Imagine a light table in a darkroom.
On it lies your RAW image – the digital negative. It still looks flat, low in contrast, and colorless. This is your immutable source material.
The Overlays (The Slides)
Each module is like a transparent overlay that you place on top:
- One corrects the exposure
- Another adds contrast
- A third brings color into play
- Some only affect specific areas – through masks that you define yourself
You see the final result through the entire stack. The original negative always remains untouched.
Change, Don’t Destroy
Every overlay can be removed, replaced, or readjusted. You experiment without risking anything.
The Fixed Order
The sequence is predefined: development first, then color, then sharpening. The pixelpipe follows this logic – you cannot simply rearrange them at will.
Advanced Techniques
- Instances: Apply the same module multiple times with different settings.
- Masks: Edit selectively – darken the sky or brighten skin tones without affecting the rest of the image.
- History: Every step is logged. You can jump back to any point in time.
The Recipe
Every image gets its own stack. In the end, you don’t just have an edited image, but a “recipe” – reproducible, adjustable, and repeatable at any time.
This is the core of darktable: Non-destructive editing where the original is never lost.
February 6, 2026