RAWdemptionBeta

A RAW editor for macOS. Free, for good.
Made by a photographer, for the long run.

A hobby shouldn't come with a monthly rent.

Install for Mac
Public beta · Only 6.8 MB · Apple silicon · macOS 13 or later

Why RAWdemption exists

RAWdemption started when I stopped paying for Lightroom. What I needed was simple: go through my photos, keep the good ones, adjust them, export.

The free editors I tried were capable, but none of them suited the way I work. So I built one, and it's the editor I use for my own photography.

It's free, and not as a trial or an introductory offer. The plan is for RAWdemption to stay free for good and to keep getting better for years, not months. Your photos stay in their folders, and your edits sit beside them.

Free forever, for anyone.

It's made by one person. If it earns its place on your Mac, Patreon is how you can help keep it going.

Support on Patreon

How it works

Card in, photos out. The whole routine, start to finish.

Small things, done properly

Every control responds at once and settles without fuss. Details like these are most of what makes an editor pleasant to use.

Your photography, read back to you

Your photos already record how you work: the cameras and lenses you use, the focal lengths you return to, the hours you shoot. RAWdemption gathers it into a profile. None of it leaves your Mac.

The full profile is a thank-you for supporters on Patreon (€2 a month). Editing, exporting and everything else are free and unlimited, for everyone.

What's in it

The essentials, and nothing that gets in the way. Click a card to replay it.

Sort & filter

Sort by date, name or size. Filter by camera, lens and focal length. Search “35mm” or “2024”.

Favourites .

Press . to heart a photo. Hearts are saved next to the photos, so they move with the folder.

Copy & paste edits ⇧⌘V

Copy the edit from one photo and paste it on the rest. Crops and masks stay with their photo.

Masks M

Brush, linear and radial. Each mask gets its own exposure, colour and clarity.

Crop & straighten C

Common ratios or free, plus straighten. It never leaves empty corners.

Border & date

Optional white border, and the capture date stamped in the corner like an old film camera.

Where it's going

This isn't a weekend project. I'm building RAWdemption for the long run and work on it as often as I can. Each release leaves it a little better than the last.

Steady updates

Fixes and improvements arrive inside the app, signed and checked before they install. Reported problems come first.

Faster, lighter

Speed and memory use are worked on continuously, so editing stays smooth on every Apple silicon Mac, not only the newest.

New tools, chosen with care

A tool is added when it makes editing better, not busier. The aim is a complete editor that stays calm to use.

Shaped by its photographers

Supporters on Patreon can request features. Each request is weighed against one question: would it make RAWdemption better for everyone? When it would, and the app's foundations allow it, it goes on the list.

Beyond the Mac

Photographers on Windows ask about it. Once the Mac version is mature, a Windows version is something I'd like to explore. No dates yet.

Free stays free

No subscription later, no paid version, no ads. Nothing that's free today will ever be put behind a payment.

The aim is simple: a complete, honest RAW editor, free for photographers everywhere.

Support and request features

Questions

Will it stay free?

Yes. Editing and exporting are free and always will be: no limits, no subscription, no ads, and nothing that's free today will be put behind a payment later. Patreon is optional. It lets me spend more time on RAWdemption, and as a thank-you, supporters get their full profile and can request features.

Which cameras does it open?

RAWdemption develops RAW files with the RAW engine built into macOS, so it opens what Apple Photos opens: most cameras from Canon, Fujifilm, Leica, Nikon, Olympus/OM System, Panasonic, Pentax/Ricoh, Sony and more, plus DNG. Apple publishes the full list on its support site (“Digital camera RAW formats supported by macOS”), and new cameras arrive with macOS updates. JPEG, HEIC, PNG and TIFF open too.

Does it change my photos?

Never. Originals are only read. Each edit is a small recipe saved in a hidden .lightbox folder beside the photos, along with your favourites, so edits travel with the folder to another drive or Mac. Exports are always new files.

Which Macs does it run on?

Macs with Apple silicon (M1 or later) on macOS 13 Ventura or later. 16 GB of memory is recommended for smooth editing of 24-megapixel RAW files; Intel Macs aren't supported.

Why does installing need Terminal?

macOS only opens an app downloaded in a browser if Apple has notarised it, which takes a paid developer membership. RAWdemption is free and made by one person, so it isn't notarised, and macOS calls it “damaged” instead. The Terminal command installs the very same app without the “downloaded” label that triggers this. The install script is short enough to read, and every update after that is signed and checked by the app before it installs.

Can it replace Lightroom?

For many hobbyists, yes: it covers what most people use day to day, with faster, calmer editing. If your work depends on catalogues across many drives, tethered shooting, print layouts or plugins, RAWdemption isn't meant for that, and that's by design.

Is it finished?

No, and in a sense it never will be. RAWdemption is in public beta and improves with every release. If something breaks or looks wrong, Help › Report a Problem sends me the details. I read every report.

RAWdemption icon

Install RAWdemption

Version 0.9.22 beta · 2.7 MB download, 6.8 MB installed · Apple silicon · macOS 13 or later · 16 GB memory recommended · RAW, JPEG and HEIC

The quickest way. Open Terminal (press ⌘ Space and type Terminal), paste this line and press Return:

curl -fsSL https://rawdemption.com/install.sh | bash

It downloads RAWdemption, checks that it arrived complete and intact, and puts it in Applications. That's all: it never asks for your password and leaves nothing behind but the app. Read the script first if you like; it's short.

Why not a plain download button? I make RAWdemption on my own and give it away. macOS only opens a browser-downloaded app straight away if Apple has notarised it, which needs a paid yearly developer membership, so for now it blocks RAWdemption and calls it “damaged”. Nothing is wrong with the file.

Each way above does what you would do by hand: put the app in Applications and tell macOS you chose to open it. After that, every update is signed with RAWdemption's own key, and the app checks that signature before installing anything.

Support on Patreon

This is the editor I use every day. It's still in beta, and there are cameras and Macs I haven't tested. If something breaks or looks wrong, Help › Report a Problem opens an email with the app and system details filled in.