Download Darktable for Windows PC v5.6.2 for Windows PC

Darktable 5.6.2 is the free, open-source RAW photo editor from the darktable team: a non-destructive virtual lighttable and darkroom with 400+ camera...

Features

• It is completely free and open source under the GPL, with no subscription, account or feature tiers, yet covers the full library-to-export photographic workflow.
• Editing is fully non-destructive on a 32-bit floating-point pipeline, so original RAW files are never modified and every adjustment can be revisited or reset at any time.
• The module set is genuinely professional, including filmic RGB and sigmoid tone mapping, parametric and drawn masks, retouch, liquify and perspective correction.
• OpenCL GPU acceleration is detected automatically and speeds up the processing pipeline substantially on supported graphics hardware.
• Camera support is broad, with more than 400 camera profiles covering the major RAW formats from Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm and others, plus DNG.

Considerations

• The learning curve is steep for beginners, because the scene-referred workflow and long module list demand study before results match what guided editors produce automatically.
• The Windows build lacks the printing support the project notes is not currently implemented on that platform, and some AMD GPU drivers are unreliable with certain OpenCL modules.
• Its library and interface feel more technical and less polished than Lightroom's, with slower, community-paced development of convenience features such as built-in cloud sync, which does not exist.

Darktable is a virtual lighttable and darkroom: it imports your digital negatives into a searchable library database, then develops them with a large module set — and every edit is non-destructive, so original RAW files are never modified and adjustments live in the library and XMP sidecar files, ready to revisit or reset at any time. Processing runs on 32-bit floating-point pixel buffers, with full colour management — ICC support for sRGB, Adobe RGB, XYZ and linear RGB — plus soft-proofing with gamut checks. For photographers who will not rent their catalogue from a subscription, that architecture is the point: it is the strongest free answer to the Lightroom subscription — a complete photographic workflow, works offline, and never locks your catalogue behind a payment.

The module depth is genuinely professional: exposure and tone mapping via filmic RGB and sigmoid, colour balance and grading, retouch, liquify and perspective correction, denoise and sharpening, with parametric and drawn masks for local work. Difficult files — clipped highlights, mixed lighting, high-ISO noise — get the kind of control that used to require paid software. OpenCL GPU acceleration is detected at runtime and keeps big RAW files responsive on a decent GPU. Camera support covers more than 400 profiles across CR2/CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF, DNG and other RAW formats, alongside JPEG, TIFF, PNG and HDR inputs. The 5.6 series adds an optional AI subsystem (neural-restore denoise and upscaling, AI object masks), a colour harmonizer module and HEIF export; version 5.6.2 is the current bug-fix release on that line.

The honest costs are learning curve and polish. Darktable exposes more modules, in a less guided order, than Lightroom, and new users face real concepts — scene-referred workflow, module order, base curves — before results look right; expect the official manual to be part of the experience. The Windows build also trails the Linux original in places: printing is not currently implemented on Windows, and some AMD GPU drivers behave unreliably with certain modules under OpenCL. Convenience features such as built-in cloud sync do not exist here, and development of them is community-paced. None of that changes the verdict for anyone willing to learn it: this is a deep, capable, completely free RAW studio. It is free and open source under the GPL, needs Windows 10 or later (64-bit), 8 GB of RAM (4 GB minimum) and, for its heavier modules, an OpenCL 1.2-compatible GPU with around 4 GB of memory is recommended.

Download the official Darktable 5.6.2 Windows installer, darktable-5.6.2-win64.exe (EXE, about 132 MB), from the darktable project's GitHub releases using the download button on this page.

Open the downloaded EXE and follow the installation wizard with the default options; Darktable installs as a normal desktop application and needs no account, licence key or subscription activation.

Launch Darktable, import a folder of photos into the lighttable, open one in the darkroom to confirm editing works, then check Preferences > Processing to make sure OpenCL support is activated so your GPU accelerates the pipeline.

Is darktable totally free?

Yes. Darktable is free and open-source software released under the GPL by the darktable team, with no subscription, account or paid tier, and it runs fully offline. The current release covered here is version 5.6.2 for Windows 10 and later (64-bit).

What is the current version of darktable?

Version 5.6.2, the current bug-fix release on the 5.6 line. The 5.6 series added an optional AI subsystem (neural-restore denoise and upscaling, AI object masks), a colour harmonizer module and HEIF export.

Is darktable just as good as Lightroom?

It covers the same core job — a photo library (the lighttable) plus non-destructive RAW development (the darkroom) — with genuinely professional processing: a 32-bit floating-point pipeline, filmic RGB and sigmoid tone mapping, masks, retouch, liquify and perspective correction. Two honest differences: it cannot import a Lightroom catalogue with its edits intact, so switchers re-develop rather than migrate, and its learning curve is steeper and less guided than Lightroom's.

Can I edit jpegs in darktable?

Yes. Alongside RAW formats from more than 400 camera profiles — CR2/CR3, NEF, ARW, RAF and DNG among them — Darktable opens JPEG, TIFF and PNG files and HDR inputs such as EXR and PFM. Editing is non-destructive either way: originals are never modified, and finished pictures are written only when you export.

What are the minimum PC requirements to run darktable?

Darktable 5.6.2 runs on Windows 10 or later (64-bit). It works on CPU alone, but its heavier modules — denoise, local contrast, retouch, liquify — are demanding, and the project recommends an OpenCL 1.2-compatible GPU with around 4 GB of memory; GPU acceleration is detected at runtime and can be confirmed under Preferences > Processing.