[![icon](/data/pixmaps/idbutton.png?raw=true)](https://www.darktable.org/) darktable [![GitHub Workflow Status (branch)](https://img.shields.io/github/actions/workflow/status/darktable-org/darktable/ci.yml?branch=master)](https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable/actions/workflows/ci.yml?query=branch%3Amaster+is%3Acompleted+event%3Apush) [![CII Best Practices](https://bestpractices.coreinfrastructure.org/projects/470/badge)](https://bestpractices.coreinfrastructure.org/projects/470)
=========

darktable is an open source photography workflow application and non-destructive raw developer - a virtual lighttable and darkroom for photographers. It manages your digital negatives in a database, lets you view them through a zoomable lighttable and enables you to develop raw images, enhance them and export them to local or remote storage.

![screenshot_lighttable](https://user-images.githubusercontent.com/45535283/148689197-e53dd75f-32f1-4297-9a0f-a9547fd4e7c7.jpg)

darktable is **not** a free Adobe® Lightroom® replacement.

[https://www.darktable.org/](https://www.darktable.org/ "darktable homepage")

## Table of Contents

1. [Documentation](#documentation)
2. [Website](#website)
3. [Requirements](#requirements)
   - [Supported platforms](#supported-platforms)
   - [Hardware](#hardware)
   - [AI features (optional)](#ai-features-optional )
4. [Installing](#installing)
   - [Latest release](#latest-release)
   - [Development snapshot](#development-snapshot)
5. [Updating from older versions](#updating-from-older-versions)
6. [Obtaining extensions](#obtaining-extensions)
7. [Building](#building)
   - [Dependencies](#dependencies)
   - [Get the source](#get-the-source)
   - [Get submodules](#get-submodules)
   - [Compile](#compile)
   - [Further reading](#further-reading)
8. [Using](#using)
   - [Test/unstable version](#testunstable-version)
   - [Regular/stable version](#regularstable-version)
9. [Contributing](#contributing)
10. [FAQ](#faq)
   - [Why is my camera not detected when plugged-in ?](#why-is-my-camera-not-detected-when-plugged-in-)
   - [Why is my lens not detected/corrected in darkroom ?](#why-is-my-lens-not-detectedcorrected-in-darkroom-)
   - [Why do the thumbnails in the lighttable view look different to the preview in the darkroom view ?](#why-do-the-thumbnails-in-the-lighttable-view-look-different-to-the-preview-in-the-darkroom-view-)
11. [Wiki](#wiki)
12. [Community](#community)

Documentation
-------------

The darktable user manual is maintained in the [dtdocs](https://github.com/darktable-org/dtdocs) repository.

Lua API documentation is maintained in the [luadocs](https://github.com/darktable-org/luadocs) repository.

Website
-------

The website ([https://www.darktable.org/](https://www.darktable.org/)) is maintained in the [dtorg](https://github.com/darktable-org/dtorg) repository.

Requirements
------------

### Supported platforms

* Linux
* FreeBSD
* NetBSD
* OpenBSD
* Windows 10 and later
* Apple Silicon Macs running macOS 14 and later
* Intel Macs running macOS 15 and later

*Big-endian platforms are not supported.*

*32-bit platforms are not officially supported - they might or might not work.*

*Both darktable and the libraries it uses are developed on the Linux platform.
Therefore, other platforms MAY have additional bugs that are not present in the Linux version.
In addition, for example, on the Windows platform, printing support is not currently implemented.
So we recommend, if you have a choice of platform, to use darktable on Linux.*

### Hardware

(workable minimum / **recommended minimum**):
* RAM: 4 GB / **8 GB**
* CPU: Intel Pentium 4 (Core 2 for Windows) / **Intel Core i5 4×2.4 GHz**
* GPU: none / **Nvidia with 1024 CUDA cores, 4 GB, OpenCL 1.2 compatible**
* free disk space: 250 MB / **1 GB**

*darktable can run on lightweight configurations (even on a Raspberry Pi), but expect modules like denoise, local contrast,
contrast equalizer, retouch or liquify to be slow beyond usable.*

*A GPU is not mandatory but is strongly recommended for a smoother experience.
Nvidia GPUs are recommended for safety because some AMD drivers behave unreliably with some modules (e.g. local contrast).*

### AI features (optional)

Darktable includes optional AI-powered features such as object masks, denoise and upscale.
These require building with `-DUSE_AI=ON` (off by default), or `--enable-ai` when building
with the build helper script `build.sh`. AI features are disabled by default in preferences
and must be enabled by the user. Models are downloaded from the AI tab in preferences
(default repository: [darktable-org/darktable-ai](https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable-ai)).

**CPU inference** is bundled and works out of the box - no additional software is needed.
On macOS (Apple Silicon), CoreML acceleration and on Windows, DirectML GPU acceleration
are also bundled by default. Processing on CPU is slower than GPU but requires no
special hardware.

**GPU acceleration** significantly speeds up AI inference but requires installing a
GPU-enabled build of [ONNX Runtime](https://onnxruntime.ai/) separately:

* **NVIDIA (CUDA):** Linux and Windows.
  * Supported NVIDIA GPU with up-to-date drivers (Maxwell or newer)
  * [CUDA Toolkit 12](https://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-12-0-0-download-archive) or [CUDA Toolkit 13](https://developer.nvidia.com/cuda-13-0-0-download-archive)
  * [cuDNN 9.x](https://developer.nvidia.com/cudnn-downloads)
* **AMD (ROCm):** Linux only.
  * Supported AMD GPU with up-to-date drivers (RDNA2/CDNA or newer), see [compatibility matrix](https://rocm.docs.amd.com/en/latest/compatibility/compatibility-matrix.html)
  * [ROCm 6+](https://rocm.docs.amd.com/projects/install-on-linux/en/latest/)
  * [MIGraphX](https://rocm.docs.amd.com/projects/AMDMIGraphX/en/latest/install/install-migraphx.html) (may require separate install, e.g. `apt install migraphx migraphx-dev` on Ubuntu)
* **Intel (OpenVINO):** Linux and Windows.
  * Supported Intel GPU with up-to-date drivers (integrated Gen9+, discrete Arc, or NPU Meteor Lake+)
  * [Intel OpenCL](https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/developer/articles/tool/opencl-drivers.html) or/and [Level Zero runtime](https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/docs/dpcpp-cpp-compiler/developer-guide-reference/2025-2/intel-oneapi-level-zero.html) (included with drivers on Windows; on Linux may need `intel-opencl-icd` or `level-zero`)
  * On Windows, requires [OpenVINO Toolkit](https://docs.openvino.ai/2026/get-started/install-openvino/install-openvino-windows.html) installation
* **Windows (DirectML):** bundled, works with any DirectX 12 compatible GPU (NVIDIA, AMD, Intel).
  No extra install needed.
  * Windows 10 1903+ (DirectML is a system component)
* **macOS (CoreML):** bundled, uses Apple Neural Engine automatically.
  No extra install needed.
  * macOS 11+ (Big Sur)
  * Apple Silicon (M1+)

**GPU memory:** 4 GB VRAM minimum. If GPU inference fails (out of memory, unsupported op,
EP crash), darktable automatically retries on CPU and continues.

**AMD first-run latency:** on AMD GPUs the first inference per model is significantly
slower because ROCm/MIGraphX compiles the model graph on the fly. The compiled graph
is cached, so subsequent runs of the same model are fast.

To enable GPU acceleration, run one of the install scripts:

Linux:
```bash
curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/darktable-org/darktable/HEAD/tools/ai/install-ort-gpu.sh | bash
```

Windows (PowerShell):
```powershell
irm https://raw.githubusercontent.com/darktable-org/darktable/HEAD/tools/ai/install-ort-gpu.ps1 | iex
```

Then point darktable at the installed library via the **AI** tab in preferences
(click **detect**). See [tools/ai/README.md](tools/ai/README.md) for flags,
prerequisites, manual install, and troubleshooting. Verify the active provider
with `darktable -d ai`.

Installing
----------

If the latest release is still not available as a pre-built package for your distribution,
you can build the software yourself following the instructions [below](#building).

### Latest release

5.6.1 (stable)

* [Download package for Windows](https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable/releases/download/release-5.6.1/darktable-5.6.1-win64.exe)
* [Download disk image for macOS on Apple Silicon](https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable/releases/download/release-5.6.1/darktable-5.6.1-arm64.dmg)
* [Download disk image for macOS on Intel](https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable/releases/download/release-5.6.1/darktable-5.6.1-x86_64.dmg)
* [Download AppImage for Linux](https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable/releases/download/release-5.6.1/Darktable-5.6.1-x86_64.AppImage)
* [Install native packages or add a third-party repository for Linux distros](https://software.opensuse.org/download.html?project=graphics:darktable:stable&package=darktable)
* [Install Flatpak package for Linux](https://flathub.org/apps/details/org.darktable.Darktable)
* [More information about installing darktable on any system](https://www.darktable.org/install/)

*When using a pre-built package, ensure that it has been built with Lua, OpenCL, OpenMP and Colord support.
These are optional and will not prevent darktable from running if missing,
but their absence will degrade the user experience.
You can check for them by running darktable with the `--version` command line option.*

### Development snapshot

The development snapshot reflects the current state of the master branch. It is intended for testing and is generally not safe. See the notes [below](#get-the-source) for warnings and precautions about using the master branch.

* [Install native packages directly or add third party repository for some Linux distros](https://software.opensuse.org/download.html?project=graphics:darktable:master&package=darktable) (one snapshot per day)
* [Binary packages are provided for Linux (AppImage), macOS and Windows on a nightly basis](https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable/releases/tag/nightly)

Updating from older versions
----------------------------

When updating darktable from an older release, you only need to install
the newest version. Existing files will be preserved.

However, newer releases occasionally need to change the structure of the library database
(containing the whole list of images known to darktable, with their editing history). If this happens
you will be prompted with a request to either upgrade the database or close the software.

**Migration to a newer database structure/newer release means that your edits (both new and old)
will no longer be compatible with older versions of darktable.** Upgrades are definitive.
Newer versions are always compatible with older edits, but newer edits are generally
not compatible with older versions.

darktable automatically backs up the library database when a new version causes it to be upgraded
(in `~/.config/darktable/library.db-pre-3.0.0` for example), so
you can revert to the previous release by restoring this backup if needed
(simply rename it to `library.db`).

You will not be able to open the newer version of the database with a version of darktable
that only supports the older version of the database. This is impossible because the older
application does not know how the database schema has changed, so its code will not be able
to work with it.

You will be able to import images with an XMP sidecar file that contains newer versions of processing
modules or new modules, but those image editing parts will be discarded and you will lose them.

If you plan to move regularly between two versions (new/unstable and old/stable) see [below](#testunstable-version)
for details of how to do it safely.

Obtaining extensions
--------------------

Extensions and plugins use the Lua scripting language and can be downloaded [here](https://github.com/darktable-org/lua-scripts). Lua support is optional in darktable, so make sure you have the `lua` interpreter and its development files (package
`lua-dev` or `lua-devel`, depending on distributions) installed on your system
while building or ensure the package you are using has been built with this library.

Extensions allow exporting for various media and websites, merge/stack/blend HDR, panoramas or focus bracketing,
apply AI-based facial recognition, manage tags and GPS data, etc.

Building
--------

### Dependencies

Compatible compilers/toolchains:
* Clang: 15 and later
* GCC: 12 and later
* MinGW-w64: 10 and later
* XCode: 15.2 and later

Required dependencies (minimum version):
* CMake 3.18
* GTK 3.24.15
* GLib 2.56
* SQLite 3.26
* libcurl 7.56
* libpng 1.5.0 *(for PNG import & export, also for reading LUT files in PNG format)*
* Exiv2 0.27.2 *(but at least 0.27.4 built with ISO BMFF support needed for Canon CR3 raw import)*
* potrace 1.16
* pugixml 1.8

Required dependencies (no version requirement):
* Lensfun *(for automatic lens correction)* (Note: alpha 0.3.95 and git master branch are not supported)
* libjpeg *(both the original IJG library and API-compatible ones, such as libjpeg-turbo, will work)*
* LibTIFF *(for TIFF import & export)*
* Little CMS 2

Optional dependencies (minimum version):
* OpenMP 4.5 *(for CPU multi-threading and SIMD vectorization)*
* LLVM 7 *(for OpenCL checks at compilation time)*
* OpenCL 1.2 *(for GPU-accelerated computing)*
* Lua 5.4 *(for plugins and extension scripting)*
* G'MIC 2.7.0 *(for .gmz compressed LUT files support)*
* libgphoto2 2.5 *(for camera tethering)*
* Imath 3.1.0 *(for 16-bit "half" float TIFF export and faster import)*
* libavif 0.9.3 *(for AVIF import & export)*
* ONNX Runtime 1.18 *(for AI inference)*
* libarchive 3.8.5 *(for AI models download)*
* libheif 1.13.0 *(for HEIF import & export; also for AVIF import if no libavif)*
* libjxl 0.7.0 *(for JPEG XL import & export)*
* WebP 0.3.0 *(for WebP import & export)*

Optional dependencies (no version requirement):
* colord, Xatom *(for fetching the system display color profile)*
* PortMidi *(for MIDI input support)*
* SDL2 *(for gamepad input support)*
* CUPS *(for print mode support)*
* OpenEXR *(for EXR import & export)*
* OpenJPEG *(for JPEG 2000 import & export)*
* GraphicsMagick or ImageMagick *(for misc image format import)*

To install all the dependencies on Linux systems, you may use the source repository of your distribution.
This will install the same packages that were used to build the official darktable package on your system.
Most likely, you will want to build a newer version than the one packaged in the distribution. So please
note that although this does not happen very often, it is possible that a new version of darktable will
have a new (required or optional) dependency. So the commands below only simplify the creation of your
build environment, but will not replace your attention to the build process and possibly finding and
installing certain additional dependency packages.

#### Fedora and RHEL/CentOS

```bash
sudo dnf builddep darktable
```

#### OpenSuse

```bash
sudo zypper si -d darktable
```

#### Ubuntu

Recent Ubuntu releases do not include the deb-src sources out of the box, even in commented form.
To add them, you need to run "Software & Updates" and on the first tab that opens, "Ubuntu Software",
check the "Source code" checkbox. Only after that you can use the following command:

```bash
sudo apt-get build-dep darktable
```

#### Debian

```bash
sudo apt-get build-dep darktable
```

### Get the source

#### Master branch (unstable)

The master branch contains the latest version of the source code and is intended:
* as a working base for developers,
* for beta-testers to chase bugs,
* for users willing to sacrifice stability for new features without waiting for the next release.

The master branch comes with no guarantee of stability and might corrupt your database and XMP files,
result in loss of data and edit history or temporarily break compatibility with previous versions and commits.

How dangerous is it? Most of the time, it is fairly stable. As with any rolling-release kind of deployment, bugs appear more often
but are fixed faster too. Sometimes, though, these bugs can result in losses or inconsistencies in the editing history of your pictures.
This is fine if you don't need to open your edits again in the future, but maybe not if you manage an estate.

After backing up your `~/.config/darktable` directory and the sidecar .XMP files of any pictures you intend to open
with the master branch, you may obtain the source as follows:

```bash
git clone --recurse-submodules --depth 1 https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable.git
cd darktable
```

See below (in "Using") how to start a test install of the unstable version without damaging your regular stable install and files.

#### Latest stable release

5.6.1

The darktable project releases two major versions every year, on Summer and Winter Solstices, tagged with even numbers (e.g. 4.2, 4.4, 4.6, 4.8).
Minor revisions are tagged with a third digit (e.g. 4.4.1, 4.4.2) and mostly provide bug fixes and camera support.
You may want to compile these stable releases yourself to get better performance for your particular computer:

```bash
git clone --recurse-submodules --depth 1 https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable.git
cd darktable
git fetch --tags
git checkout tags/release-5.6.1
```

### Get submodules

Note that [libxcf](https://github.com/houz/libxcf.git), [OpenCL](https://github.com/KhronosGroup/OpenCL-Headers.git), [RawSpeed](https://github.com/darktable-org/rawspeed), [whereami](https://github.com/gpakosz/whereami) and [LibRaw](https://github.com/LibRaw/LibRaw) are tracked via git submodules, so after checking-out darktable, you need to update/checkout the submodules too:

```bash
git submodule update --init
```

### Compile

#### Easy way

WARNING: If you have previously built darktable, don't forget to first completely remove (`rm -R`) the `build`
and `/opt/darktable` directories to avoid conflicting files from different versions. Many weird behaviors and transient
bugs have been reported that can be traced to the build cache not properly invalidating the changed dependencies, so
the safest way is to completely remove previously built binaries and start again from scratch.

darktable provides a shell script that automatically takes care of building on Linux and macOS for classic cases in a single command.

```bash
./build.sh --prefix /opt/darktable --build-type Release --install --sudo
```

If you want to install a test version alongside your regular/stable version, change the install prefix:

```bash
./build.sh --prefix /opt/darktable-test --build-type Release --install --sudo
```

This builds the software for your architecture only, with:

* `-O3` optimization level,
* SSE/AVX support if detected,
* OpenMP support (multi-threading and vectorization) if detected,
* OpenCL support (GPU offloading) if detected,
* Lua scripting support if detected.

If you want to have dartkable displayed along your other applications, you only need to add a symbolic link:

```bash
ln -s /opt/darktable/share/applications/org.darktable.darktable.desktop /usr/share/applications/org.darktable.darktable.desktop
```

Now, your custom-built darktable is ready to be used just like any pre-packaged software.

#### Manual way

Alternatively, you can use a manual build to pass custom arguments.

##### Linux

```bash
mkdir build
cd build
cmake -DCMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX=/opt/darktable/ ..
cmake --build .
sudo cmake --install .
```

##### macOS

See [Homebrew](packaging/macosx/BUILD_hb.txt) or [MacPorts](packaging/macosx/BUILD.txt) instructions.

##### Windows

See [these instructions](packaging/windows/README.md).

### Using

#### Test/unstable version

To use a test version of darktable without damaging your regular/stable version's files and database, start darktable in a terminal with:

```bash
/opt/darktable-test/bin/darktable --configdir "~/.config/darktable-test"
```

and ensure that you set the option "create XMP files" to "never" in preferences -> storage -> XMP sidecar files. This way,
your regular/stable version will save its configuration files in `~/.config/darktable`, as usual,
the test/unstable one will save in `~/.config/darktable-test`, and the two versions will not produce database conflicts.

#### Regular/stable version

Simply launch it from your desktop application menu or, from a terminal, run `darktable` or `/opt/darktable/bin/darktable`. If the installation did not create a launcher in your applications menu, run:

```bash
sudo ln -s /opt/darktable/share/applications/org.darktable.darktable.desktop /usr/share/applications/org.darktable.darktable.desktop
```

You may find darktable configuration files in `~/.config/darktable`.
If you experience crashes at startup, try launching darktable from a terminal with OpenCL disabled using `darktable --disable-opencl`.

### Further reading

There is a comprehensive list of build instructions for [Ubuntu/Debian related distributions](https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable/wiki/Build-instructions-for-Ubuntu) or for [Fedora and related distributions](https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable/wiki/Build-Instructions-for-Fedora). These build instructions can be easily adapted to many other Linux distributions.


Contributing
------------

There are many ways you can contribute to the darktable project:

* Write a blog about darktable
* Create a tutorial for darktable
* Help expand the [user wiki](https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable/wiki) or [user manual](https://github.com/darktable-org/dtdocs)
* Answer questions on the [user Matrix room](https://matrix.to/#/#darktable-user:matrix.org) or the [pixls.us forum](https://discuss.pixls.us/c/software/darktable/19)
* Share your ideas on the [developer Matrix room](https://matrix.to/#/#darktable-dev:matrix.org)
* Test [releases](https://www.darktable.org/install/)
* Review [pull requests](https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable/pulls)
* Start [hacking on darktable](https://www.darktable.org/development/) and see [developer's guide](https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable/wiki/Developer's-guide)


FAQ
---

### Why is my camera not detected when plugged-in ?

Check that you have the latest [gphoto2 library](http://www.gphoto.org/ "gphoto2 homepage") installed in order to support the newest cameras.

### Why is my lens not detected/corrected in darkroom ?

Lens correction profiles are provided by Lensfun, which has 2 parts: a program and a database.
Most Linux distributions provide a recent enough version of the program,
but provide an outdated version of the database. If
[Lensfun](https://lensfun.github.io/) is correctly installed, then update its database in a terminal by running:

```bash
lensfun-update-data
```

or alternatively

```bash
/usr/bin/g-lensfun-update-data
```

### Why do the thumbnails in the lighttable view look different to the preview in the darkroom view ?

For RAW files that have never been edited in darktable (when you have just imported them), the lighttable view, by default, shows
the JPEG preview placed into the RAW file by your camera. Loading this JPEG file is faster and makes the
lighttable view more responsive when importing large collections of images.

However, this JPEG thumbnail is processed by the firmware of the camera, with proprietary algorithms,
and colors, sharpness and contrast that might not look the same as
darktable processing (which is what you see when opening the image in the darkroom view).
Camera manufacturers don't publish details of the pixel processing they perform in their firmware
so their look is not exactly or easily reproducible by other software.

However, once RAW images have been edited in darktable,
the lighttable thumbnail should exactly match the darkroom preview, as they are processed in the same way.

If you never want to see the embedded JPEG thumbnail in the lighttable view, for RAW files, you should set the
option "use raw file instead of embedded JPEG from size" to "never" in preferences -> lighttable.

Wiki
----

* [GitHub wiki](https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable/wiki "github wiki")
* [Developer wiki](https://github.com/darktable-org/darktable/wiki/Developer's-guide "darktable developer wiki")


Community
---------

* [Darktable forum on pixls.us](https://discuss.pixls.us/c/software/darktable/19)
