LightCraft v0.19.0

LightCraft is a free, open-source photo management and RAW development application designed as an alternative to Adobe Lightroom. Built in Rust, it combines photo library organization with a comprehensive set of image editing tools, allowing photographers to adjust exposure, refine colors, apply local corrections, and prepare images for export without modifying their original files.

LightCraft is designed for desktop use on Windows, macOS, and Linux, with a WebAssembly version that runs in a browser. It also supports automation through a command-line interface and the Model Context Protocol (MCP), making it an interesting option for photographers who want local control over their workflow.

Features

Non-Destructive Photo Editing

LightCraft keeps original images intact and stores editing operations separately. You can experiment with different adjustments without permanently changing the source files.

Its editing tools include exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, tone curves, white balance, vibrance, and saturation. The application uses a wide-gamut, 32-bit floating-point processing pipeline designed to preserve tonal and color information throughout editing.

Color Grading and Presets

The color tools include an eight-band Color Mixer, RGB tone curves, and separate color grading controls for shadows, midtones, and highlights. These features provide flexibility for natural photo correction as well as creative color treatments.

LightCraft also includes built-in presets and lets users save custom looks. You can copy, paste, or synchronize selected adjustments across multiple photos, which is useful when editing a collection of images from the same shoot.

Local Masking and Adjustments

LightCraft supports brush masks, linear gradients, and radial gradients, along with selection tools for luminance, color, sky, subject, and background. Masks can be combined, subtracted, intersected, and inverted.

Local adjustments let you change exposure, contrast, color, texture, sharpness, and other properties in specific parts of an image. This helps users refine skies, brighten subjects, or create more controlled lighting effects without applying every adjustment globally.

Crop, Geometry, and Black-and-White Editing

The cropping tools support common aspect ratios, straightening, rotation, flipping, and manual geometric transformations. Composition overlays help photographers align images and refine framing.

For monochrome photography, LightCraft includes black-and-white conversion, an eight-band monochrome mixer, and additional color grading controls for creating tinted or split-tone results.

Photo Library Management

LightCraft includes tools for organizing photo collections, including folders, albums, smart albums, stacks, virtual copies, ratings, flags, labels, filtering, searching, and sorting.

Its local-first approach avoids requiring an online account or cloud catalog. The project describes its catalog as a human-readable log of editing operations, making it easier to inspect, back up, and replay changes.

Command-Line and AI Automation

In addition to its graphical interface, LightCraft provides a command-line application for rendering images and applying adjustments. MCP support allows compatible AI agents to interact with the application through an automation interface.

These capabilities are useful for repeatable editing tasks, scripted workflows, and experimentation with AI-assisted photo processing.

Download LightCraft v0.19.0 - Software Mirrors
LightCraft v0.19.0 for Windows lightcraft-0.19.0-windows-x86.msi | 92.54 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-windows-x86-portable.zip | 111.9 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-windows-x64.msi | 94.99 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-windows-x64-portable.zip | 116.69 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-windows-arm64.msi | 90.77 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-windows-arm64-portable.zip | 111.85 MB
LightCraft v0.19.0 for macOS lightcraft-cli-0.19.0-macos-universal.zip | 115.15 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-macos-universal.dmg | 120.65 MB
LightCraft v0.19.0 for Linux lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz.asc | 228 B lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz | 116.4 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-x86_64.rpm.asc | 228 B lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-x86_64.rpm | 117.42 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst | 89.98 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-x86_64.flatpak.asc | 228 B lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-x86_64.flatpak | 83.37 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-x86_64.deb.asc | 228 B lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-x86_64.deb | 118.11 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-x86_64.AppImage.zsync.asc | 228 B lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-x86_64.AppImage.zsync | 192.53 kB lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-x86_64.AppImage.asc | 228 B lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-x86_64.AppImage | 109.87 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-riscv64.tar.gz.asc | 228 B lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-riscv64.tar.gz | 113.16 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-riscv64.rpm.asc | 228 B lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-riscv64.rpm | 114.21 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-riscv64.deb.asc | 228 B lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-riscv64.deb | 114.66 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-aarch64.tar.gz.asc | 228 B lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-aarch64.tar.gz | 110.99 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-aarch64.rpm.asc | 228 B lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-aarch64.rpm | 112.92 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-aarch64.pkg.tar.zst | 86.88 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-aarch64.flatpak.asc | 228 B lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-aarch64.flatpak | 78.49 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-aarch64.deb.asc | 228 B lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-aarch64.deb | 113.74 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-aarch64.AppImage.zsync.asc | 228 B lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-aarch64.AppImage.zsync | 183.9 kB lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-aarch64.AppImage.asc | 228 B lightcraft-0.19.0-linux-aarch64.AppImage | 104.94 MB
LightCraft v0.19.0 for BSD lightcraft-0.19.0-freebsd-x86_64.tar.gz | 115.75 MB lightcraft-0.19.0-freebsd-aarch64.tar.gz | 110.13 MB
Others Download related to LightCraft v0.19.0 release-signing-key.asc | 803 B lightcraft-web-0.19.0.zip | 70.86 MB
LightCraft v0.19.0 Source Code LightCraft v0.19.0 Source code (zip) LightCraft v0.19.0 Source code (tar.gz)
LightCraft v0.19.0 Release Notes: What's Changed Use crw craftlib by @rwoldberg in #3503 security(web): ?bench runs on demo photos in an unsaved library, never the stored one by @dylanmtaylor in #3646 #3601: the Square Grid's badge band sits on the photo itself by @rahul05ranjan in #3604 lightcraft-cli: calibrate walks folders with the engine's bounded walk by @dylanmtaylor in #3643 security(engine): Find Missing Photos hashes only regular files, no further than their size by @dylanmtaylor in #3704 security(engine, faces): index repeated membership scans in photo move, keywords, import planning, sync and rename by @dylanmtaylor in #3709 security(geocode): bound dataset reads, per-line fields, and the inflate error text by @dylanmtaylor in #3718 security(logging): a log message cannot begin a record of its own by @dylanmtaylor in #3720 security(tests): test fixture directories are created exclusively, never reused from a predictable name by @dylanmtaylor in #3721 security(raw): linear sparse planning, distinct-byte allocation bound, opcode list budget, ORF strip length by @dylanmtaylor in #3679 security(engine): sidecar copies, backups and version checks read regular files only by @dylanmtaylor in #3677 catalog: bound keyword list path expansion and index synonym merges by @dylanmtaylor in #3641 security(web): restore plans its writes first; cap render workers by @dylanmtaylor in #3669 security(engine): embed only fonts inside the asset checkout; no line breaks in cargo instructions by @dylanmtaylor in #3670 security: staging and probe files are created new, never written through an existing entry by @dylanmtaylor in #3673 security(engine): the library folder is protected from folder.move however its path is spelled by @dylanmtaylor in #3676 security(raster, segment): resample tall narrow images columns first by @dylanmtaylor in #3678 Issue #2249: a teleconverter combination never inherits the bare lens's profile by @eliets2 in #3660 #2361: lens corrections crop inside the corrected photo by @emmertex in #3012 LR-EDIT-OPTICS-PROFILE: Sigma 10-18 mm exception on the ILCE-6700 by @Enthendor in #2733 security(lensdb): bound the names calibrations copy, read database files through the opened regular file by @dylanmtaylor in #3697 LR-MASK-GEOMETRY: masks stay on the photo under lens corrections, Upright, Transform and Rotate by @OneSlips in #3550 LR-EDIT-OPTICS-PROFILE: enable Sony ILCE-7M3 embedded distortion correction (rebase of #1384) by @janickm in #3144 LR-EDIT-OPTICS-PROFILE: preserve unknown crop factors in lens profiles by @r3d42-git in #2676 LR-EDIT-OPTICS-PROFILE: the lens database is offered on first launch and downloads on request, the library is looked up, Optics names the profile by @OneSlips in #3073 LR-EDIT-OPTICS-PROFILE: the log says where the lens database was read from and what it holds, and warns when it has no lenses by @FredApps in #3738 Pass the Linux signing key to the release workflow by @dylanmtaylor in #3759 LR-EXP-WATERMARK: decomposed Korean and Vietnamese export text draws whole (#3480) by @chordpli in #3489 LR-VIEW-HISTOGRAM: the histogram and HDR settings flow between SDR and HDR by @JordyUSA in #1460 About: credits tables fit without side-scrolling and their columns resize by @FredApps in #3726 LR-EXP-LOCATION: an export subfolder never leaves the destination folder (#2571) by @insideTheFlux in #2600 LRC-LIB-VISUALSEARCH: Find Similar Photos reads the photos off the UI thread by @insideTheFlux in #3496 Logging: each render request and how it ended, at debug level (#2682) by @insideTheFlux in #2772 GPU-FULL: more of the render on the GPU, loupe drafts from GPU textures by @OneSlips in #1065 LR-META-LOCATION: place names always download into the settings folder (#2575) by @insideTheFlux in #2659 LR-EDIT-DETAIL-SHARPEN: Radius and Detail work, and sharpening acts at pixel scale (#757) by @radialmonster in #762 PERF-STEP-STALL: stepping and flagging never wait for the drive, and no change is ever dropped by @OneSlips in #3557 Convert Negative 1/4: lightcraft-film, the negative conversion maths by @smyrgeorge in #2490 LR-VIEW-SURVEY: the × on a survey tile removes the photo again by @Yeetjof in #3715 Auto Sync: As Shot, Auto and Temp apply to each selected photo's own white balance by @OneSlips in #3571 LR-BEHAV-RENDER-FIDELITY: calibrated Contrast and Blacks in process V3 (#523) by @AlexChambers in #1383 Tests: two catalog flakes; a readback waits as long as a render by @FredApps in #3777 pipeline: apply 8x8 ordered Bayer dithering to prevent display banding by @mynameisdeleted in #3509 LR-PROF-IMPORT: import the user's own DNG camera profiles (.dcp) by @OneSlips in #1063 Light tests allow a level of 8-bit dither by @FredApps in #3779 Culling: the loupe uses built previews; photos prepared ahead and in the background by @OneSlips in #3077 Detail: Remove Hot Pixels, on for newly imported raws (#1345) by @PiMinusMax in #1350 LR-EDIT-DETAIL-DENOISE: built-in BM3D denoising with GPU acceleration by @esli1283 in #2982 LR-BEHAV-TITLEBAR: the Windows title bar takes LightCraft's theme at launch (#3381) by @insideTheFlux in #3650 LR-PREF-DISPLAY: on Windows, previews follow the monitor's colour profile by @insideTheFlux in #2439 GPU tests allow a level of 8-bit dither by @FredApps in #3789 LR-LIB-PEOPLE: face boxes drawn on a photo as stored land on the upright photo (#2674) by @insideTheFlux in #2857 xtask ci: --no-fail-fast test runs; flaky-test policy by @FredApps in #3791 CI: stop a hung gate at 80 min with a process list by @FredApps in #3794 Docs: drop the Last updated / Change header line that every PR conflicted on by @FredApps in #3790 deps: craft-update with flate2's miniz backend (fixes larger-than-raw ZIP TIFFs on Windows) by @FredApps in #3800 #2270: a host bridge for pages framing the web build (?host=parent) by @francoisgn in #2315 feat(web): page host mode, so a page can host LightCraft in its own document (builds on #2315) by @helenkwok in #3591 CI: Windows leg for pull requests that change Windows code, or labelled full-ci by @FredApps in #3793 Issue #315: the second launch on Windows can load the Vulkan driver and crash before any window by @eliets2 in #3667 Test Create Preset name box restores on escape, keeps text on return by @eliets2 in #3773 Report the lens database contents and missing XML files in the log by @eliets2 in #3809 catalog: resync finds the retry record from the end, not every marker (#2124) by @eliets2 in #2179 Issue #2165: a Lightroom collection that can't nest goes under the nearest set instead of failing the import by @THEtheChad in #3145 LR-BEHAV-RENDER-FIDELITY: process V5 rolls raw tone curves off into white in stops, so raising Exposure keeps highlights (#1632) by @AlexChambers in #3783 Export: built-in presets for Instagram Feed, Story / Reel, Web / Portfolio, Full Resolution (#2104) by @eliets2 in #2209 Add GFX100S II to the spectral camera matrix table by @eliets2 in #3139 shortcuts: H toggles mask pins while masking by @eliets2 in #1458 Import review: say what the folder scan left out by @eliets2 in #2944 Cut edited thumbnails from the decoded source, not the file by @eliets2 in #3810 catalog: history steps and versions share segmentation grids (#2154) by @eliets2 in #2203 Give the pipeline one exact output size instead of re-fitting by @eliets2 in #3749 Presets change only the settings they name (fixes #2159) by @eliets2 in #2207 Apply Auto settings to every selected photo by @eliets2 in #3808 LR-IMP-FORMATS: pure-Rust clean-room compressed Olympus ORF bitstream decoder by @bd78 in #3775 Extend CR3 white level to actual sensor saturation by @eliets2 in #3805 Keep a stitched panorama at the photos' own resolution by @eliets2 in #3806 ui: first-run onboarding tour and What's New after an update by @eliets2 in #2206 Tests: the next folder drop gets 20 seconds to land by @FredApps in #3834 never-crash: deny the panic lints in every crate root; GPU asserts become fail paths (#2137) by @eliets2 in #2170 Paint clipped pixels red/blue when clipping warnings (J) are on by @Silvertree2010 in #3638 Import review: an optional batch-edit recipe for newly imported photos by @eliets2 in #2940 Tests: clipping warnings crush the shadows with Blacks by @FredApps in #3839 Colour noise reduction: joint linear chroma filter with speck brake, CPU and GPU (#815) by @PiMinusMax in #1348 Add flash, exposure bias and serial rules to smart albums by @eliets2 in #3821 Remove the dead Cloud button from the top bar by @eliets2 in #3832 Face boxes: drag a box's body to move it by @eliets2 in #3846 Arm the window renderer marker before probing the driver by @eliets2 in #3817 Write camera make and lens make to EXIF on export by @eliets2 in #3828 Fix mismatched source/destination rects in before/after zoom window renders by @eliets2 in #3842 Picture Package and Custom Package pages can print cut guides at each cell's corners by @eliets2 in #3843 Match renamed missing files by content when size is unknown by @eliets2 in #3852 Treat a first intersect mask component as its base selection by @eliets2 in #3854 Copy the shared house rules into AGENTS.md by @FredApps in #3857 Use adapter texture limit for probed window device by @eliets2 in #3853 Issue #3768: dialog_role tests draw glyphs only craft-fonts has as boxes when built without it by @THEtheChad in #3769 Stabilize sidebar month-name test fixture by @FredApps in #3859 WEB-WORKER-PARITY: compare serialized jobs with the CPU reference (#3778) by @lostwald in #3782 GPU float output for the HDR render (F32Hdr) by @eliets2 in #3856 New Contributors @rahul05ranjan made their first contribution in #3604 @janickm made their first contribution in #3144 @r3d42-git made their first contribution in #2676 @mynameisdeleted made their first contribution in #3509 @esli1283 made their first contribution in #2982 @helenkwok made their first contribution in #3591 @bd78 made their first contribution in #3775 @lostwald made their first contribution in #3782 Full Changelog: v0.18.1...v0.19.0

Performance and Compatibility

LightCraft is written in Rust and uses background rendering to keep the interface responsive during common editing operations. The project reports that it can display embedded camera previews or cached renders quickly while preparing full-resolution images in the background.

The application supports Windows, macOS, and Linux, as well as a browser-based WebAssembly build. Available Linux packages include AppImage, DEB, and RPM formats, with builds for x86-64 and ARM64 systems.

However, LightCraft is still a developing project. Its feature list should not be interpreted as proof of complete Adobe Lightroom compatibility. Photographers with established Lightroom workflows should verify RAW camera support, editing results, and catalog migration before moving their primary library.

System Requirements

• Operating systems: Windows, macOS, and Linux.

• Browser support: A WebAssembly build is available.

• Processor architectures: Linux releases include x86-64 and ARM64 builds.

• Build requirements: Rust and the project's documented dependencies are needed to compile from source.

The project does not establish a comprehensive minimum hardware specification in the information reviewed. Actual performance will depend on image resolution, RAW processing requirements, and available system resources.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Free and open-source under the MIT and Apache 2.0 licenses.

• Non-destructive editing preserves original photos.

• Extensive controls for exposure, tone curves, color grading, and local adjustments.

• Photo library organization tools for managing larger collections.

• Native applications for major desktop operating systems.

• Browser-based build for experimentation without a traditional desktop installation.

• Command-line and MCP support for automation.

• Local-first workflow without a mandatory cloud account or subscription.

Cons

• Still under active development, so feature completeness and reliability may vary.

• Compatibility with existing Lightroom catalogs and established workflows needs verification.

• RAW format support may not cover every camera model or file variation.

• Users accustomed to Lightroom may encounter differences in editing behavior and output.

• Advanced automation and browser workflows may require additional setup.

• Published minimum hardware requirements are limited.

How to Install

The simplest option is to download a suitable package from the project's GitHub Releases page. Linux users can choose the available AppImage, DEB, or RPM package, while macOS and Windows packages are also provided.

For users who prefer to build from source, install Rust and the required development tools, then run:

git clone https://github.com/storytold/lightcraft
cd lightcraft
cargo run --release -p lightcraft

To open a specific photo folder, pass its path when launching the application:

cargo run --release -p lightcraft -- ~/Pictures/trip

To try the browser-based build, follow the project's WebAssembly setup instructions and run:

cargo xtask web --serve

The project also provides a command-line renderer for scripted workflows. Consult the official documentation for supported formats, available adjustment parameters, and platform-specific installation details.

Final Verdict

LightCraft is a promising open-source alternative for photographers who want a local photo library and RAW editing workflow without relying on a commercial subscription. Its combination of non-destructive editing, color grading, masking, presets, and catalog management makes it more ambitious than a basic image editor.

Its strongest differentiators are its Rust-based architecture, local-first design, and automation support. These features may appeal to technical users and photographers interested in building repeatable editing workflows.

The main reservation is maturity. Before switching from Lightroom, users should test their own camera RAW files, compare exported images, and confirm that the library features they depend on are available and reliable. LightCraft is worth trying, but photographers with demanding production workflows should evaluate it alongside their existing tools rather than assume full feature parity.

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Software Informations:
Developer:
ArtCraft
Operating System:
Windows / macOS / Linux / BSD
Date Added:
2026-11-07T05:07:20.466Z
Categories:

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