How to save Aperture library?

[jmg1949]

Long time lurker. I'm a photography hobbyist not a pro by any means. I have struggled still to find a replacement for Aperture that was as intuitive to use. Aperture currently still works on 2012 Mac mini running Sierra although I don't use it as much as I used to. My aperture library is about 111GB with photos going back to 2001 if not earlier. I've done some editing with C1 but hate the DAM which seems incredibly cumbersome.  Even something as seemingly simple as importing files from a camera card they manage to make complex. So I never migrated my Aperture library to C1 or any place else for that matter. In any event, my days of using the Mac mini and Aperture are clearly numbered. I have a new M1 MBP on the way which will take over the photo editing duties. So after this lengthy introduction and rant, what is the best way to save my Aperture library so it will be accessible on the new MBP? I presume I have to move the aperture library to an application that will run on Big Sur?  If I move my Aperture library to Photos (on the Mac mini) will it be saved in the cloud and then accessible on the new laptop? Then use Photos as DAM and edit in C1 or Raw Power perhaps. Is there a way to save the Aperture library onto an external SSD so that the photo files would be accessible to an external editor? For what it's worth I'm backed up via Time Machine as in the cloud.
Thanks in advance if you've had the patience to read this and for any advice.

Jim

[BobShaw]

If you buy a machine that runs Catalina or ideally Mojave then you can keep using Aperture.
I have a Library which is 247GB with over 100K photos running on Mojave.
Aperture still runs on Mojave straight out of the box.
To run on Catalina you have to use the RetroActive app to make it compatible.
I haven't tried it on Big Sur yet.

The only applications you can move Aperture to with some functionality are Lightroom and Photos.
Raw Power with Photos has some promise but not there yet for me.

[jmg1949]

Thanks for the reply. The new MacBook Pro I'm fairly certain will come with Big Sur. So I guess I'm not looking for a way to keep using Aperture. My problem boils down to how to get my Aperture library from the old computer to the new computer. If I copy the Aperture library onto an external drive and then plug that into the new computer can Photos or Capture 1, for example, import the Aperture library? If that is viable it may be the path of least resistance. Again, thanks for any advice.

Jim

[BobShaw]

My problem boils down to how to get my Aperture library from the old computer to the new computer. If I copy the Aperture library onto an external drive and then plug that into the new computer can Photos or Capture 1, for example, import the Aperture library? If that is viable it may be the path of least resistance. Again, thanks for any advice.

Migrating from Aperture to Photos or to Lightroom is well documented. Just Google it and you will be taken to the Apple website and others.
The really important thing is that you should do this while Aperture is still working.
Most of it involves basic housekeeping eg
1. Making sure all of the originals are external to the database (Referenced and NOT Managed) and that the there are no missing originals
2. Setting the previews to full size. This last item takes the most time, possibly days, even weeks, so start now.

Once everything is ready then you can migrate, again ideally on the working machine.

[jmg1949]

Thanks again. Thats very helpful.

Jim