The release of Darktable 5.6.0 marks a massive leap forward for the open-source RAW developer, introducing a highly anticipated, modern toolkit while keeping its privacy-first core intact. Although I have not been using Darktable as my everyday editing software as much as I used to, I still check in on every new pre-release and release and test out all the features in great detail.
“The Big Change: An Optional, Local AI Subsystem“
The absolute biggest story in Darktable 5.6.0 is the introduction of an optional AI subsystem. Built using ONNX Runtime libraries, this neural network engine brings advanced machine learning directly into your photo editing pipeline. Unlike many proprietary editors that force you into cloud subscriptions or sneaky data-sharing agreements, Darktable handles all machine learning locally. The developers took a refreshing, user-first approach by disabling the AI features by default. If you do not want to use them, no AI models are downloaded, and no system resources are wasted.
Once enabled via the preferences menu, this subsystem unlocks a powerhouse trio of tools: AI Denoise, AI Upscaler, and AI Masking. The AI Masking is particularly game-changing, utilizing advanced vision models like SAM2.1 and SegNext to generate precise, automated object masks. Photographers can now make localized adjustments to complex subjects in seconds rather than spending minutes meticulously drawing vectors. The new neural restore module also provides content-aware restoration capabilities, while the AI Upscaler gives a significant boost to low-resolution or heavily cropped files.
“Performance and High-Resolution Preview Overhauls”
Beyond the flashy neural networks, the developers poured serious work into optimizing performance, which will be immediately noticeable to anyone editing on high-resolution displays. For the longest time, users working on monitors beyond 4K experienced sluggish, jumpy zooming because the software had to render a full-resolution preview and then downscale it on the fly. Version 5.6.0 fixes this by natively rendering and caching higher-resolution 6K and 8K thumbnail and full-screen preview images in the lighttable view.
Furthermore, the darkroom view’s preview resolution has been doubled from 720×450 to 1440×900. This provides a much cleaner, sharper image to look at while editing and significantly improves the data accuracy driving your colour pickers and scopes. Under the hood, OpenCL optimizations make the entire processing pipeline snappier, and the software now utilizes embedded JPEGs to build thumbnail caches much faster than before.
“Smart UI and Workflow Refinements”
The darkroom and lighttable interfaces received several thoughtful quality-of-life upgrades designed to streamline the editing process. A standout addition is the new 2-up scope, which allows you to view the waveform and vectorscope simultaneously. This gives a comprehensive, real-time look at both the lightness and chromaticity of your image without forcing you to switch back and forth.
The colour calibration module has also seen a smart tweak: the calibration box now automatically initializes based on your current bounding box. If you are zoomed into an image, the box remains fully visible on your screen rather than forcing you to zoom out to find the adjustment handles. Additionally, switching between point and area colour pickers on the canvas can now be done instantly with a simple Ctrl+Click shortcut.
For users who juggle multiple images, Darktable 5.6.0 introduces the ability to pin any image from the filmstrip into a second darkroom window using drag-and-drop or keyboard shortcuts. The crop module has also been refined to display the crop aspect ratio alongside the dimensions right in the area preview. Finally, the user interface features a darker slider background to increase contrast against text labels, and a new condensed widget mode can be toggled in the interface preferences for those who prefer a more compact layout.
“Enhanced Export Options”
File format support gets a major boost with the addition of HEIF export. Users can now choose between lossless or lossy compression and utilize 8, 10, or 12-bit colour depths along with all practically supported colour subsampling options. This ensures Darktable users can export highly compressed, high-quality images perfectly suited for modern devices.
Darktable 5.6.0 manages to strike a rare balance in the open-source community. It delivers cutting-edge, automated AI tools that rival commercial giants, yet it completely respects user choice and privacy by keeping those features local and strictly opt-in. Coupled with massive performance upgrades for modern displays, this update cements Darktable as an absolute powerhouse for RAW photo development.
“Conclusion”
If you have been following my blogs long enough you will know how much I genuinely love Darktable. I’ve written time and time again that I have “gone back to Darktable” and for good reason. It is without doubt the best free and open source complete solution to raw editing. With the additional AI features, this has really pushed this software to the forefront, and I will be using Darktable for upcoming shoots to show its power.
You can download Darktable from darktable.org
My name is Mark G Adams and I run Photography By Mark G Adams. I am a professional photographer from South Wales, shooting weddings, events and portraits as well as running meets and workshops. For fun I like to shoot landscapes, wildlife and occasionally do street photography. Enjoy my website as I share my knowledge learned over decades of working and having fun in photography.
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