darktablerc

this files gives an overview over the default settings of the darktable configuration found in ~/.config/darktable/darktablerc. you might find some extra values in that configuration file that get generated by the code at runtime, this overview only has the default values that are specified during compile time. some details (like allowed range and factors when shown in the preferences dialog) are not shown here to not clutter the list too much. please have a look at the corresponding source file for up-to-date information.


key
type
default
description
accel/prefer_enabled bool false prefer enabled instances
after applying the above rule, if instances of the module are active, ignore inactive instances
accel/prefer_expanded bool false prefer expanded instances
if instances of the module are expanded, ignore collapsed instances
accel/prefer_unmasked bool false prefer unmasked instances
after applying the above rules, if instances of the module are unmasked, ignore masked instances
accel/select_order enum
  • first instance
  • last instance
 last instance selection order
after applying the above rules, apply the shortcut based on its position in the pixelpipe
accel/slider_precision int 0 keyboard shortcut slider precision
allow_lab_output bool false allow XYZ and Lab color spaces as output
this is mainly useful for debugging and to create colorchecker lut styles externally.
ask_before_copy bool true ask before copying images to new film roll folder
always ask the user before any image file is copied.
ask_before_delete bool true ask before deleting images from disk
always ask the user before any image file is deleted
ask_before_discard bool true ask before discarding history stack
always ask the user before history stack is discarded on any image
ask_before_move bool true ask before moving images from film roll folder
always ask the user before any image file is moved.
ask_before_remove bool true ask before removing images from the library
always ask the user before any image is removed from the library
ask_before_rmdir bool false ask before removing empty folders
always ask the user before removing any empty folder. this can happen after moving or deleting images.
bauhaus/scale float 1.4 widget scale
scaling factor for bauhaus widgets, will affect font size
brush_smoothing enum
  • low
  • medium
  • high
 medium smoothing of brush strokes
sets level for smoothing of brush strokes. stronger smoothing leads to less nodes and easier editing but with lower control of accuracy.
cache_color_managed bool true color manage cached thumbnails
if enabled, cached thumbnails will be color managed so that lighttable and filmstrip can show correct colors. otherwise the results may look wrong once the display profile gets changed.
cache_disk_backend bool true enable disk backend for thumbnail cache
if enabled, write thumbnails to disk (.cache/darktable/) when evicted from the memory cache. note that this can take a lot of memory (several gigabytes for 20k images) and will never delete cached thumbnails again. it's safe though to delete these manually, if you want. light table performance will be increased greatly when browsing a lot. to generate all thumbnails of your entire collection offline, run 'darktable-generate-cache'.
cache_disk_backend_full bool false enable disk backend for full preview cache
if enabled, write full preview to disk (.cache/darktable/) when evicted from the memory cache. note that this can take a lot of memory (several gigabytes for 20k images) and will never delete cached thumbnails again. it's safe though to delete these manually, if you want. light table performance will be increased greatly when zooming image in full preview mode.
cache_memory int64 (1024 * 1024 * 512) memory in megabytes to use for thumbnail cache
this controls how much memory is going to be used for thumbnails and other buffers (needs a restart).
channel_display enum
  • false color
  • gray scale
 false color display of individual color channels
defines how color channels are displayed when activated in the parametric masks feature.
codepaths/openmp_simd bool false enable usage of OpenMP SIMD codepaths. if enabled, and such codepath exists, it will have the highest priority
codepaths/sse2 bool true enable usage of SSE2-optimized codepaths
compress_xmp_tags enum
  • never
  • always
  • only large entries
 only large entries store xmp tags in compressed format
entries in xmp tags can get rather large and may exceed the available space to store the history stack in output files. this option allows xmp tags to be compressed and save space.
context_help/dev_url string https://darktable-org.github.io/dtdocs/
context_help/url string https://darktable.org/usermanual/
context_help/use_default_url boolean true
darkroom/ui/activate_expand bool false expand the module when it is activated, and collapse it when disabled
this option allows to expand or collapse automatically the module when it is enabled or disabled.
darkroom/ui/hide_header_buttons enum
  • always
  • active
  • dim
  • auto
  • fade
  • fit
  • smooth
  • glide
 always show right-side buttons in processing module headers
when the mouse is not over a module, the multi-instance, reset and preset buttons can be hidden:\nalways - always show all buttons,\nactive - only show the buttons when the mouse is over the module,\ndim - buttons are dimmed when mouse is away,\nauto - hide the buttons when the panel is narrow,\nfade - fade out all buttons when panel narrows,\nfit - hide all the buttons if the module name doesn't fit,\nsmooth - fade out all buttons in one header simultaneously,\nglide - gradually hide individual buttons as needed
darkroom/ui/loading_screen bool true show loading screen between images
show gray loading screen when navigating between images in the darkroom\ndisable to just show a toast message
darkroom/ui/overexposed/colorscheme int 1
darkroom/ui/overexposed/lower float -12.69
darkroom/ui/overexposed/upper float 99.99
darkroom/ui/rawoverexposed/colorscheme int 0
darkroom/ui/rawoverexposed/mode int 0
darkroom/ui/rawoverexposed/threshold float 1.0
darkroom/ui/scale_precise_step_multiplier float 0.1 the multiplier that is applied to any slider precise value change
any slider value change will be multiplied by this number, when changing slider while holding CTRL modifier
darkroom/ui/scale_rough_step_multiplier float 10.0 the multiplier that is applied to any slider rough value change
any slider value change will be multiplied by this number, when changing slider while holding SHIFT modifier
darkroom/ui/scale_step_multiplier float 1.0 the multiplier that is applied to any slider value change
any slider value change will be multiplied by this number, when changing slider while NOT holding SHIFT or CTRL modifiers
darkroom/ui/scroll_to_module bool true scroll to processing modules when expanded/collapsed
when this option is enabled then darktable will try to scroll the module to the top of the visible list
darkroom/ui/scrollbars bool false show scrollbars for central view
defines whether scrollbars should be displayed
darkroom/ui/show_mask_indicator bool true show mask indicator in module headers
if enabled, an icon will be shown in the header of any processing modules that have a mask applied
darkroom/ui/sidebar_scroll_default bool false mouse wheel scrolls modules side panel by default
when enabled, use mouse wheel to scroll modules side panel. use ctrl+alt to use mouse wheel for data entry. when disabled, this behavior is reversed
darkroom/ui/single_module bool true expand a single processing module at a time
this option toggles the behavior of shift clicking in darkroom mode
darkroom/ui/single_module_group_only bool true only collapse modules in current group
if only expanding a single module at a time, only collapse other modules in the current group - ignore modules in other groups
database string library.db database location
filename relative to ~/.config/darktable or starting with a slash (needs a restart).
database/create_snapshot enum
  • never
  • once a month
  • once a week
  • once a day
  • on close
 once a week create database snapshot
database snapshots are created right before closing darktable. options allow you to choose how often to make snapshots:\nnever - simply don't do snapshots. that way the only snapshots done are mandatory version-upgrade snapshots\nonce a month - create snapshot if a month has passed since last snapshot\nonce a week - create snapshot if 7 days had passed since last snapshot\nonce a day - create snapshot if over 24h passed since last snapshot\non close - create snapshot every time darktable is closed
database/keep_snapshots int 10 how many snapshots to keep
after successfully creating snapshot, how many older snapshots to keep (excluding mandatory version update ones). enter -1 to keep all snapshots\nkeep in mind that snapshots do take some space and you only need the most recent one for successful restore
database/maintenance_check enum
  • never
  • on startup
  • on close
  • on both
  • on startup (don't ask)
  • on close (don't ask)
  • on both (don't ask)
 on close check for database maintenance
this option indicates when to check database fragmentation and perform maintenance
database/maintenance_freepage_ratio int 25 database fragmentation ratio threshold
fragmentation ratio above which to ask or carry out automatically database maintenance
database_cache_quality int 89 JPEG quality of on-disk thumbnails
affects only the thumbnail cache used for quick startup.
host_memory_limit int 1500 host memory limit (in MB) for tiling
this variable controls the maximum amount of memory (in MB) a module may use during image processing. lower values will force memory hungry modules to process image with increasing number of tiles. setting this to 0 will omit any limit. values below 500 will be treated as 500 (needs a restart).
lighttable/ui/expose_statuses bool false always show thumbnail overlays
show overlays (rating stars, 'edited' mark, etc) for all thumbnails in file manager, not only hovered one
lighttable/ui/preview/bottom_visible bool true show bottom panel in preview mode
lighttable/ui/preview/header_visible bool false show header panel in preview mode
lighttable/ui/preview/left_visible bool false show left panel in preview mode
lighttable/ui/preview/panel_collaps_state int 1 panels collapsing state in preview mode
lighttable/ui/preview/panels_collapse_controls bool false show borders arrows in preview mode
lighttable/ui/preview/right_visible bool false show right panel in preview mode
lighttable/ui/preview/toolbar_bottom_visible bool false show toolbar bottom panel in preview mode
lighttable/ui/preview/toolbar_top_visible bool false show toolbar top panel in preview mode
lighttable/ui/scroll_to_module bool false scroll to utility modules when expanded/collapsed
when this option is enabled then darktable will try to scroll the module to the top of the visible list
lighttable/ui/scrollbars bool true show scrollbars for central view
defines whether scrollbars should be displayed
lighttable/ui/single_module bool false expand a single utility module at a time
this option toggles the behavior of shift clicking in lighttable mode
max_panel_height int 400 maximum width of the side panels in pixels
(needs a restart)
max_panel_width int 500 maximum width of the side panels in pixels
(needs a restart)
maximum_number_tiles int 10000 assumed maximum sane number of tiles
if during tiling this number is exceeded darktable assumes that tiling is not possible and falls back to untiled processing - with all system memory limits taking full effect. in case you want to process huge images you may want to increase this number.
metadata/resolution int 300 DPI value for exported files
min_panel_height int 64 minimum width of the side panels in pixels
(needs a restart)
min_panel_width int 150 minimum width of the side panels in pixels
(needs a restart)
modules/default_presets_first bool true sort built-in presets first
whether to show built-in presets first before user's presets in presets menu.
omit_tag_hierarchy bool false omit hierarchy in simple tag lists
when creating XMP file the hierarchical tags are also added as a simple list of non-hierarchical ones to make them visible to some other programs. when this option is checked darktable will only include their last part and ignore the rest. so 'foo|bar|baz' will only add 'baz'.
opencl bool true activate OpenCL support
if found, use OpenCL runtime on your system for improved processing speed. can be switched on and off at any time.
opencl_async_pixelpipe bool false run OpenCL pixelpipe asynchronously
if set to TRUE OpenCL pixelpipe will not be synchronized on a per-module basis. this can improve pixelpipe latency. however, potential OpenCL errors would be detected late; in such a case the complete pixelpipe needs to be reprocessed instead of only a single module. export pixelpipe will always be run synchronously.
opencl_avoid_atomics bool false do not run OpenCL kernels which require atomic operations
if set to TRUE darktable will not use OpenCL kernels which contain atomic operations (example bilateral). pixelpipe processing will be done on CPU for the affected modules. useful if your OpenCL implementation freezes/crashes on atomics or if they are processed with a bad performance.
opencl_checksum string checksum representing the setup of opencl devices on this computer
darktable re-checks the performance benchmarks of your system in case your setup has changed, which is indicated by a change versus the stored checksum in this config variable; darktable de-activates opencl if the GPU benchmark lies below the one of the CPU; initial value is the empty string; set to OFF if you want to deactivate any automatic checks and prefer to do all configurations manually.
opencl_device_priority string */!0,*/*/*/!0,* priority of OpenCL devices for each pixelpipe type
defines priorities on how (multiple) OpenCL devices are allocated to the different types of pixelpipe (full, preview, export, thumbnail, preview2). for more details visit our usermanual (needs a restart).
opencl_disable_drivers_blacklist bool false whether to allow some partial opencl implementations to be used or not
not all opencl implementations are fully-functional, there are at least two, which are not production-quality yet: pocl and beignet; therefore at this point in time, it is better to explicitly blacklist them by default. can be changed by setting this configuration option to TRUE (needs a restart).
opencl_library string system library with OpenCL runtime
OpenCL runtime library is normally detected automatically by darktable. if your OpenCL runtime is at an unusual place and cannot be detected, enter the full pathname here. leave empty for default behavior.
opencl_mandatory_timeout int 200 timeout period for locking mandatory opencl device
time period (in units of 5ms) after which we give up try-locking an opencl device for mandatory use. defaults to 200.
opencl_memory_headroom int 400 amount of OpenCL memory (in MB) which we assume as being reserved for the driver
this amount of memory (in MB) will be subtracted from total GPU memory in order to calculate the available OpenCL memory. too low values will lead to out-of-memory situations in OpenCL processing. too high values will lead to unnecessary tiling (needs a restart).
opencl_memory_requirement int 768 minimum amount of GPU memory (MB) required to activate OpenCL
OpenCL will only be activated if your graphics card has at least this amount of memory. reducing the value will allow cards with less GPU memory to be used - but at the risk of lower system stability and occasional crashes. values below 200 will be treated as 200.
opencl_micro_nap int 1000 pause OpenCL processing for this number of microseconds from time to time
for slow GPUs this gives your graphics driver some time to breathe to do needed screen updates. can be left at zero for fast devices.
opencl_number_event_handles int 25 the number of OpenCL event handles darktable can use
a positive non-zero integer defines the number of event handles that darktable may have opened on a device. a value of -1 does not pose any restrictions, bearing the risk of hitting the device's resource limits. a value of zero completely prevents the use of event handles.
opencl_scheduling_profile enum
  • default
  • multiple GPUs
  • very fast GPU
 default OpenCL scheduling profile
defines how preview and full pixelpipe tasks are scheduled on OpenCL enabled systems. default - GPU processes full and CPU processes preview pipe (adaptable by config parameters); multiple GPUs - process both pixelpipes in parallel on two different GPUs; very fast GPU - process both pixelpipes sequentially on the GPU.
opencl_size_roundup int 16 round OpenCL work group sizes to a multiple of
in OpenCL processing round width/height of global work groups to a multiple of this value. reasonable values are powers of 2. this parameter can have high impact on OpenCL performance.
opencl_synch_cache enum
  • true
  • active module
  • false
 active module cache intermediate OpenCL output
active module (default) - cache the input to the currently focused module, which allows for faster response time when making multiple adjustments to that module (though the whole pipeline may need to be reprocessed when another module is changed); true - cache the output after each module, which may improve speed, as the whole pixelpipe won't be reprocessed on every parameter change, though will require more memory transfers from the GPU; false - do not sync the pixelpipe cache from OpenCL, which avoids memory transfers from GPUs fast enough to smoothly reprocess the whole pixelpipe.
opencl_use_cpu_devices bool false whether to make use of CPU OpenCL devices
typically darktable's hand-optimized CPU code is much faster than any OpenCL-on-CPU code; therefore CPUs are excluded from being used as OpenCL devices by default. can be changed by setting this configuration option to TRUE (needs a restart).
opencl_use_pinned_memory bool false whether to use pinned memory transfer during tiling
during tiling huge amounts of memory need to be transferred between host and device. for some OpenCL implementations direct memory transfers give a drastic performance penalty. this can often be avoided by using indirect transfers via pinned memory. other devices have more efficient direct memory transfer implementations. AMD seems to belong to the first group, nvidia to the second.
panel_scrollbars_always_visible bool true always show panels' scrollbars
defines whether the panel scrollbars should be always visible or activated only depending on the content. (need a restart)
performance_configuration_version_completed int 0 version of the last completed performance configuration
what was the last performance configuration which has been completed
pixelpipe_synchronization_timeout int 200 timeout period of pixelpipe synchronization
time period (in units of 5ms) after which synchronization of preview and full pixelpipe is assumed to have failed. set to zero to omit pixelpipe synchronization. defaults to 200.
plugins/capture/camera/live_view_fps int 15 maximum fps of live view update in tethering view
going too fast will result in too many redraws without a real benefit
plugins/capture/mode int 0 capture view mode
plugins/capture/storage/basedirectory string $(PICTURES_FOLDER)/darktable path of storage for captured images
plugins/capture/storage/namepattern string $(YEAR)$(MONTH)$(DAY)_$(SEQUENCE).$(FILE_EXTENSION) rename pattern for captured images
plugins/capture/storage/subpath string $(YEAR)$(MONTH)$(DAY)_$(JOBCODE) subpath pattern in storage for captured images
plugins/collect/descending bool true sort collection descending
sort the following collections in descending order: 'film roll' by folder, 'folder', 'times' (e.g. 'date taken')
plugins/collect/filmroll_sort enum
  • id
  • folder
 id sort film rolls by
sets the collections-list order for film rolls
plugins/collection/descending bool false
plugins/collection/film_id int 1
plugins/collection/filter_flags int 3
plugins/collection/query_flags int 3
plugins/collection/rating int 1
plugins/collection/rating_comparator int 3
plugins/collection/sort int 0
plugins/darkroom/active string
plugins/darkroom/ashift/near_delta float 20.0
plugins/darkroom/atrous/aspect_percent int 56 aspect ratio of contrast equalizer gui in per cent
aspect ratio of contrast equalizer gui in per cent
plugins/darkroom/basecurve/auto_apply_percamera_presets bool false auto-apply per camera basecurve presets
use the per-camera basecurve by default instead of the generic manufacturer one if there is one available (needs a restart).\nthis option is taken into account when the \"auto-apply pixel workflow defaults\" is set to \"display-referred\".\nto prevent auto-apply basecurve presets \"auto-apply pixel workflow defaults\" should be set to \"none\"
plugins/darkroom/basecurve/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/bilat/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/channelmixerrgb/gui_page int 0 last page selected in channel mixer rgb notebook
plugins/darkroom/chromatic-adaptation enum
  • modern
  • legacy
 legacy auto-apply chromatic adaptation defaults
legacy performs a basic chromatic adaptation using only the white balance module\nmodern uses a combination of white balance module and color calibration module, with improved color science for chromatic adaptation.
plugins/darkroom/clipping/guide int 0 last chosen guide style
plugins/darkroom/clipping/ratio_d int 0 last chosen aspect ratio denominator
plugins/darkroom/clipping/ratio_n int 0 last chosen aspect ratio numerator
plugins/darkroom/clipping/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/colorbalance/layout enum
  • list
  • tabs
  • columns
 list colorbalance slider block layout
choose how to organise the slider blocks for lift, gamma and gain:\nlist - all sliders are shown in one long list (with headers),\ntabs - use tabs to switch between the blocks of sliders,\ncolumns - the blocks of sliders are shown next to each other (in narrow columns)
plugins/darkroom/colorbalance/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/colorbalancergb/aspect_percent int 56 aspect ratio of color balance rgb graph in per cent
aspect ratio of color balance rgb graph in per cent
plugins/darkroom/colorin/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/colorpicker/windowheight int 200 height of the color picker list
maximum height the color picker samples list in darkroom will grow to before scrolling
plugins/darkroom/colorzones/aspect_percent int 56 aspect ratio of color zones graph in per cent
aspect ratio of color zones graph in per cent
plugins/darkroom/colorzones/bg_sat_factor float 0.5 saturation factor of the color zones background
higher value means more saturated backgrounds in color zones
plugins/darkroom/crop/expand_margins bool false whether to show margins
this is just for remembering whether to show margins or not and remember it
plugins/darkroom/crop/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/demosaic/fdc_xover_iso int 1600 crossover iso for X-Trans fdc demosaicing
up to, and including, this iso, X-Trans frequency domain chroma demosaicing uses the hybrid mode for determining chroma; for all higher iso values the pure fdc is used.
plugins/darkroom/demosaic/quality enum
  • always bilinear (fast)
  • at most RCD (reasonable)
  • full (possibly slow)
 at most RCD (reasonable) demosaicing for zoomed out darkroom mode
interpolation when not viewing 1:1 in darkroom mode: bilinear is fastest, but not as sharp. middle ground is using RCD + interpolation modes specified on the 'pixel interpolator' option (processing tab), full will use exactly the settings for full-size export. X-Trans sensors use VNG rather than RCD as middle ground.
plugins/darkroom/demosaic/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/denoiseprofile/aspect_percent int 56 aspect ratio of denoise (profiled) wavelets gui in per cent
aspect ratio of denoise (profiled) wavelets gui in per cent
plugins/darkroom/denoiseprofile/show_compute_variance_mode bool false whether to show the compute variance mode in denoiseprofile
adds a mode in denoiseprofile that allows to compute the variance after the generalized anscombe transform is performed
plugins/darkroom/denoiseprofile/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/duplicate/windowheight int 400 height of the duplicates view
maximum height the duplicates view in darkroom will grow to before scrolling
plugins/darkroom/export/visible bool true show the export module in the darkroom view (as well as in lighttable)
plugins/darkroom/exposure/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/filmicrgb/aspect_percent int 56 aspect ratio of filmic rgb graph in per cent
aspect ratio of filmic rgb graph in per cent
plugins/darkroom/flip/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/groups int 2
plugins/darkroom/hazeremoval/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/hide_default_presets bool false hide built-in presets for processing modules
hides built-in presets of processing modules in both presets and favourites menu.
plugins/darkroom/highlights/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/histogram/height int 175 height of the histogram module
height of the histogram module in the darkroom and tethering views
plugins/darkroom/histogram/histogram enum
  • logarithmic
  • linear
 logarithmic
plugins/darkroom/histogram/mode enum
  • histogram
  • waveform
  • vectorscope
 histogram
plugins/darkroom/histogram/show_blue bool true
plugins/darkroom/histogram/show_green bool true
plugins/darkroom/histogram/show_red bool true
plugins/darkroom/histogram/vectorscope enum
  • u*v*
  • AzBz
 u*v*
plugins/darkroom/histogram/vectorscope/angle int 270
Angle in degrees to orient the vectorscope. 0 is the color science proper orientation (see CIE 1976 UCS diagram). 270 is what video editors are used to when using a vectorscope (with red/magenta in 12:00 position).
plugins/darkroom/histogram/vectorscope/scale enum
  • logarithmic
  • linear
 logarithmic
plugins/darkroom/histogram/waveform enum
  • overlaid
  • parade
 overlaid
plugins/darkroom/history/windowheight int 1000 height of the history list
maximum height the history list in darkroom will grow to before scrolling
plugins/darkroom/image_infos_pattern longstring $(EXIF_EXPOSURE) • f/$(EXIF_APERTURE) • $(EXIF_FOCAL_LENGTH) mm • $(EXIF_ISO) ISO pattern for the image information line
see manual for a list of the tags you can use.
plugins/darkroom/image_infos_position enum
  • top left
  • top right
  • top center
  • bottom
  • hidden
 bottom position of the image information line
plugins/darkroom/lens/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/levels/aspect_percent int 56 aspect ratio of levels graph in per cent
aspect ratio of levels graph in per cent
plugins/darkroom/lowlight/aspect_percent int 56 aspect ratio of lowlight graph in per cent
aspect ratio of lowlight graph in per cent
plugins/darkroom/lut3d/def_path dir 3D lut root folder
this folder (and sub-folders) contains Lut files used by lut3d modules. (need a restart).
plugins/darkroom/masks/brush/border float 0.05
plugins/darkroom/masks/brush/density float 1.0
plugins/darkroom/masks/brush/hardness float 0.66
plugins/darkroom/masks/circle/border float 0.05
plugins/darkroom/masks/circle/size float 0.05
plugins/darkroom/masks/ellipse/border float 0.05
plugins/darkroom/masks/ellipse/flags int 0
plugins/darkroom/masks/ellipse/radius_a float 0.05
plugins/darkroom/masks/ellipse/radius_b float 0.03535
plugins/darkroom/masks/ellipse/rotation float 90.0
plugins/darkroom/masks/gradient/compression float 0.5
plugins/darkroom/masks/gradient/rotation float 0.0
plugins/darkroom/masks/gradient/steepness float 0.0
plugins/darkroom/masks/heightview int 300 height of mask manager view window
maximum height the masks view in darkroom will grow to before scrolling
plugins/darkroom/masks/opacity float 1.0
plugins/darkroom/masks/path/border float 0.05
plugins/darkroom/modulegroups_basics_sections_labels bool true show the name of the module of each basic widget
show the name of the module of each basic widget
plugins/darkroom/modulegroups_preset string preset use for defining iop layout
preset use for defining iop layout
plugins/darkroom/rawdenoise/aspect_percent int 56 aspect ratio of raw denoise wavelets gui in per cent
aspect ratio of raw denoise wavelets gui in per cent
plugins/darkroom/rawprepare/allow_editing_crop bool false allow editing raw cropping boundaries
this is mainly useful for debugging and to add new camera support.
plugins/darkroom/retouch/default_algo int 2 default algorithm for the retouch module
plugins/darkroom/rgblevels/aspect_percent int 56 aspect ratio of rgb levels graph in per cent
aspect ratio of rgb levels graph in per cent
plugins/darkroom/rgblevels/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/sharpen/auto_apply bool true auto-apply sharpen
this added sharpen is not recommended on cameras without a low-pass filter. you should disable this option if you use one of those more recent cameras or sharpen your images with other means.
plugins/darkroom/sharpen/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/show_warnings bool true show warning messages
display messages in modules to warn beginner users when non-standard and possibly harmful settings are used in the pipeline.\nthese messages can be false-positive and should be disregarded if you know what you are doing. this option will hide them all the time.
plugins/darkroom/snapshots/windowheight int 200 height of the snapshots list
maximum height the snapshots list in darkroom will grow to before scrolling
plugins/darkroom/spots/brush_border float 0.05
plugins/darkroom/spots/brush_density float 1.0
plugins/darkroom/spots/brush_hardness float 0.66
plugins/darkroom/spots/circle_border float 0.02
plugins/darkroom/spots/circle_size float 0.02
plugins/darkroom/spots/ellipse_border float 0.02
plugins/darkroom/spots/ellipse_flags int 0
plugins/darkroom/spots/ellipse_radius_a float 0.02
plugins/darkroom/spots/ellipse_radius_b float 0.01414
plugins/darkroom/spots/ellipse_rotation float 90.0
plugins/darkroom/spots/path_border float 0.05
plugins/darkroom/tagging/visible bool true show the tagging module in the darkroom view (as well as in lighttable)
plugins/darkroom/temperature/button_bar bool true arange buttons as bar below temp/tint sliders
if enabled, the buttons in white balance module will be arranged below temp/tint sliders, otherwise they'll be shown in a grid to the right of temp/tint sliders
plugins/darkroom/temperature/colored_sliders enum
  • no color
  • illuminant color
  • effect emulation
 no color white balance slider colors
visual indication of temperature adjustments.\nin 'illuminant color' mode slider colors represent the color of the light source,\nin 'effect emulation' slider colors represent the effect the adjustment would have on the scene
plugins/darkroom/temperature/expand_coefficients bool false whether to show coefficients
this is just for remembering whether to show coefficients or not and remember it
plugins/darkroom/temperature/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/toneequal/gui_page int 0 active tab in tone equaliser module
which of simple, advanced or masking tabs will show at startup
plugins/darkroom/toneequal/visible bool true
plugins/darkroom/ui/border_size int 10 border around image in darkroom mode
process the image in darkroom mode with a small border. set to 0 if you don't want any border.
plugins/darkroom/workflow enum
  • scene-referred
  • display-referred
  • none
 scene-referred auto-apply pixel workflow defaults
scene-referred workflow is based on linear modules and will auto-apply filmic and exposure,\ndisplay-referred workflow is based on Lab modules and will auto-apply base curve and the legacy module pipe order.
plugins/imageio/format/avif/bpp enum
  • 8
  • 10
  • 12
 8 AVIF bit depth (bpp)
plugins/imageio/format/avif/color_mode int 0
plugins/imageio/format/avif/compression_type int 0
plugins/imageio/format/avif/quality int 92
plugins/imageio/format/avif/tiling bool true AVIF Tiling
plugins/imageio/format/j2k/quality int 95
plugins/imageio/format/jpeg/quality int 95
plugins/imageio/format/pdf/border string 0 mm
plugins/imageio/format/pdf/compression int 1
plugins/imageio/format/pdf/dpi float 300
plugins/imageio/format/pdf/size string a4
plugins/imageio/format/png/bpp enum
  • 8
  • 16
 8 PNG bit depth (bpp)
plugins/imageio/format/png/compression int 5
plugins/imageio/format/tiff/bpp enum
  • 8
  • 16
  • 32
 8 TIFF bit depth (bpp)
plugins/imageio/format/tiff/compress int 2
plugins/imageio/format/tiff/compresslevel int 6
plugins/imageio/format/webp/comp_type int 0
plugins/imageio/format/webp/hint int 0
plugins/imageio/format/webp/quality int 95
plugins/imageio/format/xcf/bpp enum
  • 8
  • 16
  • 32
 32 XCF bit depth (bpp)
plugins/imageio/storage/disk/file_directory string $(FILE_FOLDER)/darktable_exported/$(FILE_NAME)
plugins/imageio/storage/email/client string client to use, this overrides detection of default client.
plugins/imageio/storage/gallery/file_directory string $(HOME)/darktable_gallery/img_$(SEQUENCE)
plugins/imageio/storage/gallery/title string darktable gallery
plugins/imageio/storage/gphoto/id string 642055548087-n01fgvugnbns7a9jq8jfucjsn5l1t6so.apps.googleusercontent.com google photo client id
plugins/imageio/storage/gphoto/secret string o29QcbsDWS5cauRqdmGdF3sP google photo client secret
plugins/lighttable/audio_player string aplay executable for playing audio files
this external program is used to play audio files some cameras record to keep notes for images
plugins/lighttable/base_layout int 1 lighttable basic layout mode
the layout to return to when exiting culling layout
plugins/lighttable/collect/item0 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/item1 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/item2 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/item3 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/item4 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/item5 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/item6 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/item7 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/item8 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/item9 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/mode0 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/mode1 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/mode2 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/mode3 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/mode4 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/mode5 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/mode6 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/mode7 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/mode8 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/mode9 int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/num_rules int 0
plugins/lighttable/collect/single-click bool false use single-click in the collections module
check this option to use single-click to select items in the collections module. this will allow you to do range selections for date-time and numeric values.
plugins/lighttable/collect/string0 string
plugins/lighttable/collect/string1 string
plugins/lighttable/collect/string2 string
plugins/lighttable/collect/string3 string
plugins/lighttable/collect/string4 string
plugins/lighttable/collect/string5 string
plugins/lighttable/collect/string6 string
plugins/lighttable/collect/string7 string
plugins/lighttable/collect/string8 string
plugins/lighttable/collect/string9 string
plugins/lighttable/collect/windowheight int 500 height of the collect list
maximum height the collect list in lighttable will grow to before scrolling
plugins/lighttable/copy_history/pastemode int 0 append or replace history stack if pasted
0 -- append on top of stack, 1 -- replace it.
plugins/lighttable/culling_last_id int -1 last culling first image id
plugins/lighttable/culling_num_images int 2 images to display in culling layout
plugins/lighttable/culling_zoom_mode int 0 zoom mode in culling layout. 0=fixed ; 1=dynamic
plugins/lighttable/draw_group_borders bool true draw borders around grouped images
draw borders around grouped images when grouping is turned off and the mouse hovers over one of the images of the group
plugins/lighttable/export/ask_before_export_overwrite bool true ask before exporting in overwrite mode
will ask for confirmation before exporting files in overwrite mode
plugins/lighttable/export/dimensions_type int 0 unit of the printing size
unit in which to input the image size.
plugins/lighttable/export/force_lcms2 bool false always use LittleCMS 2 to apply output color profile
this is slower than the default.
plugins/lighttable/export/format_name string jpeg
plugins/lighttable/export/height int 0 height of the exported image
height of the exported image, or 0 if no scaling should be done.
plugins/lighttable/export/high_quality_processing bool false do high quality resampling during export
the image will first be processed in full resolution, and downscaled at the very end. this can result in better quality sometimes, but will always be slower.
plugins/lighttable/export/iccintent int -1 ICC rendering intent
if non-negative, this overrides the per-image output color profile rendering intent on export.
plugins/lighttable/export/iccprofile string ICC profile filename to use for export
this overrides the per-image settings, if icctype not set to -1.
plugins/lighttable/export/icctype int -1 ICC profile type to use for export
this overrides the per-image settings, if not set to -1.
plugins/lighttable/export/pixel_interpolator enum
  • bilinear
  • bicubic
  • lanczos2
  • lanczos3
 lanczos3 pixel interpolator (scaling)
pixel interpolator used for scaling (bilinear, bicubic, lanczos2, lanczos3).
plugins/lighttable/export/pixel_interpolator_warp enum
  • bilinear
  • bicubic
  • lanczos2
 bicubic pixel interpolator (warp)
pixel interpolator used in modules for rotation, lens correction, liquify, cropping and final scaling (bilinear, bicubic, lanczos2).
plugins/lighttable/export/print_dpi int 300 DPI
print resolusion in DPI.
plugins/lighttable/export/storage_name string disk
plugins/lighttable/export/style string
plugins/lighttable/export/width int 0 width of the exported image
width of the exported image, or 0 if no scaling should be done.
plugins/lighttable/extended_pattern longstring $(FILE_NAME).$(FILE_EXTENSION)$(NL)$(EXIF_EXPOSURE) • f/$(EXIF_APERTURE) • $(EXIF_FOCAL_LENGTH)mm • $(EXIF_ISO) ISO $(SIDECAR_TXT) pattern for the thumbnail extended overlay text
see manual to know all the tags you can use.
plugins/lighttable/geotagging/heighttracklist int 50 height of the track list
maximum height the track list will grow to before scrolling
plugins/lighttable/geotagging/tz string UTC camera time zone
most cameras don't store the time zone in EXIF. give the correct time zone so the GPX data can be correctly matched
plugins/lighttable/hide_default_presets bool false hide built-in presets for utility modules
hides built-in presets of utility modules in presets menu.
plugins/lighttable/images_in_row int 5 images per row
plugins/lighttable/layout int 1 lighttable layout mode
select a layout for the lighttable: 0 - zoomable lighttable or 1 - file manager or 2 - culling layout.
plugins/lighttable/metadata/creator_text_height int 1 height of the metadata creator field
maximum height the metadata textview will grow to before scrolling
plugins/lighttable/metadata/description_text_height int 1 height of the metadata description field
maximum height the metadata textview will grow to before scrolling
plugins/lighttable/metadata/notes_text_height int 1 height of the metadata notes field
maximum height the metadata textview will grow to before scrolling
plugins/lighttable/metadata/publisher_text_height int 1 height of the metadata publisher field
maximum height the metadata textview will grow to before scrolling
plugins/lighttable/metadata/rights_text_height int 1 height of the metadata rights field
maximum height the metadata textview will grow to before scrolling
plugins/lighttable/metadata/title_text_height int 1 height of the metadata title field
maximum height the metadata textview will grow to before scrolling
plugins/lighttable/metadata/version name_text_height int 1 height of the metadata version name field
maximum height the metadata textview will grow to before scrolling
plugins/lighttable/metadata_view/pretty_location bool true pretty print the image location
show a more readable representation of the location in the image information module
plugins/lighttable/metadata_view/windowheight int 1000 height of the image information view
maximum height the image information view in lighttable and darkroom will grow to before scrolling
plugins/lighttable/overlay_timeout int 3 timeout for overlay hover block in seconds
plugins/lighttable/overlays/0/0 int 0 overlays for filemanager at size 0 = none
plugins/lighttable/overlays/0/1 int 1 overlays for filemanager at size 1 = on hover
plugins/lighttable/overlays/0/2 int 4 overlays for filemanager at size 2 = always extended
plugins/lighttable/overlays/1/0 int 0 overlays for filmstrip at size 0 = none
plugins/lighttable/overlays/1/1 int 1 overlays for filmstrip at size 1 = on hover
plugins/lighttable/overlays/1/2 int 1 overlays for filmstrip at size 2 = on hover
plugins/lighttable/overlays/2/0 int 0 overlays for zomable lighttable at size 0 = none
plugins/lighttable/overlays/2/1 int 1 overlays for zomable lighttable at size 1 = on hover
plugins/lighttable/overlays/2/2 int 4 overlays for zomable lighttable at size 2 = always extended
plugins/lighttable/overlays/culling/0 int 6 overlays for culling = block
plugins/lighttable/overlays/culling/1 int 6 overlays for full preview = block
plugins/lighttable/preset/ask_before_delete_preset bool true ask before deleting a preset
will ask for confirmation before deleting or overwriting a preset
plugins/lighttable/preview/max_in_memory_images int 4 maximum number of full-res images to load in memory
if more images are display in expose mode, zooming will be deactivated
plugins/lighttable/recentcollect/line0 string
plugins/lighttable/recentcollect/line1 string
plugins/lighttable/recentcollect/line2 string
plugins/lighttable/recentcollect/line3 string
plugins/lighttable/recentcollect/line4 string
plugins/lighttable/recentcollect/line5 string
plugins/lighttable/recentcollect/line6 string
plugins/lighttable/recentcollect/line7 string
plugins/lighttable/recentcollect/line8 string
plugins/lighttable/recentcollect/line9 string
plugins/lighttable/recentcollect/num_items int 0
plugins/lighttable/recentcollect/windowheight int 1000 height of the recent collections list
maximum height the recent collections list in lighttable will grow to before scrolling
plugins/lighttable/style/ask_before_delete_style bool true ask before deleting a style
plugins/lighttable/style/windowheight int 400 height of the styles list
maximum height the styles list in lighttable will grow to before scrolling
plugins/lighttable/tagging/ask_before_delete_tag bool true ask before deleting a tag
plugins/lighttable/tagging/case_sensitivity enum
  • sensitive
  • insensitive
 insensitive tags case sensitivity
tags case sensitivity. without the Sqlite ICU extension, insensivity works only for the 26 latin letters
plugins/lighttable/tagging/dttags bool false whether to show darktable internal tags
plugins/lighttable/tagging/heightattachedwindow int 100 height of the tagging attached view
maximum height the tagging attached view will grow to before scrolling
plugins/lighttable/tagging/heightdictionarywindow int 200 height of the tagging dictionary view
maximum height the tagging dictionary view will grow to before scrolling
plugins/lighttable/tagging/hidehierarchy bool false whether to show/hide the tag hierarchy
plugins/lighttable/tagging/listsortedbycount bool false whether to sort tags by count or by name
plugins/lighttable/tagging/no_entry_completion bool false disable the entry completion
the entry completion is useful for those who enter tags from keyboard only. for others the entry completion can be embarrassing. need to restart darktable.
plugins/lighttable/tagging/no_uncategorized bool false do not set the 'uncategorized' entry for tags
do not set the 'uncategorized' entry for tags which do not have children
plugins/lighttable/tagging/nosuggestion bool false whether display suggestions
plugins/lighttable/tagging/treeview bool false whether display tags in list or tree
plugins/lighttable/thumbnail_hq_min_level enum
  • always
  • small
  • VGA
  • 720p
  • 1080p
  • WQXGA
  • 4K
  • 5K
  • never
 720p high quality processing from size
if the thumbnail size is greater than this value, it will be processed using the full quality rendering path (better but slower).\nif you want all thumbnails and pre-rendered images in best quality you should choose the *always* option.\n(more comments in the manual)
plugins/lighttable/thumbnail_raw_min_level enum
  • always
  • small
  • VGA
  • 720p
  • 1080p
  • WQXGA
  • 4K
  • 5K
  • never
 never use raw file instead of embedded JPEG from size
if the thumbnail size is greater than this value, it will be processed using raw file instead of the embedded preview JPEG (better but slower).\nif you want all thumbnails and pre-rendered images in best quality you should choose the *always* option.\n(more comments in the manual)
plugins/lighttable/thumbnail_sizes string 120|400 delimiters for size categories
size categories are used to be able to set different overlays and css values depending of the size of the thumbnail, separated by |. for example, 120|400 means 3 categories of thumbnails : 0px->120px, 120px->400px and >400px
plugins/lighttable/thumbnail_tooltip_pattern longstring <b>$(FILE_NAME).$(FILE_EXTENSION)</b>$(NL)$(EXIF_DAY)/$(EXIF_MONTH)/$(EXIF_YEAR) $(EXIF_HOUR):$(EXIF_MINUTE):$(EXIF_SECOND)$(NL)$(EXIF_EXPOSURE) • f/$(EXIF_APERTURE) • $(EXIF_FOCAL_LENGTH) mm • $(EXIF_ISO) ISO pattern for the thumbnail tooltip (empty to disable)
see manual to know all the tags you can use.
plugins/lighttable/timeline/last_zoom int 0 last timeline zoom.
plugins/lighttable/tooltips/0/0 bool true tooltips for filemanager at size 0
plugins/lighttable/tooltips/0/1 bool true tooltips for filemanager at size 1
plugins/lighttable/tooltips/0/2 bool false tooltips for filemanager at size 2
plugins/lighttable/tooltips/1/0 bool true tooltips for filmstrip at size 0
plugins/lighttable/tooltips/1/1 bool true tooltips for filmstrip at size 1
plugins/lighttable/tooltips/1/2 bool true tooltips for filmstrip at size 2
plugins/lighttable/tooltips/2/0 bool true tooltips for zomable lighttable at size 0
plugins/lighttable/tooltips/2/1 bool true tooltips for zomable lighttable at size 1
plugins/lighttable/tooltips/2/2 bool false tooltips for zomable lighttable at size 2
plugins/lighttable/tooltips/culling/0 bool false tooltips for culling
plugins/lighttable/tooltips/culling/1 bool false tooltips for full preview
plugins/map/epsilon_factor int 25 group size factor
increase or decrease the spatial size of images groups on the map. can influence the calculation time
plugins/map/filter_images_drawn bool false filtered images
when set limit the images drawn to the current filmstrip
plugins/map/geotagging_search_url string https://nominatim.openstreetmap.org/search/%s?format=xml&limit=%d&polygon_text=1 Geotagging search URL
this can be changed when the default OpenStreetMap search URL is broken
plugins/map/images_thumbnail enum
  • thumbnail
  • count
  • none
 thumbnail thumbnail display
three options are available: images thumbnails, only the count of images of the group or nothing
plugins/map/max_images_drawn int 100 max images
the maximum number of image thumbnails drawn on the map
plugins/map/max_outline_nodes int 10000 max polygon points
limit the number of points imported with polygon in find location module
plugins/map/min_images_per_group int 1 min images per group
the minimum number of images to set up an images group. can influence the calculation time.
plugins/map/show_map_osd bool true show OSD
toggle the visibility of the map overlays
plugins/map/show_outline bool true Whether to highlight the search result on the map
plugins/print/print/black_point_compensation bool true
plugins/pwstorage/pwstorage_backend enum
  • auto
  • none
  • libsecret
  • kwallet
 auto password storage backend to use
the storage backend for password storage: auto, none, libsecret, kwallet
plugins/session/jobcode string capture job name of capture job
pressure_sensitivity enum
  • off
  • hardness (relative)
  • hardness (absolute)
  • opacity (relative)
  • opacity (absolute)
  • brush size (relative)
 off pen pressure control for brush masks
off - pressure reading ignored, hardness/opacity/brush size - pressure reading controls specified attribute, absolute/relative - pressure reading is taken directly as attribute value or multiplied with pre-defined setting.
preview_downsampling enum
  • original
  • to 1/2
  • to 1/3
  • to 1/4
 original reduce resolution of preview image
decrease to speed up preview rendering, may hinder accurate masking
rating_one_double_tap bool false rating an image one star twice will not zero out the rating
defines whether rating an image one star twice will zero out star rating.
run_crawler_on_start bool false look for updated xmp files on startup
check file modification times of all xmp files on startup to check if any got updated in the meantime
screen_dpi_overwrite float -1.0 overwrite the screen's dpi setting
if this value is > 0.0 then it is used as the screen's dpi setting which is used to scale the gui
send_to_trash bool true try to use trash when deleting images
send files to trash instead of permanently deleting files on system that supports it
session/base_directory_pattern string $(PICTURES_FOLDER)/Darktable base directory naming pattern
part of full import path for an import session
session/filename_pattern string $(YEAR)$(MONTH)$(DAY)_$(SEQUENCE).$(FILE_EXTENSION) file naming pattern
file naming pattern used for a import session
session/sub_directory_pattern string $(YEAR)$(MONTH)$(DAY)_$(JOBCODE) sub directory naming pattern
part of full import path for an import session
session/use_filename bool false keep original filename
keep original filename instead of a pattern while importing from camera or card
show_folder_levels int 1 number of folder levels to show in lists
the number of folder levels to show in film roll names, starting from the right
singlebuffer_limit int 16 minimum amount of memory (in MB) for a single buffer in tiling
minimum amount of memory (in MB) that tiling should take for a single image buffer (needs a restart).
slideshow/ui/panel_collaps_state int 1 panels collapsing state in slideshow
slideshow/ui/panels_collapse_controls bool false show borders arrows in slideshow
slideshow_delay int 5 waiting time between each picture in slideshow
storage/piwigo/last_album string
themes/usercss bool false modify theme with user tweaks
ui/detect_mono_exif bool false detect monochrome previews
many monochrome images can be identified via exif and preview data. beware: this slows down imports and reading exif data
ui/performance bool false performance mode for thumbs and previews
ui_last/colorpicker_mean int 0 0: mean, 1: min, 2: max
ui_last/display_profile_source enum
  • all
  • xatom
  • colord
 all method to use for getting the display profile
this option allows to force a specific means of getting the current display profile. this is useful when one alternative gives wrong results
ui_last/expander_histogram int -1
ui_last/expander_history int -1
ui_last/expander_import bool false
ui_last/expander_metadata int 0
ui_last/expander_navigation int -1
ui_last/expander_snapshots int -1
ui_last/fullscreen bool false
ui_last/grouping bool false grouping of images
only show a single image for each set of grouped images in lighttable and filmstrip
ui_last/ignore_exif_rating bool false ignore exif rating
ignore exif rating. if not set and exif rating is found, it overrides 'initial rating'
ui_last/import_apply_metadata bool false apply metadata
apply some metadata to all newly imported images.
ui_last/import_datetime_override string override today's date
enter a valid date/time (YYYY-MM-DD[Thh:mm:ss] format) if you want to override the current date/time used when expanding variables:\n$(YEAR), $(MONTH), $(DAY), $(HOUR), $(MINUTE), $(SECONDS).\nlet the field empty otherwise
ui_last/import_dialog_height int 600
ui_last/import_dialog_paned_places_pos int 150
ui_last/import_dialog_paned_pos int 0
ui_last/import_dialog_show_home bool true
ui_last/import_dialog_show_mounted bool true
ui_last/import_dialog_show_pictures bool true
ui_last/import_dialog_width int 800
ui_last/import_ignore_jpegs bool false ignore JPEG images
when having raw+JPEG images together in one directory it makes no sense to import both. with this flag one can ignore all JPEGs found.
ui_last/import_initial_rating int 1 initial rating
initial star rating for all images when importing a filmroll
ui_last/import_jobcode string no_name import job
name of the import job
ui_last/import_keep_open bool false keep this window open
keep this window open to run several imports
ui_last/import_last_creator string creator to be applied when importing
ui_last/import_last_directory string last opened directory.
ui_last/import_last_folder_descending bool FALSE folders display order in folder pane
ui_last/import_last_publisher string publisher to be applied when importing
ui_last/import_last_rights string rights to be applied when importing
ui_last/import_last_root string last root folder
ui_last/import_last_tags string comma separated tags to be applied when importing
ui_last/import_last_tags_imported bool true import tags from xmp
ui_last/import_recursive bool false recursive directory
recursive directory traversal when importing filmrolls
ui_last/import_select_new bool true select only new pictures
only select images that have not already been imported
ui_last/maximized bool true
ui_last/modulegroups_dialog_height int 700
ui_last/modulegroups_dialog_width int 1100
ui_last/no_april1st bool true do not show april 1st game
ui_last/panel_bottom int 0
ui_last/panel_left int -1
ui_last/panel_right int -1
ui_last/panel_top int 0
ui_last/preferences_dialog_height int 750
ui_last/preferences_dialog_width int 1100
ui_last/session_expander_import bool false
ui_last/view int 0
ui_last/window_h int 500
ui_last/window_w int 900
ui_last/window_x int 0
ui_last/window_y int 0
worker_threads int 2 number of background threads
this controls for example how many threads are used to create thumbnails during import. the cache will grow to a maximum of twice this number of full resolution image buffers (needs a restart).
write_sidecar_files bool true write sidecar file for each image
these redundant files can later be re-imported into a different database, preserving your changes to the image.