Early preview

Photo editing
at the speed of thought

Vim-inspired keyboard controls for every adjustment. Navigate sliders, copy-paste edits across batches, export — all without touching the mouse.

Download See how it works
Darkslide editor — keyboard-driven photo adjustments with histogram, curve editor, and filmstrip

Features

Built for photographers who value quality and speed

vi

Keyboard-first controls

Navigate sliders with jk, adjust with hl. Coarse ±10 with HL. Count prefixes work — 5l adds 5. Clear one slider with x, reset all with X. Rotate with R.

yn

Yank & paste edits

Press y to yank all adjustments. Select images in the filmstrip with HL, then p to paste across the batch. Edit hundreds of photos in one session.

e

Bulk export

Select images, press e. Pick a folder once — files export with a live progress bar while fully preserving original EXIF metadata. No dialogs, no waiting.

~

Tone curves

Full curve editor, entirely keyboard-driven. Enter from the Curve row with Space. Add points with a, move with hjkl, switch points with HL, delete with d, reset to linear with 0. Exit with Esc.

18

Non-destructive pipeline

A professional engine featuring 18 adjustment sliders—from exposure and temperature to fine grain control. All edits are calculated in a native pipeline, ensuring your originals remain untouched.

fn

Live histograms

High-precision RGB and luminance histograms update with zero latency as you adjust. Always visible — no panels to open. Press ? at any time to open the full keyboard shortcut reference.

Workflow

Your hands never leave the keyboard

Driven by a modal system, Darkslide lets you switch focus between the adjustment sidebar, the filmstrip, and the curve editor to maintain high-velocity flow without ever touching your mouse.

o

Open images

Press o to add files, O to replace the current set. Thumbnails appear in the filmstrip. Works with JPEG, PNG, WebP, TIFF and other common formats.

j k

Navigate sliders

Move between adjustments grouped by Light, Color, H&S, and Detail. The focused slider highlights in the sidebar. Scroll follows automatically.

h l

Adjust values

h/l for fine ±1, H/L for coarse ±10. Prefix with a number: 5l adds 5. Press x to clear one slider, X to reset everything.

Tab

Switch to filmstrip

Tab cycles focus between the adjustment sidebar and the filmstrip. In filmstrip: h/l navigates images, H/L selects while moving, Esc clears selection. To enter the curve editor, navigate to the Curve row in the sidebar and press Space.

y p

Yank and paste

y copies all adjustments (including curves) from the current image. Select a batch with H/L, then p to apply everywhere. One keystroke per image.

\

Preview original

Hold \ to see the unedited image. Release to return to your adjustments. No button to click — just a momentary hold.

e

Export

Press e to export the active image or all selected images as PNG. Batch export with live progress, preserving EXIF metadata.

?

Keyboard reference

Press ? at any time to open the full keymap. Every shortcut is listed — sidebar, filmstrip, and curve editor modes. Press ? again or Esc to close.

Under the hood

Fast by architecture, not by accident

Native compiled pipeline
Every pixel operation — adjustments, curves, sharpening, grain — executes as native compiled code for maximum performance. No interpreter overhead at any step.
GPU-accelerated rendering
Leverages native GPU processing to ensure real-time previews are fast, accurate and fluid regardless of image size or adjustment complexity.
Fully local
Processing runs entirely on your device. No data ever leaves your machine. Previews appear as fast as your hardware allows.

Download Darkslide

Free for macOS. No account required. Your photos never leave your machine.

Download for macOS