RawTherapee — RAW Photo Editing

The RawTherapee Team

RawTherapee is a free, cross-platform raw photo processing program released as free software under the GPLv3; its site lists version 5.13 (26 July 2026) for Linux, Windows and 64-bit macOS. The official pages describe a non-destructive 32-bit floating-point engine, detailed control over demosaicing, pixel-shift compositing, dark frame and flat field correction, and HDR DNG, JPEG, TIFF and PNG files alongside raw files. The README says it is not meant to be an all-in-one tool: asset management, printing and uploading are left to other software. RawPedia, the project's documentation site, could not be opened when this record was written.

Why it fits

RAW Photo Editing

Desktop

Go to rawtherapee.com

Good to know (2)

Requires desktop installation.

Available features may vary by device and access method.

Good to know
Good to know	Desktop
Free output	Yes
No account needed	—
No watermark	—
Works offline	—
Batch processing	—
Content language	—

— Unverified conditions. Official documentation reviewed. The app itself has not been hands-on tested. Matches only documented content-language support, not interface language.

Sources and review date (3)

rawtherapee.com/Oct 27, 2026
rawtherapee.com/downloads/5.13Oct 27, 2026
github.com/RawTherapee/RawTherapee/blob/dev/README.mdOct 27, 2026

Founder feedback and correction

Editorial selection guide

Last checked: Oct 27, 2026

Who is it for?

Photographers who want detailed control over how a raw file is developed: the README says RawTherapee is notable for the advanced control it gives over demosaicing and development, and the site names tools such as pixel-shift compositing, dark frame subtraction and flat field correction.
People who want a free program without a subscription: the home page says it can be used free of charge under the GPLv3 and lists downloads for Linux, Windows and macOS.
People who already have another program for sorting and printing: the README says digital asset management, printing and uploading are left to other software, so RawTherapee fits a develop-only role.
People on Windows or Linux ARM hardware: the download page lists ARM64 builds for both Windows and Linux alongside x86_64 builds.

Getting started

Download the build for your computer from the home page or the 5.13 download page: a Windows installer for x86_64 or ARM64 (the page says to pick the one for your CPU), a macOS zip, or a Linux AppImage. For Linux, the page recommends your distribution's package manager first and the AppImage if 5.13 is not available there.
On a Mac, check the requirement before you install: the page says macOS Tahoe 26.0 or newer on Apple silicon or macOS Monterey 12.0 or newer on Intel, and that RawTherapee must be installed in the Applications folder or it will not start.
Find your raw files in the File Browser (the 5.13 notes say it can show color labels read from XMP data embedded in image files) and open one in the editor. The notes name tools such as Exposure, Capture Sharpening, denoise, lens and geometry corrections and crop guides; the tool-by-tool steps are in RawPedia, which could not be opened for this record.
Note the default working profile: 5.13 changed it from ProPhoto to Rec2020 (ProPhoto remains available), and the page warns that Exposure, Channel Mixer, HSV Equalizer, Soft Light, RGB Curves and Color Toning may behave differently, so old edits may not look identical.
Send finished images to the Queue and set the output. The notes mention an Output Location template in the Queue where the new %e specifier expands to the output file extension. Open an exported file in another viewer to check it.

Decision points

Developer or whole library: the README says RawTherapee leaves digital asset management, printing and uploading to other software. darktable's pages describe a program with an import library, ratings and a lighttable; if you want sorting and developing in one place, compare darktable as well.
Camera profiles: darktable's FAQ says darktable supports only ICC camera profiles, not DCP, and suggests RawTherapee or ART to people who need DCP. The RawTherapee pages read do not discuss DCP, so confirm it in RawPedia or on the forum before relying on it.
Operating system: the macOS build needs macOS Tahoe 26.0 or newer on Apple silicon and macOS Monterey 12.0 or newer on Intel, while the pages state no Windows or Linux minimum. ARM64 builds exist for Windows and Linux.
Raw decoding: version 5.13 reads raw files with LibRaw and falls back to the enhanced dcraw when LibRaw cannot. LibRaw can be disabled in Preferences and will become mandatory in a future version, and the notes ask users to report raw files that LibRaw handles worse.
Price: the home page says free of charge under the GPLv3, with source code available for modification; no paid plan is mentioned.

Limits

RawPedia, the documentation the project points to for features, batch processing and tool steps, returned a not-found error and an empty directory listing when this record was written, so those details are not covered. The pages read only mention the Queue through a new output-location specifier, and say nothing about a batch feature.
No camera list is given on the home page. The 5.13 notes list added camera support, such as Canon EOS R6 Mark III and Nikon Z50_2, and state that the list is not exhaustive, so check your model and the forum before relying on support.
Notes on the 5.13 page: LibRaw may handle some raw files less adequately than the enhanced dcraw (the page asks for bug reports when that happens). Its package-maintainer section says GTK+ 3.24.3 to 3.24.6 hide combobox scroll arrows, so lists such as Processing Profiles, Film Simulation and camera and lens profiles cannot be scrolled when they do not fit on screen.
The pages read do not describe AI-based tools, and say nothing about where edit settings are stored, so sidecar behavior is not documented here.
This record reads official pages and does not test RawTherapee. The README says knowledge of color science is not compulsory but asks users to be eager to learn and ready to read the documentation (RawPedia), which returned a not-found error when this record was written.

Frequently asked questions

Is RawTherapee free?

Yes, according to the official site: the home page calls it a free, cross-platform program released as Free Software under the GPLv3 and says you can use it free of charge, wherever and however you like, as long as you follow the copyleft license. Source code is available for download and modification.

Which systems does RawTherapee run on?

The 5.13 page lists Windows installers for x86_64 and ARM64, a macOS build (macOS Tahoe 26.0 or newer on Apple silicon, macOS Monterey 12.0 or newer on Intel, installed in the Applications folder) and Linux AppImages for x86_64 and ARM64. No minimum Windows or Linux version is stated.

Does RawTherapee support my camera?

The home page says it is designed for raw files from a broad range of digital cameras but lists no models. The 5.13 notes list added camera support and say the list is not exhaustive, and the README says it reads raw files with a patched dcraw plus an in-house solution for some cameras; 5.13 uses LibRaw with dcraw as fallback. Check your exact model on the forum or in RawPedia.

RawTherapee or darktable: what do the official pages say?

Both are GPL-licensed raw developers. RawTherapee's README says it leaves asset management, printing and uploading to other software; darktable's pages describe a lighttable library with import and ratings, and its FAQ says it supports ICC but not DCP camera profiles and points DCP users to RawTherapee or ART. RawTherapee lists Linux, Windows and 64-bit macOS; darktable lists Linux, Windows and Apple silicon macOS with no official Intel Mac build. Which gives better results on your files is not something these pages answer.

Can RawTherapee process many photos at once?

The pages read do not document a batch feature by name. The 5.13 notes mention a Queue with an Output Location template, and the macOS install instructions mention an optional rawtherapee-cli command line interface, but RawPedia could not be opened to confirm how the queue or the command line tool works, so check there before planning a large job.

Does RawTherapee change my original raw files?

The home page describes a non-destructive, 32-bit floating-point processing engine. The pages read do not say where edit settings are saved or whether the original file is ever written to, so confirm the sidecar behavior in RawPedia and keep a backup of your originals.

Official sources (8)

rawtherapee.com/rawtherapee.com/downloads/rawtherapee.com/downloads/5.13/rawtherapee.com/2026/07/rawtherapee-5.13-released/github.com/RawTherapee/RawTherapee/blob/dev/README.mdgithub.com/Beep6581/RawTherapeewww.darktable.org/www.darktable.org/about/faq/

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