Clip Studio Paint Thumbnails Not Showing: Fixes to Try

Clip Studio Paint thumbnails stop showing when the small add-on that draws them is missing or broken, or when a setting hides them. On Windows, check your folder view settings and your sync app first. On a Mac running macOS 15, Celsys has an official fix.

If you just want to see all your .clip files as pictures, there is a second route. A reference app can read the preview saved inside each file, so it does not need the system add-on at all. Both routes are below.

Why .clip files show only an icon

A thumbnail is the small picture File Explorer or Finder shows in place of a plain file icon. Your system can draw thumbnails for common files like JPG and PNG on its own, but other file types need a thumbnail handler. That is a small add-on that tells the system how to make a picture from one kind of file.

Each .clip file stores a preview image of your canvas, and the handler hands that preview to File Explorer or Finder. When the handler is missing, broken, or switched off, you get the plain icon instead. Your art is fine. Only the little picture is gone.

On a Mac, the Celsys fix tells you to turn on two Quick Look plugins called LipPreview and LipThumbnail. For Windows, we found no Celsys page that explains .clip thumbnails or how to fix them, so the Windows steps below come from Microsoft's own thumbnail settings and from what users report.

Fixes to try on Windows

Celsys does not publish a fix for missing .clip thumbnails on Windows. The CLIP STUDIO ASK board has many threads on it, and the answers come from other users, not staff.

First, narrow it down. If no .clip file shows a thumbnail anywhere, start with steps 1 and 2. If only files in a OneDrive or Dropbox folder lose them, go to step 3. This is general advice, not an official check. Then try the steps one at a time, from the easiest.

1. Use a bigger icon view. Microsoft's thumbnail steps are written for medium, large, and extra large icons. In File Explorer, open View and pick Large icons, then look again.
2. Turn off "Always show icons, never thumbnails." On Windows 11, select the ... button in File Explorer and choose Options. On Windows 10, go to View > Options > Change folder and search options. On the View tab, clear Always show icons, never thumbnails, then select Apply and OK. Microsoft says to restart your computer if needed. A user on one ASK thread points to this setting too.
3. Test outside your sync folder. One user on the ASK board found that .clip thumbnails turned into icons after OneDrive synced them, while files saved to a local drive kept their thumbnails. A Dropbox forum thread reports the same kind of problem after a Dropbox app update. Copy one .clip file to a plain local folder, such as your desktop, and look again. If that copy shows a thumbnail, your sync app is the likely cause.
4. Check the file association. A file association is the setting that says which app opens a file type. Some users suggest setting Clip Studio Paint as the default app for .clip files. The official Clip Studio guide also lists Settings to Associate Files in the Help menu on Windows, which needs an administrator account. Celsys says it may help when Clip Studio Paint does not start, but it does not say it fixes thumbnails.
5. Clear the thumbnail cache. Windows keeps the thumbnails it has made so folders open faster, and users often clear them when thumbnails look stuck. Type "disk cleanup" in the taskbar search box, open Disk Cleanup, and pick your drive. Microsoft's guide shows a Thumbnails item in its list. Make sure it is checked, then select OK. This deletes the saved thumbnail pictures, not your art, but it is not a sure fix.

If none of these work, that computer may simply have no working handler for .clip files. There is no official step left to try.

Fixes to try on a Mac

This one has an official answer. Celsys confirmed that .clip thumbnails and previews did not show in Finder or Quick Look on macOS 15. Quick Look is the Mac preview you get when you select a file and press the Space bar.

1. Update Clip Studio Paint. Celsys says the bug was fixed in Ver.3.1.4, released September 24, 2024, so install that version or later.
2. Turn on the Quick Look plugins. If thumbnails still do not show, open System Settings > General > Login Items and Extensions > Quick Look. Turn on LipPreview and LipThumbnail.
3. Restart your Mac. Then open the folder again, or select a .clip file and press Space to test Quick Look.

When the system fix is not worth it

Sometimes the fix is quick. Other times you lose an evening to it, and the thumbnails can vanish again after the next update or sync. If you only need to see your .clip files, you do not have to win that fight.

One option is to save a PNG or JPG copy of finished pieces next to the .clip file, since your system draws thumbnails for those on its own. But that doubles your files, and it does not help with work in progress.

The other way is to browse your art in an app that reads the preview inside the .clip file by itself.

See your .clip files with thumbnails in refern

refern is a desktop app for keeping visual references and art files in one place. Since version 1.10.1, it shows its own thumbnails for Clip Studio Paint files. It reads the same preview image stored inside each .clip file, so it does not need the system's thumbnail handler. It works on Windows, macOS, and Linux, even on a computer without Clip Studio installed.

refern works with your normal folders and indexes your files where they are. It does not copy or convert them, and it does not change your art. Here is how to set it up.

1. Create a workspace on your art folder. A workspace is a normal folder that refern watches. New workspaces include Drawing & painting files by default, so .clip files show up right away. You can see this under Advanced settings in the setup form. If you are new to workspaces, follow the guide to set up your first reference workspace.
2. Turn on Drawing & painting in an older workspace. Existing workspaces keep the file types they had. Click the workspace name at the top of the left sidebar, then hover the workspace card and click the pencil, Edit workspace. Open File types shown, turn on Drawing & painting, and select Save changes. refern then scans the folder and makes previews in the background.
3. Find your .clip files. They appear in the grid with thumbnails. To list only them, search for ext:clip.
4. Open one to look closer. Open a file to see a zoomable flattened image. Flattened means one merged picture of the whole canvas, with all layers combined. Press Shift+F for full screen presentation mode, and Esc to leave it.
5. Refresh a preview after you save. If a thumbnail looks out of date, right-click the file and choose Refresh preview. If some files still have no preview, go to Settings > General > File Previews and select Retry.
6. Go back to painting. Right-click the file and choose Open in default app to open it in Clip Studio Paint, or whatever app your system uses for .clip files. Reveal in file explorer shows it in its folder.

You can also tag, rate, and group your .clip files like any other item, which helps once a project grows. For a folder plan that keeps working files, exports, and finals apart, read how to organize digital art files. Comic artists can see how page files and references fit together in refern for comic and manga artists.

What refern does not do with .clip files

refern is a viewer and organizer for these files, not a second Clip Studio. Here is what to expect.

• No layers. You see the flattened image only. You cannot show, hide, or check single layers.
• No editing. Use Open in default app to paint.
• Preview size depends on the file. refern shows the preview the .clip file stores. It is big enough to judge the piece, and you can zoom in to check details, but it is a preview, not the full canvas at full size. If a file stores only a small preview, the grid marks it Low res.
• Not on a canvas. refern's canvas takes only images and videos. To put a piece on a canvas, export a PNG or JPG from Clip Studio and add that.
• Search by name and tags. refern does not search inside the art, so name your files well and add a few tags.
• PSD files are a separate fix. This article covers .clip files. If your PSD files show plain icons too, see PSD thumbnails not showing in Windows 11.