Show HN: Free open source Adobe Lightroom alternative, completely local with AI

A developer publishing as thesnarkitecht released Rembrandt, a free open-source Adobe Lightroom alternative for macOS, Windows and Linux that runs entirely on-device, with builds distributed via GitHub Releases. Rembrandt offers GPU-accelerated 2× and 4× Super Resolution, AI Denoise to DNG, AI subject and depth masks, and natural-language editing commands such as "shadows +25" handled by an on-device vocabulary rather than a language model. The builds are not yet code-signed, and the project also ships a self-host server binary for Linux and macOS that saves edits as XMP sidecar files without modifying the original photos.

Stop paying for Adobe. Flush the incrapification. A free photo editor for macOS, Windows and Linux. No account needed, no subscription, no “we’ve updated our terms” emails. Download download · Self-host self-host-it · Features features · Build build | <sub Ask : “golden hour, shadows +25”, and watch Rembrandt paint it</sub | <sub Touch : drag on the photo to change that tone or colour</sub | <sub Super Resolution : 2× and 4× on your GPU</sub | | <sub Library : albums, search, sorting, one-click delete</sub | <sub Masks : brush, gradients, AI subject and depth</sub | <sub Before / after : split or side by side</sub | | Platform | | |---|---| | macOS · Apple silicon | Rembrandt-macos-arm64.dmg https://github.com/thesnarkitecht/rembrandt/releases/latest/download/Rembrandt-macos-arm64.dmg | | macOS · Intel | Rembrandt-macos-x64.dmg https://github.com/thesnarkitecht/rembrandt/releases/latest/download/Rembrandt-macos-x64.dmg | | Windows · x64 | Rembrandt-windows-x64-setup.exe https://github.com/thesnarkitecht/rembrandt/releases/latest/download/Rembrandt-windows-x64-setup.exe | | Windows · ARM | Rembrandt-windows-arm64-setup.exe https://github.com/thesnarkitecht/rembrandt/releases/latest/download/Rembrandt-windows-arm64-setup.exe | | Linux · x86 64 / arm64 | curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thesnarkitecht/rembrandt/main/install.sh \| bash | All files and checksums: Releases https://github.com/thesnarkitecht/rembrandt/releases . Builds aren't code-signed yet: on macOS use System Settings → Privacy & Security → Open Anyway ; on Windows More info → Run anyway . Serve Rembrandt from the computer that holds your photos and edit them in any browser: curl -fsSL https://raw.githubusercontent.com/thesnarkitecht/rembrandt/main/install.sh | bash -s -- --server It asks which photo folder to use, starts at login, and prints a private link. Edits are saved next to each photo as XMP; the photos themselves are never changed. Add --lan to reach it from other devices on your network. Linux and macOS; one small dependency-free binary server/ . To update, press Update in the browser Settings › About ; it installs the latest release, checks it against the published SHA-256 sums, and restarts the server. - Ask in words : type “warmer and a bit brighter”, “down exposure by ten points”, “shadows +25” or “paste the edits from the previous photo” Ctrl/⌘ K . A small Rembrandt in dots thinks it over, then makes each change while you watch the sliders move. It runs on your device: a vocabulary, not a language model. - Edit the photo itself : drag up or down on any part of the picture to lighten or darken that tone, left or right to change that colour; the sliders follow. - AI looks : Enhance, Relight, Sky, Atmosphere, Sunrays, Skin, Motion and Lens Blur with aperture shapes, from on-device depth and subject maps. - Refocus : brings back detail in out-of-focus photos, even heavy defocus regularised deconvolution on the GPU , on the subject or the whole picture. - Super Resolution : 2× and 4× with real detail, or Restore at the same size for soft photos; runs on the GPU Metal on Apple silicon . - AI Denoise : clean high-ISO shots into a new DNG with the same edits, on the GPU. - Background work that stays out of the way : AI Denoise, Super Resolution and merges run in small GPU slices that pause while you edit, or when you're away, or overnight in a night window you set Settings › Performance . The queue survives restarts. - Merge : HDR from brackets, panoramas and focus stacks, each to a RAW-like DNG. - RAW from 1,000+ cameras, developed on the GPU: tone, colour, curves, grading, dehaze, detail. - Masks : brush, gradients, colour and tone ranges, AI subject, background, object and depth. - Remove : heal and clone spots and strokes; Rembrandt picks a matching source for you. - Lens corrections : the camera's built-in profile from Fujifilm and Sony RAWs, or one of 1,500 lens profiles from Lensfun https://lensfun.github.io distortion, vignetting, chromatic aberration , plus manual distortion and vignetting for any photo. Auto straighten levels horizons. - On-device AI : Refocus, background replacement. Nothing is uploaded. - Library : albums, ratings, flags, colour labels, keywords, virtual copies, search, Find similar, sorting, keyboard shortcuts or Lightroom's , one-click delete with Undo. - Batch : copy and paste edits to hundreds of photos, batch export, and presets that fit each photo's exposure. Watch a folder to apply a preset and album to new photos as they arrive. - Share how : a before/after page with a slider, a replay video of the edit, or the recipe inside the exported file so anyone can see and reuse how it was edited. - Bring your photos : folders, Lightroom Classic edits, keywords, labels, virtual copies, collections, with a report of anything that can't come over and Lightroom, Google Photos, Google Drive, Dropbox, OneDrive setup https://github.com/thesnarkitecht/rembrandt/blob/main/docs/cloud-services.md . Export back to them too. - Open formats : edits are standard XMP, readable by Lightroom and others. - Cloud sync optional, paid : turn it on in Settings to sync edits, albums and photos between your computers, the web and your phone. It's the only thing that needs an account, and the only thing that costs money; everything else stays free. Rembrandt is free and stays free. Star the repo, tell a photographer, report a bug https://github.com/thesnarkitecht/rembrandt/issues or send a fix. npm ci && npx http-server -c-1 . web app npm run tauri dev desktop app Rust + Tauri prerequisites Details in docs/building.md https://github.com/thesnarkitecht/rembrandt/blob/main/docs/building.md . Contributions welcome: CONTRIBUTING.md https://github.com/thesnarkitecht/rembrandt/blob/main/CONTRIBUTING.md . Free software under the GNU General Public License v3.0 or later https://github.com/thesnarkitecht/rembrandt/blob/main/LICENSE , the same licence as darktable. Use it, study it, change it and share it; if you distribute a modified version, share its source under the same terms. It may also be distributed through app stores an additional permission under the GPL; see NOTICE.md https://github.com/thesnarkitecht/rembrandt/blob/main/NOTICE.md , which also lists the third-party parts . <sub Screenshot photos from the scikit-image sample data: espresso by Rachel Michetti and cat by Stefan van der Walt CC0 , rocket launch by SpaceX and Hubble eXtreme Deep Field by NASA public domain .</sub