# FerrumPix: a local-first photo manager and RAW editor for Windows and Linux

> FerrumPix bundles folder browsing, non-destructive RAW development, pixel editing and Immich or Nextcloud access into one Avalonia application. It is aimed at hobby photographers, not studio pipelines, and its catalogue data lives in sidecars rather than a database.

**Bitpainter75/FerrumPix** — FerrumPix is a desktop photo management and editing application for Linux,  Windows and macOS.

- Repository: https://github.com/Bitpainter75/FerrumPix
- Website: https://ferrumpix.app
- Stars: 687 · Forks: 16
- Language: Visual Basic .NET
- License: GPL-3.0
- Published: 2026-09-17 · Updated: 2026-09-17 · Language: en
- Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/bitpainter75-ferrumpix

## The workflow gap FerrumPix is trying to close

The README states the problem plainly: photo library applications organise, rate and tag well but edit only a little; RAW converters are strong on tone and colour but stay parametric; pixel editors can do almost anything to one image but have no library; and Immich or Nextcloud store and share photos but live in the browser. FerrumPix is the author's attempt to put those four jobs into one desktop program, so that browsing, rating, RAW development and pixel-level edits happen without exporting between tools.

The intended user is stated as hobby photographers and enthusiasts rather than studio pipelines, and the README says it does not care whether it is fed RAW files from a camera or JPEGs from a phone. That framing matters, because it explains several design choices: a folder-based catalogue instead of an imported library, sidecar files instead of a database, and a single-user assumption throughout. If you shoot tethered into a studio capture system or need several people editing the same catalogue, the project is not describing your problem.

## How the catalogue, sidecars and background scanning fit together

FerrumPix does not import your photos into a managed library. You name the folders your photos live in, and the application reads them in the background, subfolders included, so that search and filters cover the whole collection rather than only the folders you happened to open. The README says this scan can run shortly after startup if you want it to, can be stopped at any time, and that later runs only look at what has changed. Nothing is written next to your photos during the scan.

The persistence model is the interesting part. Ratings, colour labels and keywords are read from the sidecars that Lightroom, darktable or digiKam write, and keywords stored inside the file in IPTC or XMP data are picked up as well. Saving a RAW or a Photoshop file does not rewrite the original: the README says edits go into a small sidecar beside it, because those two formats are never written to. Everything else is written the way you asked for it. That is a deliberate trade: your originals stay untouched, but your edits now depend on sidecar files travelling with the images, and a folder copied without its sidecars loses its ratings and keywords.

Renaming or moving a folder inside FerrumPix carries ratings, labels, keywords, people and thumbnails along with it. If you moved a folder outside the application, the settings let you point at its new location. The settings also hold one list of every folder FerrumPix knows, grouped under the folders you watch, where you can search and then clean up catalogue data, thumbnails or people-search results for whatever the search leaves, either on a whole tree or on a single folder.

## Installing FerrumPix and rating a first folder

The README does not carry an install section. The repository topics include appimage, and the project homepage is ferrumpix.app, so that is where the download is expected to live; the releases listed in the repository are tagged 0.9.45 and 0.9.45-5. Because the README gives no package manager command and no checksum, treat the homepage as the only stated source and verify what you download yourself.

Once you have it running, the first useful task is not editing. It is pointing the application at one folder and letting the background scan index it. The README describes naming the folders your photos live in, with subfolders included, and optionally running the scan shortly after startup. There is no command to type: the folder list lives in the settings, and the scan can be stopped at any time.

After the scan finishes, search should cover that folder's whole tree, and the info sidebar should show shot data, histogram, rating, label and keywords for the selected picture. With several photos selected it shows what they have in common and lets you set those values for all of them at once.

Ratings and keywords are the fastest way to check that the sidecar reading works. If you already have a collection tagged in Lightroom, darktable or digiKam, point FerrumPix at it and see whether the ratings and colour labels appear. If they do, the sidecar path is working; if they do not, the files may store that data in a form the README does not list.

## Where FerrumPix stops being the right tool

The README is explicit that this is for hobby photographers and enthusiasts, not studio pipelines, and the architecture follows from that. There is no server component, no multi-user catalogue and no mention of a shared database. Two people editing the same folder on a network share would be writing to the same sidecars with no coordination described in the README.

The sidecar model has a second cost. Anything that moves or copies photos outside FerrumPix can leave ratings, labels, keywords, people names and thumbnails behind, unless the sidecar travels too. The README covers renaming and moving inside the application and repointing settings after an external move, but it does not describe what happens when a folder is copied to another machine without its sidecars.

There is also a format boundary worth noting. HEIC, HEIF and AVIF are listed as read-only, so you can look at them but the README does not claim editing. RAW and Photoshop files are never written to, which is safe but means an export step is always required if you want a flattened result. And the build itself is unusual: VB.NET on .NET 10 with Avalonia UI. The author says so directly and defends the choice, but anyone hoping to contribute patches should expect to work in a language that is rare in this space, and the README does not describe a contributor setup or build instructions.

## FerrumPix against darktable and digiKam

The closest comparison the README itself invites is with the tools whose sidecars it reads. darktable is a RAW developer built around a parametric pipeline: adjustments are modules in a history stack, and the output is rendered from the original on every export. FerrumPix keeps a non-destructive RAW path with lens correction from measured data for more than 1500 lenses, but it also offers pixel editing with layers, masks, retouching, text and shapes, which is the part darktable does not set out to do.

digiKam sits on the other side: a photo library with tagging, ratings and search, and limited editing. FerrumPix reads digiKam's sidecars, which suggests coexistence rather than replacement. The real difference is breadth. FerrumPix also connects to a self-hosted Immich or Nextcloud server for browsing, upload, download, editing and metadata sync, which neither of the desktop tools does in the same application.

The trade is depth. A dedicated RAW converter with years of colour science and a mature module set will beat a 0.9.x application on the fine points of demosaicing and tone mapping, and the README makes no claim otherwise. FerrumPix competes on having the whole workflow in one window, not on being the best at any single stage.

## Version 0.9.x, licence and what upgrades cost you

The release history shows 0.9.44 on 2026-09-13 and 0.9.45 on 2026-09-16, with a further 0.9.45-5 build the same day. The last push to the default branch was on 2026-09-17. That is a fast cadence for a 0.9.x project, and the README acknowledges heavy use of AI assistance in development and translation alongside manual architecture work and debugging. Rapid point releases at this stage usually mean the data model is still moving, so treat sidecar compatibility across versions as something to verify rather than assume. The README does not document a migration path between versions, and it does not document rollback.

The licence is GPL-3.0, stated in the repository and in the LICENSE file at the top level. For anyone running FerrumPix on their own machine this is unremarkable. It becomes relevant if you intend to bundle the application into a commercial product, ship a modified build, or link it with code you do not want to license the same way. That is a question for a lawyer, not for this article. The practical point is narrower: GPL-3.0 is a copyleft licence, so a fork or an embedded distribution carries obligations that a permissively licensed alternative would not.

Upgrade cost is mostly about your own files. Because ratings, keywords and people names are stored beside the photos, the risk of an upgrade is not a database migration you can back up in one file; it is the accumulated sidecar data across your folders. Backing up a folder means backing up its sidecars too.

## Conclusion

Adopt FerrumPix if you want one native application for browsing, rating, RAW development and occasional pixel work, and you are willing to keep your sidecars with your files. Skip it if you need a multi-user catalogue, a cloud library, or a tool whose documentation already covers crash recovery and rollback, since the README describes neither. Before committing a real library, point it at a copy of one folder, confirm that a RAW edit writes a sidecar rather than touching the original, and check that your camera's RAW format opens.

## FAQ

### What is FerrumPix and who is it for?

It is a desktop photo manager and image editor for Linux and Windows, with experimental ARM64 and macOS builds, built with Avalonia UI and .NET 10 in VB.NET. The README describes it as aimed at hobby photographers and enthusiasts rather than studio pipelines.

### How do I install FerrumPix?

The README contains no install instructions. The repository homepage is ferrumpix.app and the project topics include appimage, so the homepage is the stated place to look for a download.

### Does FerrumPix change my original photos?

The README states that originals are never changed behind your back and nothing is written until you save. Saving a RAW or Photoshop file writes edits to a small sidecar beside it, because those formats are never written to.

### Can FerrumPix connect to Immich or Nextcloud?

Yes. The README says it can connect to a self-hosted Immich or Nextcloud server for browsing, upload, download, editing and metadata sync, alongside local folders.

### Which image formats can FerrumPix open?

The README lists JPEG, PNG, WEBP, JPEG XL, TIFF, BMP, GIF and RAW, plus HEIC, HEIF and AVIF as read-only, and Photoshop files with their layers.

## Sources

- [Bitpainter75/FerrumPix on GitHub](https://github.com/Bitpainter75/FerrumPix)
- [License: GPL-3.0](https://github.com/Bitpainter75/FerrumPix/blob/main/LICENSE)
- [Project website](https://ferrumpix.app)
- [README](https://github.com/Bitpainter75/FerrumPix/blob/main/README.md)
- [Releases](https://github.com/Bitpainter75/FerrumPix/releases)

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Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/bitpainter75-ferrumpix