December 20, 2025
The goal is to place the actions you perform in Lightroom with a button on the corresponding function in Darktable.
Global Actions & change of view
These abbreviations work almost everywhere.
| Action (What you want to do) | Lightroom Shortcut | Proposal for Darktable | Note/Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| To the library/grid view | G (grid) | G | Switches to the light table (DarkTables “Library”). |
| to the development module | d (develop) | d | Switches to the darkroom (DarkTables “develop”). |
| full screen | f (full screen) | f | Switches the full screen mode. |
| Hide sidebars | Tab | Tab | Hides all bars for a distraction-free view. |
| Hide single bar | shift + Tab | shift + Tab | Hide only the side strips. |
| Settings/Preferences | Ctrl + , | Ctrl + , | Opens the settings window. |
Light table (corresponds to Lightroom “Library”)
This is about viewing, evaluating and managing the images.
| Action (What you want to do) | Lightroom Shortcut | Proposal for Darktable | Note/Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Rating & Mark | |||
| Mark the image as a “selection”. | P (pick) | P | Sets a green color marker (as a visual “pick” equivalent). |
| Remove marker | u (UN flag) | u | Removes all color marks. |
| reject picture | x (reject) | x | Mark the image as “Rejected”. |
| Star Rating | 1 – 5 | 1 – 5 | Sets 1 to 5 stars. |
| Remove rating | 0 | 0 | Resets the star rating to zero. |
| Color red marker | 6 | 6 | Sets the red color marker. |
| Color mark yellow | 7 | 7 | Sets the yellow color mark. |
| Color marker green | 8 | 8 | Sets the green color marker. |
| Color mark blue | 9 | 9 | Sets the blue color marker. |
| navigation & View | |||
| Loupe view (single image) | e (loupe) | e | Enables full screen preview. |
| grid view | G (grid) | G | Back to normal light table view. |
| Image Actions | |||
| Group/Stack Images | Ctrl + G | Ctrl + G | Group the selected images. |
| Ungroup | Ctrl + shift + G | Ctrl + shift + G | Repeal the group. |
| Copy settings | Ctrl + c | Ctrl + c | Copies the gradient stack. |
| Insert settings | Ctrl + v | Ctrl + v | Inserts the copied history stack. |
Darkroom (corresponds to Lightroom “Development”)
This is where the actual image processing takes place.
| Action (What you want to do) | Lightroom Shortcut | Proposal for Darktable | Note/Explanation |
|---|---|---|---|
| view & Comparison | |||
| Before/After View | \ (backslash) | \ | Takes a snapshot. Pressing again shows the comparison. |
| Trimmed Overlay | o | o | Switches through the cropping guides (third-time rule, etc.). |
| Prune lights (warning) | J | J | Activates over/underexposure warning. |
| Activate tools/modules | |||
| Crop/Cut | r (Crsurgery) | r | Opens and activates the “Crop” module. |
| Area Repair/Retouch | q | q | Opens the “Retouch” module. |
| White Balance Pipette | w (white balance) | w | Activates the pipette in the “White Balance” module. |
| Adjust exposure | e | e | Focuses the Exposure module. |
| Processing | |||
| Reset all settings | Ctrl + shift + r | Ctrl + r | Resets the entire history stack. |
| Declining | Ctrl + z | Ctrl + z | Undo the last step. |
| Repeat | Ctrl + y | Ctrl + y | Restores the last step. |
Important differences to consider:
- Tool vs. module logic: In Lightroom you select a tool (e.g. gradient filter with
m) and apply it. In Darktable you activate a Module (e.g. “Exposure”) and create within this module a drawn mask (hide, circle, etc.). Therefore you can keys likemnot transferred 1:1. The above list is therefore focused on the fast Opening the corresponding modules. - “Pick” flag: Darktable doesn’t have a direct “pick” flag like Lightroom. The use of a green color marker (
P) is a very common and good workaround.
