How to permanently allow opening .webp files in Photoshop on macOS Sequoia 15.4?

I completely agree with Valefar. I work with WEBP files throughout the day and have never had issues—until I updated my OS. Now, this persistent and frustrating message keeps appearing, seriously disrupting my workflow.

For reference, I installed earlier versions of my Photoshop, but the problem persists. I also tested on a second MacBook Pro that's OS hasn't been updated yet, and the issue doesn’t occur there. That confirms it’s clearly an Apple issue, not an Adobe one. Apple, please address this, it’s becoming a major pain for professionals who rely on you to aid the smooth running of there work.

So this seems to be the root of the problem:

Apple doesn't "hate" WebP, but its initial hesitation to adopt it stems from a combination of factors, including its association with Google and concerns about open web standards versus proprietary formats. WebP is a format owned by Google and not an international standard, unlike JPEG and PNG. Additionally, Apple's focus on open web standards and its own ecosystems likely played a role. However, Apple eventually added WebP support in Safari 14. 

Apple vs. Google.

septies wrote:

I am not surprised, this issue does not seem to be consistent for all users. For me, it affects a subset of WebP images, many still work fine.

Just curious, are you saying the problems are only when using Adobe products? Otherwise I would think I would have an issue with at least some out of 27K.

dialabrain wrote:

I just checked something, if I assign any app other than Preview to open .webP files. They won't open by double-clicking on them. File > Open has to be used.

Once quarantine is applied, even File > Open in your app of choice will not work.

Meruktaker wrote:

Another Sequoia update come & gone with no fix to this. Please apple this is a big problem for creative professionals, you know... ostensibly your core user base.

Apple is not here. This is a user forum.

Feel free to send Apple feedback.

Feedback - macOS - Apple

This has got to be one of the most annoying threads of all time.

For a little background, I recommend reading the Wikipedia page on WebP. I already knew it was horribly slow. But I wasn't aware of the quality problems or the security vulnerabilities.

But given that this thread is still going after so long, I thought I would try again. Every webp file I download works perfectly. Of course, I'm not a "creative professional", so I don't have Photoshop. But I do have 9 different apps that can natively open webp files. I can change my settings to open webp files by default in any of them. Everything works as expected.

I think what's most important about this thread actually is "how long" it's been going on. When did this thread start?

Oh look...

So this thread is simply an elaborate April Fool's joke.

etresoft wrote:

I can change my settings to open webp files by default in any of them. Everything works as expected.

Same. Although Photoshop Elements 2025 will not open webP files under any circumstance.

dialabrain wrote:

I just checked something, if I assign any app other than Preview to open .webP files. They won't open by double-clicking on them. File > Open has to be used.

I have to retract this statement. I forgot to click the "Change All…" button.

blackohio wrote:

How is this still not fixed?

FWIW I can open downloaded .webp images by double-clicking them in the Finder in Sequoia 15.5 Preview.app from the page below even though they have com.apple.quarantine flag.

Could you provide a sample that does not work like that?

https://developers.google.com/speed/webp/gallery1

xattr -l 1.webp
com.apple.lastuseddate#PS: Y4Ah
com.apple.metadata:kMDItemDownloadedDate: bplist00?3A???擧]
com.apple.metadata:kMDItemWhereFroms: bplist00?_+https://www.gstatic.com/webp/gallery/1.webp
com.apple.quarantine: 0083;6841344d;Safari;6574E5AE-6B92-4C81-9435-66B8E7B9C36B

Such Photos.app -generated .xmp files still refuse to open via the Finder, though.

xattr -l image.xmp
com.apple.lastuseddate#PS: ?n?a
com.apple.macl: 
com.apple.metadata:_kMDItemUserTags: bplist00?
com.apple.quarantine: 0082;61d86ef9;Photos;

Matti Haveri wrote:

Could you provide a sample that does not work like that?

All samples work fine. This is a Photoshop bug. Photoshop seems to read webp files, but doesn't explicitly advertise support for them.

Such Photos.app -generated .xmp files still refuse to open via the Finder, though.

Is that some kind of RAW feature? Those sidecar files aren't meant to be double-clicked in the Finder. But if you had some app that supported them, then you would be able to double-click them.

Mid-June and this issue still hasn't been patched. This is an absolute nightmare for the many, many of us who work in graphic design -- many stock image companies distribute their preview images as webp. Apple: PLEASE fix this.

Whistling Cat wrote:

This is *not* an Adobe issue, it's an Apple issue -- Preview has the same problem opening webp that Photoshop does.

I have 26K+ WebP images. They all open with Preview. It's set as the default.

Tried that, it didn't fix the problem. FWIW, I am running 15.5. Also tried Apple support chat's rather silly suggestion of booting into Safe Mode, which did nothing (no surprise, the chat help is rarely able to assist with anything but entry-level issues, in my experience).

"In any case, if Preview won't open them it has nothing to do with Sequoia 15.5".

Given that's the only thing that has changed on this Mac between when webp will/won't open (in Photoshop, Preview, and Chrome), plus attempting to open webp produces a *system* error (look at the error pix people have posted, they say "Apple could not verify...") not an Adobe/google error, I am curious how you can make that conclusion?