks RawTherapee's configured output directory. If the intermediate remains, it can be identified and preserved. If it is absent but the RAW and PP3 survive, a new development render may be possible, while the dust cleanup remains unverified.

The worksheet records the three separate assets. No deletion, recovery or successful render is claimed.

Replace temporary dependence with a deliberate handoff

For future jobs, decide where the editable external-editor project and approved rendered derivative will live before beginning retouching. Save them explicitly to a managed production directory rather than treating the temporary handoff file as the archive.

Use separate identifiers for the RAW, PP3, external-editor project and approved export. If the retoucher modifies the intermediate directly, preserve the actual saved result and its source relationship.

Verify that the managed file can be reopened after the external editor closes. Record its dimensions, format and product identity.

If only a regenerated intermediate exists, review it as a new starting point; do not label it as the recovered finished retouch. The acceptance condition is a durable, independently identifiable deliverable, not the continued existence of an application-created temporary file.

Record your own observations

The filled rows are illustrative examples. Use the blank row for your own files and observations.

Download the editable CSV worksheet

What the references establish

• RawPedia — File Paths: Documents the temporary-folder location used for external-editor output and its configured directory behavior.
• RawPedia — Edit Current Image in External Editor: Documents rendering the current image to an intermediate for an external editing application.