darktable
darktable is an open source photography workflow application and raw developer
An open-source photography application for organizing your photo library and editing RAW camera files non-destructively, your originals are never changed, only the export is.
Darktable is an open-source photography application for managing and editing digital photos, particularly RAW files straight from your camera. It works as what the README calls a virtual lighttable and darkroom: a place to browse and organize your photo library, and then a place to make non-destructive edits to individual images. Non-destructive means your original files are never changed; all adjustments are stored separately and applied on export.
The README specifically notes that darktable is not a free substitute for Adobe Lightroom, which is worth knowing up front if that is what you are looking for. It has its own interface and workflow philosophy, and some tasks that are straightforward in Lightroom may work differently here.
The application runs on Linux, Windows 10 and later, macOS on both Apple Silicon (M1 and up) and Intel machines (macOS 15 and up), and several BSD variants. Recommended minimum hardware is 8 GB of RAM and a moderately powerful CPU from around 2014 or later. A GPU is optional but noticeably improves performance for some editing operations.
Optional AI-powered tools are available for tasks like denoising photos, removing objects, and upscaling images to higher resolutions. These are off by default and must be enabled in preferences. Once enabled, darktable downloads the required model files automatically. AI processing works on CPU without any extra setup; GPU acceleration requires additional drivers depending on whether you have an NVIDIA, AMD, or Intel GPU, with installation scripts provided.
The project has a user manual in a separate repository, a Lua scripting API for automation and plugins, and an active community. Source code is written in C and builds are available for all supported platforms.
Where it fits
- Import and organize a large RAW photo library from your camera with tagging and browsing tools.
- Edit photos with exposure, color, and lens corrections without permanently altering the original files.
- Use optional AI tools to remove noise, erase objects, or upscale images to higher resolutions.
- Automate repetitive editing tasks or build plugins using the built-in Lua scripting API.