github.com/darktable-org/darktable ↗

About darktable-org/darktable

Darktable is an open source photography workflow application and non-destructive raw image developer. It functions as a virtual lighttable and darkroom for photographers, managing digital images in a database with a zoomable interface for viewing and a full suite of development tools for enhancing and exporting raw photos to local or remote storage. The project emphasizes that it is not intended as a replacement for Adobe Lightroom, though it offers comparable core functionality for photographers.

The application is cross-platform, supporting Linux, FreeBSD, several BSD variants, Windows 10 and later, and macOS on both Apple Silicon and Intel processors. It requires a minimum of 4 GB RAM and 250 MB disk space, though 8 GB RAM and dedicated GPU support are recommended for optimal performance. Darktable includes optional AI-powered features such as object masks, denoise, and upscale capabilities, with flexible GPU acceleration options supporting NVIDIA CUDA, AMD ROCm, Intel OpenVINO, and DirectML depending on the platform.

The codebase is written in C and includes extensive documentation, a Lua scripting API for extensions, and an active community providing plugins for HDR merging, panoramas, focus stacking, facial recognition, and integration with various platforms. The project maintains regular release cycles with major versions released on the solstices and provides development builds, making it accessible to both casual photographers and advanced users willing to test experimental features.