Skip to content

RapidRAW 1.6.9 – Modern RAW Image Editor

RapidRAW is a powerful, non-destructive, GPU-accelerated RAW image editor built for photographers who demand both speed and precision. Developed with a modern stack including Rust and Tauri, this lightweight application delivers real-time editing performance, making it a highly responsive alternative to traditional professional workflows.

Whether you are performing complex color grading with tone curves or utilizing AI-powered subject detection for masking, RapidRAW provides a comprehensive suite of tools. With support for 32-bit precision and a wide array of RAW formats, it ensures your creative vision is realized without compromise.

Quick Start & Pro Tips

Optimizing GPU Performance

  1. Navigate to the Settings menu.
  2. Select the Performance tab.
  3. Ensure Hardware Acceleration is toggled to On.
  4. Restart the application to apply changes.

Explanation: Enabling hardware acceleration is critical for maintaining the real-time responsiveness of the editing tools, especially when working with high-resolution 32-bit RAW files.

Setting Up Custom Adjustment Panels

  1. Open the Adjustment panel sidebar.
  2. Click the Edit Layout icon.
  3. Drag and drop tools to reorder them based on your workflow.
  4. Collapse unused panels to save screen real estate.

Explanation: Customizing your panel layout allows you to prioritize the tools you use most frequently, significantly speeding up your editing workflow and reducing menu navigation time.

Key Features

  • GPU-Accelerated Editing: Experience fluid, real-time adjustments across all editing tools, including exposure, contrast, and noise reduction. By offloading processing to the GPU, the software ensures that every slider movement is reflected instantly, providing a seamless and highly responsive editing environment for high-resolution RAW files.
  • Advanced Masking Tools: Achieve surgical precision with intuitive masking options, including brush, linear, and radial gradients. The software also integrates AI-powered subject and foreground detection, allowing you to isolate specific elements of your image quickly and effectively for targeted adjustments without complex manual selection processes.
  • Generative Edit Layers: Leverage the power of generative AI through ComfyUI integration to perform advanced object removal and creative edits. This feature allows for sophisticated image manipulation while maintaining a non-destructive workflow, ensuring your original RAW data remains untouched throughout the entire editing process.
  • Comprehensive Library Management: Organize your photography workflow with built-in library management tools. RapidRAW supports folder navigation, image ratings, metadata editing, and a detailed EXIF viewer. These features help you cull, sort, and manage large shoots efficiently, keeping your workspace clean and your projects well-structured.
  • Professional Export Presets: Streamline your delivery process with customizable export presets for JPEG, PNG, and TIFF formats. The software supports embedded sRGB ICC profiles and allows for the addition of borders and aspect-ratio padding, ensuring your final output meets professional standards for web or print distribution.

Changelog in Recent Version

  • Added a dedicated Black & White mode with film responses, color filters, channel mixing, and toning options.
  • Introduced Motion Blur with Linear, Zoom, Spin, and Smooth effects, mask controls, and depth-aware blur.
  • Added Speed Edit to adjust photo sliders directly using keyboard shortcuts.
  • Rebuilt Clone, Heal, Liquify, and Retouch tools alongside the new Match Brush for texture/color-based masking.
  • Added a second editing window with independent zoom and pan controls for multi-monitor setups.
  • Integrated external editor support to open original RAW files or edited 16-bit TIFFs in other apps.
  • Reworked lens corrections to match Lensfun and moved more tasks (Relight, Fog, Lens Blur) to the GPU.
  • Fixed green color tint affecting Olympus and OM System ORF files present in version 1.6.9.

Changes in 1.6.5 (2026-10-08)

  • Added Kelvin White Balance with area-sampling eyedropper.
  • Implemented Edge-Aware Guided Filter for cleaner adjustments.
  • Reworked Whites slider for better texture preservation.
  • Added Pick & Reject flags for faster culling.
  • Added Apple RAW 9 support for macOS.
  • Introduced RapidRAW Cloud for optional generative removal.
  • Added AI-Free mode to disable neural tools.
  • Full Dutch language localization.

Software Specifications

Software NameRapidRAW
Version1.6.9
LicenseOpen Source
File Size20.0 MB
OS SupportWindows
LanguageEnglish, Ukrainian, Lithuanian
DeveloperCyberTimon
Homepagehttps://github.com/CyberTimon/RapidRAW
Changelogurlhttps://github.com/CyberTimon/RapidRAW/releases
Last UpdatedNovember 10, 2026

Setup Instructions

Installation Steps

  1. Download the appropriate installer for your system architecture from the official GitHub releases page.
  2. Run the downloaded executable file to launch the installation wizard.
  3. Follow the on-screen prompts to select your installation directory and complete the setup process.

Compatibility: Requires a GPU capable of handling hardware-accelerated image processing.

Common Questions

Is RapidRAW free to use?

Yes, RapidRAW is an open-source application, meaning it is free to download and use for your photo editing projects.

Does RapidRAW support non-destructive editing?

Yes, the software is designed specifically for non-destructive editing, ensuring that your original RAW files remain unchanged while your edits are saved in sidecar files.


Discover more from Softwares Wave

Subscribe to get the latest posts sent to your email.

Leave a Reply

This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.