Install DarkRay

The beta installer is not ready yet. This page will carry the download and install steps when it is. [CHECK: installer name, download location, install steps, first-launch prompts, and how updates arrive]

What DarkRay runs on

System	Support
Windows	The main platform.
Linux	Supported, second to Windows.
macOS	Runs on the processor only, with no graphics acceleration. Use it for occasional work.

The minimum Windows version, processor, memory and free disk space are not settled. [CHECK: minimum system requirements for the beta]

Graphics card

DarkRay uses an NVIDIA graphics card (CUDA) to render edits and run its AI features quickly. Without one it still works, on the processor, and is slower.

To choose, open File › Preferences…, go to Edit, and set GPU compute to Auto, On or Off. Auto, the default, uses the card when it finds one. Changing it needs a restart. Off also stops the AI features from using the card.

The AI features have a Full and a Lite form. Auto picks Full on a card with 8 GB or more of video memory, and Lite on smaller cards and on the processor. You can set this under AI Models in Preferences.

AI model downloads

The AI features use model files that are larger than the program itself. Whether they come with the installer or download the first time you use a feature is not settled. [CHECK: how the beta delivers AI model weights, and the download size]

Content search (see Search) and suggested keywords need one of these models.

Technical details: where DarkRay keeps its files

DarkRay keeps its settings, catalogs and logs in a .darkray folder in your home folder. New catalogs go in .darkray/catalogs unless you change Default catalog location in File › Preferences… › General. Thumbnails and previews sit beside each catalog in a folder with the catalog’s name and a .previews ending. Derived files such as decoded RAW data and AI results go in a cache folder you can move and size under Caches in Preferences.