darktable can be customized and extended using the Lua programming language. The lua-scripts repository contains the collected efforts of the darktable developers, maintainers, contributors and community. The following sections list the scripts contained in the repository, whether they can be run by themselves (Standalone - Yes) or depend on other scripts (Standalone - No), what operating systems they are known to work on (L - Linux, M - MacOS, W - Windows), and their purpose.

🔗Official Scripts

These scripts are written primarily by the darktable developers and maintained by the authors and/or repository maintainers. They are located in the official/ directory.

Name Standalone Op/Sys Purpose
check_for_updates Yes LMW Check for updates to darktable
copy_paste_metadata Yes LMW Copy and paste metadata, tags, ratings, and color labels between images
delete_long_tags Yes LMW Delete all tags longer than a specified length
delete_unused_tags Yes LMW Delete tags that have no associated images
enfuse No L Exposure blend several images (HDR)
generate_image_txt No L Generate txt sidecar files to be overlaid on zoomed images
image_path_in_ui Yes LMW Plugin to display selected image path
import_filter_manager Yes LMW Manager for import filters
import_filters No LMW Two import filters for use with import_filter_manager
save_selection Yes LMW Provide save and restore from multiple selection buffers
selection_to_pdf No L Generate a PDF file from the selected images

🔗Contributed Scripts

These scripts are contributed by users. They are meant to have an “owner”, i.e. the author, who maintains them. Over time the community has helped maintain these scripts, as well as the authors. They are located in the contrib/ directory.

Name Standalone Op/Sys Purpose
AutoGrouper Yes LMW Group images together by time
autostyle Yes LMW Automatically apply styles on import
clear_GPS Yes LMW Reset GPS information for selected images
CollectHelper Yes LMW Add buttons to selected images module to manipulate the collection
copy_attach_detach_tags Yes LMW Copy and paste tags from/to images
cr2hdr Yes L Process image created with Magic Lantern Dual ISO
enfuseAdvanced No LMW Merge multiple images into Dynamic Range Increase (DRI) or Depth From Focus (DFF) images
exportLUT Yes LMW Create a LUT from a style and export it
ext_editor No LW Export pictures to collection and edit them with up to nine user-defined external editors
face_recognition No LM Identify and tag images using facial recognition
fujifilm_ratings No LM Support importing Fujifilm ratings
geoJSON_export No L Create a geo JSON script with thumbnails for use in …
geoToolbox No LMW A toolbox of geo functions
gimp No LMW Open an image in GIMP for editing and return the result
gpx_export No LMW Export a GPX track file from selected images GPS data
HDRMerge No LMW Combine the selected images into an HDR DNG and return the result
hugin No LMW Combine selected images into a panorama and return the result
image_stack No LMW Combine a stack of images to remove noise or transient objects
image_time Yes LMW Adjust the EXIF image time
kml_export No L Export photos with a KML file for usage in Google Earth
LabelsToTags Yes LMW Apply tags based on color labels and ratings
OpenInExplorer No LMW Open the selected images in the system file manager
passport_guide Yes LMW Add passport cropping guide to darkroom crop tool
pdf_slideshow No LM Export images to a PDF slideshow
photils No LM Automatic tag suggestions for your images
quicktag.md Yes LMW Create shortcuts for quickly applying tags
rate_group Yes LMW Apply or remove a star rating from grouped images
rename-tags Yes LMW Change a tag name
RL_out_sharp No LW Output sharpening using GMic (Richardson-Lucy algorithm)
select_untagged Yes LMW Enable selection of untagged images
slideshowMusic No L Play music during a slideshow
transfer_hierarchy Yes LMW Image move/copy preserving directory hierarchy
video_ffmpeg No LMW Export video from darktable

🔗Example Scripts

These scripts provide examples of how to use specific portions of the API. They run, but are meant for demonstration purposes only. They are located in the examples/ directory.

Name Standalone Op/Sys Purpose
api_version Yes LMW Print the current API version
darkroom_demo Yes LMW Demonstrate changing images in darkoom
gettextExample Yes LM How to use translation
hello_world Yes LMW Prints hello world when darktable starts
lighttable_demo Yes LMW Demonstrate controlling lighttable mode, zoom, sorting and filtering
moduleExample Yes LMW How to create a lighttable module
multi_os No LMW How to create a cross platform script that calls an external executable
panels_demo Yes LMW Demonstrate hiding and showing darktable panels
preferenceExamples Yes LMW How to use preferences in a script
printExamples Yes LMW How to use various print functions from a script
running_os Yes LMW Print out the running operating system


Tool scripts perform functions relating to the repository, such as generating documentation. They are located in the tools/ directory.

Name Standalone Op/Sys Purpose
executable_manager Yes LMW Manage the external executables used by the lua scripts
gen_i18n_mo No LMW Generate compiled translation files (.mo) from source files (.po)
get_lib_manpages No LM Retrieve the library documentation and output it in man page and PDF format
get_libdoc No LMW Retrieve the library documentation and output it as text
script_manager No LMW Manage (install, update, enable, disable) the lua scripts