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darktable 5.4.0 is a feature release announced on 21 December 2025, with capture sharpening, an AgX-based tone mapper and multiple workspaces among its main additions. It is no longer the latest version: the project’s latest listed release as of 4 October 2026 is darktable 5.6.1, announced on 27 August 2026. If you are considering 5.4, back up your library and configuration first.
What’s new in darktable 5.4?
The project described 5.4.0 as a feature release. Its official overview highlights three changes for photographers, plus interface and performance work. The announcement noted that release documentation was incomplete at launch, so treat it as an overview; the project’s current manual documents stable 5.6.1.
Capture sharpening in the demosaic module
A new capture-sharpening section in the demosaic module is intended to recover detail softened by in-camera blur, including blur associated with diffraction and anti-aliasing filters. It is an editing control, not a guarantee that every soft image can be restored.
AgX tone mapper
darktable added a tone mapper based on Blender’s AgX display transform. It offers explicit exposure white and black points, an adjustable tone-curve pivot that defaults to 18% mid-gray, contrast controls around that pivot, and separate shadow and highlight contrast controls. The release announcement describes gradual highlight desaturation and natural-looking color in mid-tones and highlights.
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Multiple workspaces
Users can enable a startup dialog to choose the default workspace or create another. Each workspace has its own database and configuration, and an in-memory workspace is also available. Separate workspaces can help keep distinct working environments apart; because they use their own data and settings, do not assume that changes in one workspace automatically appear in another.
Interface and performance changes
The announcement also reports Wayland fixes, interface refinements and fixes, a 5% to 20% speed-up for the Lut3D module, and faster first startup when the library is stored on a hard drive or NAS rather than an SSD. These are project-reported improvements, not independent benchmark results.
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Should you upgrade to darktable 5.4?
5.4 may be worth considering if capture sharpening, the AgX tone mapper or separate workspaces address a need in your workflow. Before upgrading, protect your existing setup: the project says edits are preserved when moving from stable 5.2 to 5.4, but the new library and configuration cannot be reused with 5.2. Pascal Obry, author of the release announcement, cautioned: “You are strongly advised to take a backup first.”
- Back up your library and configuration before installing the new version, as advised in the darktable 5.4.0 announcement.
- Check platform support against the project’s current installation information. The 5.4 announcement says Intel Macs and macOS versions older than 14.0 are no longer supported.
- Plan around rollback limits. Although edits carry forward from 5.2 to 5.4, the upgraded library and configuration cannot be used with 5.2. Keep your backup if you may need to return to the older version.
For macOS, later release notes clarify a version-dependent boundary: macOS older than 14.0 is unsupported on Apple Silicon, and macOS older than 15 is unsupported on Intel Macs. Check the current platform guidance before installing because those requirements may change.
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- [LATEST WIRELESS TECH] - This Dell Tower Computer easily connects to the internet through the included Wi-Fi adapter.
- [SOLID STATE STORAGE] - This Dell Computer setup comes with an ultra-fast 1TB Solid State Drive (SSD); Setup as the primary boot device; Boot and load programs with lightning speed ; Additional expansion available
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How does 5.4 fit into the current darktable releases?
As of 4 October 2026, the project lists 5.6.1 as its latest release. The distinction matters if you are choosing a download: the current stable manual is also for 5.6.1, not 5.4.
| Release | Date | What the project says |
|---|---|---|
| 5.4.0 | 21 December 2025 | Feature release with capture sharpening, AgX tone mapping and multiple workspaces. |
| 5.6.0 | 21 June 2026 | Feature release adding an optional AI subsystem, object masks, neural denoise and upscale features, a color harmonizer and HEIF export. |
| 5.6.1 | 27 August 2026 | Bug-fix release; the project reports fixes involving crashes, memory allocation, OpenCL stability, export colors, masks and other behavior. |
The project’s 5.6.1 release notes also warn that, for AVIF, EXR, JPEG XL and XCF export, selecting only specific metadata fields is not currently possible. No metadata fields are included unless all checkboxes in the export module’s preference options are selected. This is a current-version note, not a 5.4 feature.
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The darktable resources page provides the current stable manual in PDF and EPUB, as well as a getting-started guide, videos and a community forum. Use the manual matching your installed version when looking up controls.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Do you need a color checker to use darktable?
No. A color checker is an optional, specialized aid for color-critical calibration, not a requirement for ordinary RAW editing. darktable’s color calibration documentation lists targets including Datacolor SpyderCheckr Photo and several ColorChecker and SpyderCheckr variants. A chart only helps when photographed under appropriate conditions, and inexpensive off-brand charts may be inaccurate. Consult the stable manual for current workflow guidance before buying a chart.
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What the project reported about the 5.4 development effort
In its 2025 announcement, the darktable project reported 996 commits to darktable plus RawSpeed, 386 pull requests handled and 56 issues closed since darktable 5.2. These are project-reported activity counts, not user totals, benchmarks or independent measures of software quality.
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