photo6 is a desktop photo editor built for photographers who want professional tools without a monthly subscription. A single ~70 MB native app that covers the full workflow: from RAW file to social media post. Your photos never leave your computer.
Features
Philosophy
The premise is simple: all image processing should be fast, local, and free of recurring costs. The entire pipeline — RAW decoding, 14 develop adjustments, LUT filters, AI upscaling, photo analysis, and export — runs in Rust with parallel computation via rayon. Every pixel is processed in linear RGB f32, with sRGB conversion only at I/O boundaries. The result: 12 MP preview in 133ms, filter application in 10ms, JPEG encoding in 44ms.
How it works
The app is organized into five modes. Develop provides granular control over exposure, white balance, contrast, tone curve (cubic spline), vibrance, sharpness, and more — with a real-time histogram and before/after comparison. Upscale uses RealESRGAN via ONNX Runtime to double the resolution with GPU acceleration. Filters applies 8 cinematic 3D LUTs with an intensity slider. Coach analyzes the photo across 7 categories using pure Rust computer vision, with an option for detailed AI feedback via OpenAI, Anthropic, or Google APIs. Share exports to 12 presets across 8 platforms with smart crop and clipboard copy.
Stack
The UI is SvelteKit 2 with Svelte 5 runes for state management, packaged as a desktop app via Tauri 2. The backend is entirely Rust — no Python dependencies, no external runtime beyond ONNX. The final app is ~70 MB, launches in under 2 seconds, and processes everything locally with no telemetry or internet connection (except the optional AI feedback, which uses the user's own API key).