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darktable

A non-destructive RAW photo editor and library for photographers.

Instead of Adobe Lightroom

M · ToolOpen sourceFreeNo accountWorks offline
www.darktable.org
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Some photographers remember the day they saved over an original. darktable's editing is fully non-destructive, working on cached buffers for display and only converting the full image on export, so your originals stay as they were. It is an open-source photography workflow application and RAW developer, released under the GNU General Public License version 3 or later, and it runs on Windows, Mac and Linux.

It is the closest open-source counterpart to Lightroom, and it keeps your library on your own computer with no account or cloud required. darktable scores a 5 on lock-in, power and longevity, a 4 on footprint and delivery and a 3 on self-direction.

The interface is dense and takes time to learn, and the project does not publish much about how it is funded.

In daily use it is a photo library on your own disk, with every edit kept apart from the original it was made to.

    What stands out

  • Non-destructive RAW editing, so your originals stay as they were
  • Keeps your library on your own computer, with no account or cloud
  • The closest open-source counterpart to Lightroom
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For comparison, we also reviewed Adobe Creative Cloud (12/30) as a benchmark.

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