Self-host Imagin RAW
v1.1.1Native macOS RAW photo browser and culling tool
- Stars
- 190
- CPU
- Apple Silicon or Intel processor
What is Imagin RAW?
Imagin RAW is a native macOS application built with SwiftUI and LibRaw for photographers who need a fast, lightweight tool to browse, cull, and organize RAW photos without the overhead of Adobe Bridge. It offers multi-root folder browsing with no import step, real-time file system monitoring via FSEvents, rating and color labels written to XMP sidecars or embedded in JPEGs, RAW+JPEG pair deduplication, Spotlight-backed search, SD card ingest with date-based folder organization, duplicate detection, Instagram frame export, video export from photo sequences, and offline client proofing via PDF. The app runs on macOS 14.6+ on both Apple Silicon and Intel, distributed via the Mac App Store, GitHub releases, or source compilation. It is open-source under the MIT license.
Should you self-host Imagin RAW?
Imagin RAW scores 43/100 on selfhost.directory (how scoring works) and ranks #35 of 41 in Photo Management. It has 190 GitHub stars.
It shipped 3 stable releases in the past year. The latest, v1.1.1, came out on 29 July 2026. New versions land roughly every 4 weeks.
Setup is easy: most people get it running in one sitting. It is MIT-licensed and written mostly in C++.
Its closest alternative on selfhost.directory is Ente (81/100, 29 713 stars). It scores higher overall, so compare the two before you pick. See Imagin RAW vs Ente side by side.
Features
- Duplicate/similar photo detection
- Instagram frame export
- Multi-root folder browsing
- Offline client proofing
- Rating and color labeling
- RAW+JPEG pair deduplication
- Real-time file system monitoring
- Rejection workflow
- SD card ingest
- Spotlight-backed search
- Two grid layouts
- Video export from photo sequences
Imagin RAW README
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