Installing a LUT is copying one small text file to the place an app looks for it. The work is knowing which place, and whether the app looks in a folder at all or only opens the file you point it at.
What do you need before you start?
The .cube files themselves, out of their zip. LUT packs almost always arrive compressed, and no app reads a LUT inside an archive. Double-click the zip in Finder and keep the folder it produces somewhere permanent, such as a LUTs folder in Documents. Downloads is a bad home, because several apps keep a reference to the file rather than a copy, and a cleared Downloads folder breaks every clip that used it.
Two quick checks while you are there:
- The extension.
.cubeis the format almost every app reads. Some packs also include.3dlor.lookversions, which only some apps take. - What the LUT is for. A conversion LUT for one camera's log profile and a creative look are installed the same way and used very differently. What a LUT is explains the two kinds, and the conversion always comes before any look.
On a Mac, the system Library folder is at the top level of the drive, not in your home folder. In Finder, Go → Go to Folder and paste the path to get there.
Where does each app keep its LUTs?
| App | How it finds LUTs | Where to put them |
|---|---|---|
| DaVinci Resolve | Lists a folder | /Library/Application Support/Blackmagic Design/DaVinci Resolve/LUT/ |
| Premiere Pro | Browse, or lists a folder | Browse from the Lumetri panel; or /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/LUTs/ |
| Final Cut Pro | Opens the file you choose | Anywhere permanent |
| After Effects | Opens the file you choose | Anywhere permanent |
| CapCut desktop | Imports the file | Anywhere; CapCut keeps it in its list |
| Photoshop | Opens the file you choose | Anywhere permanent |
| Affinity Photo | Opens the file you choose | Anywhere permanent |
| Lightroom | Profiles only | Convert the LUT to a profile in Camera Raw |
| BatchTone | Imports into its library | Anywhere; imported once |
How do you install LUTs in DaVinci Resolve?
Open Project Settings → Color Management, find Lookup Tables, and click Open LUT Folder. Copy the .cube files, or a whole folder of them, into the window that opens, then click Update Lists. They appear under 3D LUT when you right-click a node. A subfolder becomes its own submenu, which keeps a large pack tidy. The full walk-through, including applying them, is in adding LUTs to DaVinci Resolve.
How do you install LUTs in Premiere Pro?
The simple way needs no installing at all. Select a clip, open Lumetri Color, and choose Browse from the Input LUT menu under Basic Correction or the Look menu under Creative. Premiere loads the file from wherever it is.
If you want a pack listed in those menus, copy the files into the Creative or Technical folder inside /Library/Application Support/Adobe/Common/LUTs/ and restart Premiere. Creative files show in the Look menu, Technical ones in the Input LUT menu. Which slot a LUT belongs in matters more than how it got there, and Premiere's two LUT slots explains why.
How do you install LUTs in Final Cut Pro?
Drag the Custom LUT effect onto a clip, then choose Choose Custom LUT in the inspector and pick the file. Final Cut points at that file rather than importing it, which is why a moved pack shows up weeks later as an effect that stopped working. The Mix slider under it sets the strength. Final Cut's colour workflow covers applying it across a project.
How do you install LUTs in the other apps?
- After Effects. Apply the Apply Color LUT effect and pick the file when prompted, or load it in the Lumetri Look menu. LUTs in After Effects compares the routes.
- CapCut desktop. Open Adjustment, find the LUT section and choose Import. The mobile app has no custom LUT import. LUTs in CapCut has the detail.
- Photoshop. Add a Color Lookup adjustment layer and choose Load 3D LUT from the 3DLUT File menu. The Photoshop batch route turns that into an action for a folder.
- Affinity Photo. Add a LUT adjustment layer and load the file. LUTs in Affinity Photo covers its batch job.
- Lightroom. It cannot open a
.cube. The LUT goes into a profile in Camera Raw first, and using LUTs in Lightroom walks through that conversion.
Why is my LUT not showing up?
| Symptom | Likely cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Nothing in Resolve's 3D LUT menu | The list was not refreshed | Update Lists in Project Settings, or restart Resolve |
| Nothing in Premiere's menus | Wrong folder, or Premiere was open | Use the Creative or Technical folder, then restart |
| The app refuses the file | It is still zipped, or it is not a .cube | Unzip it and check the extension |
| A DJI LUT is rejected | The size line uses a tab where a space is expected | Replace the tab with a space in a text editor |
| An effect stopped working | The file moved or was deleted | Keep LUTs in one permanent folder |
| The look is far too dark and contrasty | It is a conversion LUT for another log profile | Match the LUT to the exact camera profile |
The DJI case wastes the most time because the file is not corrupt and downloading it again changes nothing. Free LUTs has more on files that parse in one app and fail in another.
Is there a way to skip the per-app install?
Only by doing the LUT step outside the editor. Every app above wants the LUT installed its own way, and then applied clip by clip or photo by photo.
BatchTone imports a .cube once into its own library, and it stays there for every batch after. Standard files of any size are read, and the malformed ones DJI ships are repaired on the way in rather than rejected. Drop a folder of photos and clips in, pick the look, set a strength on any file that needs less, and export graded copies that any of those editors will open. It runs on macOS 12 or later on Apple Silicon, and nothing is uploaded. Batch applying a LUT to video lists the formats, and there is a seven-day trial with everything unlocked.
Common questions
Do I need to restart the app after installing LUTs?
For apps that list a folder, usually yes. Resolve has an Update Lists button that avoids the restart. Premiere picks up its Lumetri folders on launch. Apps that open a file you choose need no restart at all.
Can I install a whole folder of LUTs at once?
In Resolve and Premiere, yes: copy the folder in and it appears as a group. The apps that open one file at a time have no bulk install, so you load each LUT the first time you use it.
Are .cube LUTs the same on Mac and Windows?
Yes. A .cube is a plain text file and works on both. Only the folder paths differ, so a pack bought for one system installs on the other.
Do LUTs work on photos as well as video?
Yes. The file is the same. Photoshop, Affinity Photo and BatchTone apply them to stills, and Lightroom does once the LUT is a profile.