Raw photos developed in darktable, with Claude doing the edits
Upload a raw file to Nextcloud and get back a finished JPEG. The edit comes with it as darktable history, so you can open the raw and take it further yourself.
How it works
1. Upload
Put a raw file in
Photos/Processing/Inboxon Nextcloud. CR2, CR3, NEF, ARW, DNG, RAF and other formats work.2. Pick up
Within a minute or two, the watcher on your PC downloads it and renders darktable's defaults as the starting point.
3. Edit
Claude looks at each render, adjusts the edit and renders again, then judges the result before it exports.
4. Deliver
The full-size JPEG goes to Processed. The raw moves to Archive with its darktable sidecar and Claude's notes.
What comes back
In Photos/Processing, next to the inbox.
| File | Folder | Contents |
|---|---|---|
| IMG_4899.jpg | Processed | The finished JPEG at full resolution |
| IMG_4899.CR2 | Archive | The raw, moved out of the inbox |
| IMG_4899.CR2.xmp | Archive | The edit as darktable history. Open the raw in darktable to refine it. |
| IMG_4899.notes.md | Archive | What Claude saw, what it changed and why |
| IMG_4899.CR2.error.txt | Failed | Written with the raw when an edit fails twice. Move the raw back to the inbox to retry. |
What Claude adjusts
Each adjustment is a darktable module in the photo's history.
| Adjustment | darktable module |
|---|---|
| Exposure and black level | exposure |
| White balance | color calibration |
| Tone mapping | sigmoid |
| Shadows and highlights | tone equalizer |
| Colour and grading | color balance rgb |
| Local contrast | local contrast |
| Noise | denoise (profiled) |
| Sharpening | sharpen |
| Straightening | rotate and perspective |
| Crop | crop |
Steer an edit
Upload a text file with the same name next to the raw. Claude follows it over its own taste.
- Inbox/IMG_4899.CR2
- Inbox/IMG_4899.txtmoody, crop to 4:5
Re-edit with Claude
Open the editor workspace in Claude Code and ask for changes, such as “make it a bit warmer and less cropped, then finalize”.
Refine it yourself
Open the archived raw in darktable. Claude's edit loads as history you can change step by step.
Runs in the background
A scheduled task starts the watcher at boot, before anyone signs in. Photos are edited one at a time.
Tray icon
Shows the watcher's state, and a notification when a photo is done.
- Watching
- The inbox is checked for new photos.
- Editing
- Claude is working on a photo. The tooltip shows the step.
- No recent check
- The inbox hasn't been checked for a while.
- Error
- Something needs you, such as signing in to Heimdall again.
Requirements
- PC
- Windows, with the .NET 10 SDK
- darktable
- 5.6
- Claude Code
- Signed in with your Claude plan. Each photo counts toward its usage limits.
- Nextcloud
- An account that signs in with Heimdall, with a
Photos/Processing/Inboxfolder