RawCull Documentation

• 1: Security & Privacy
• 2: Memory Cache
• 3: Culling Photos
• 4: Sharpness Scoring
• 5: Similarity
• 6: Focus Peaking
• 7: Settings
• 8: Focus Points
• 9: Memory Pressure

brew tap rsyncOSX/cask && brew install --cask rawcull

1 - Security & Privacy

RawCull is designed to keep your photos and culling data on your Mac.

Sandbox

RawCull runs in the macOS App Sandbox. The app entitlement file enables only the app sandbox entitlement.

This means RawCull can access folders only after you choose them through macOS file selection or through saved security-scoped access.

Offline Use

RawCull has no network entitlement. It does not use analytics, telemetry, cloud sync, update tracking, or third-party network SDKs.

The app works offline.

File Access

RawCull reads source folders you select and writes to destinations you select. Folder access is handled with macOS security-scoped bookmarks so RawCull can reopen approved folders later.

Copying selected RAW files uses the system /usr/bin/rsync tool. RawCull passes arguments directly and does not build shell commands. Copying is non-destructive; source files are not deleted.

Data Stored Locally

RawCull stores only local app data:

Caches can be cleared and rebuilt.

Privacy Manifest

RawCull declares no tracking. Its privacy manifest lists Apple-required reasons for File API access and Disk Space access. These are used for user-selected files and cache management.

Permissions RawCull Does Not Request

RawCull does not request:

• Camera or microphone access
• Location access
• Contacts, calendar, or reminders
• Photos library access
• Full Disk Access
• Network access
• iCloud or CloudKit access
• Bluetooth or USB access
• Screen recording or accessibility access

Your photos, ratings, and file paths remain under your control on your Mac.

2 - Memory Cache

RawCull uses memory and disk caches to keep browsing fast.

Cache Layers

When RawCull needs a thumbnail or preview, it tries these locations in order:

1. Memory cache
2. Disk cache
3. Original source file

If RawCull has to decode from the original file, it stores the result in cache so the next request is faster.

Grid Cache

Grid browsing uses a separate small-thumbnail memory cache. This keeps scrolling responsive without pushing larger preview images out of the main cache too quickly.

Disk Caches

RawCull stores thumbnail and full-size JPG preview caches in the macOS cache area for the app. These files can be rebuilt, so clearing them is safe.

Use Settings -> Cache to see current cache sizes or clear the thumbnail and JPG caches.

Memory Pressure

When macOS reports memory pressure, RawCull automatically reduces or clears in-memory caches. When pressure returns to normal, RawCull restores your saved cache settings.

Practical Advice

• Increase cache sizes for smoother browsing on Macs with more memory.
• Reduce cache sizes if you see memory pressure warnings.
• Clear caches when troubleshooting preview or thumbnail behavior.
• Cache settings affect performance, not your original photos.

3 - Culling Photos

RawCull helps you review a temporary photo catalog, mark the frames you want to keep, and copy only selected RAW files to a final folder.

RawCull does not delete images from the source catalog.

Basic Workflow

1. Copy photos from your camera card to a temporary folder.
2. Open that folder in RawCull.
3. Wait for scanning and thumbnail generation to finish.
4. Review images in the grid, list, or zoom view.
5. Mark rejects, keepers, and final star ratings.
6. Copy rated images to your final editing folder.

Ratings and marks are saved automatically. Reopen the same folder later to continue where you stopped.

Pick, Reject, and Rate

RawCull supports a fast two-pass workflow:

Use p and x for a quick first pass. Then filter to keepers and assign final ratings from 2 to 5.

Only images rated 2 or higher are copied to the final folder. Keepers without a star rating and rejected images stay in the temporary catalog.

Grid and Zoom

The grid is the fastest way to review many images. Double-click a thumbnail to open zoom view. You can keep rating with the keyboard while zoomed, and RawCull advances to the next image automatically after a rating key.

Zoom view can use either generated thumbnails or extracted JPG previews, depending on your thumbnail settings.

Filters

The rating filter row lets you show only rejected images, keepers, or images with a selected star rating. Filtering is only a view option; it does not change saved ratings.

Assisted Culling

Run Sharpness Scoring to sort sharper images first. After scoring, you can apply a threshold to mark likely keepers and rejects, then review the result manually.

Use Similarity to find near-duplicates and analyze bursts. A practical workflow is to score sharpness first, group bursts, then review the best candidates from each group.

Memory Tip

Large catalogs can use several gigabytes of memory. If the UI slows down, reduce cache sizes in Settings or turn off extra thumbnail badges while browsing.

4 - Sharpness Scoring

RawCull can score a catalog by estimated sharpness and sort the grid with the sharpest images first.

Sharpness scores are automatic estimates. Always inspect important or borderline images yourself before rejecting them.

Run Scoring

1. Open a catalog and wait for thumbnails to finish.
2. Open the grid.
3. Select Score Sharpness.
4. Wait for scoring to finish.
5. Use the Sharpness sort toggle to show sharpest images first.

After scores exist, the button changes to Re-score. Use it after changing scoring parameters or focus mask settings.

Score Badges

Scores are relative to the current catalog. A high score means the image is sharp compared with other images in the same session.

Scores from different catalogs should not be compared directly.

Scoring Parameters

The grid shows a Scoring Parameters control for choosing the scoring style.

Fast scoring is best for normal culling. High Precision and RAW Demosaic are slower and are better for final checks.

Focus Mask

Sharpness scoring also calibrates the focus-mask threshold for the current catalog. Use the focus mask in zoom view to inspect where RawCull sees sharp detail.

The Focus settings control threshold, pre-blur, amplification, erosion, and dilation. Lower threshold shows more highlighted detail; higher threshold keeps only stronger edges.

Tips

• Score after removing obvious exposure mistakes.
• Use sharpness sorting to find the best frame in a burst.
• Use focus mask before rejecting a low-scored image.
• Re-score after changing scoring type, quality, source, or focus mask settings.

5 - Similarity

Similarity helps you find images that look like a selected reference image. It is useful for bursts, near-duplicates, and sessions with many similar frames.

Similarity data is kept in memory for the current catalog session. If you close or reload the catalog, run indexing again.

Find Similar Images

1. Open a catalog.
2. Select Index Similarity.
3. Select an image to use as the reference.
4. Select Find Similar.
5. Turn on the Similarity sort to place the closest matches first.

RawCull uses Apple Vision feature prints to compare visual content. If sharpness scoring has already run, subject information can slightly improve the ranking.

Burst Analysis

Select Analyze Bursts to group similar sequences and recommend stronger candidates. If sharpness scores are missing, RawCull scores the catalog first.

Burst review can show:

Inside burst mode, adjust the sensitivity slider:

Use Exit Groups to return to the flat grid. Use Reanalyze Bursts if you want RawCull to rebuild burst analysis from scratch.

Tips

• Run sharpness scoring before similarity when possible.
• Use the sharpest image in a burst as the reference for Find Similar.
• Re-index after adding files to the catalog.
• Similarity sorting does not change ratings or copy decisions.

6 - Focus Peaking

Focus Peaking highlights sharp edge detail in the current image. It is a visual aid for checking whether the important part of the photo is in focus.

How to Use It

1. Open an image in zoom view.
2. Turn on the focus mask or focus peaking overlay in the image controls.
3. Inspect the highlighted areas.
4. Adjust Focus settings if the overlay is too weak or too busy.

For best results, use extracted JPG previews or RAW-based zoom previews instead of small thumbnails.

Settings

Focus controls are in RawCull -> Settings -> Focus.

Tips

• Lower the threshold if too little is highlighted.
• Raise the threshold if too much of the image is highlighted.
• Increase pre-blur for noisy high-ISO files.
• Use the overlay as a guide, not as a final decision.

7 - Settings

Open settings from RawCull -> Settings.

Cache

The Cache tab shows memory and disk cache usage and lets you clear caches.

Larger caches make browsing faster but use more memory.

Thumbnails

The Thumbnails tab controls preview sizes and zoom preview sharpening.

Focus

The Focus tab controls the focus mask overlay.

Memory

The Memory tab shows total memory, used memory, RawCull memory use, and current macOS memory pressure.

If memory pressure appears, reduce cache sizes or work with smaller catalogs.

Saving

Use Save Settings to write settings to disk. Use Reset to Defaults to restore defaults for the current settings area.

8 - Focus Points

Focus Points show the autofocus point information RawCull can read from supported RAW files.

How to Use It

Open an image and turn on the Focus Points overlay in the image controls. RawCull shows the focus point location when the metadata is available.

Focus point support depends on the camera and RAW metadata. Sony ARW support is the primary target. Nikon NEF focus point extraction is currently experimental and may not show focus points.

Tips

• Use Focus Points together with Focus Peaking or Focus Mask.
• A focus point shows where the camera focused, not whether the subject is actually sharp.
• If no focus point appears, the file may not contain supported focus point metadata.

9 - Memory Pressure

RawCull watches memory use while you browse large catalogs.

What You See

The Memory tab shows:

RawCull also uses an early warning line at about 85 percent of total memory.

Pressure Levels

macOS reports memory pressure as:

Automatic Response

RawCull protects system stability automatically:

Original photo files are not changed.

Reducing Warnings

• Lower the memory cache size.
• Lower the grid cache size.
• Close other memory-heavy apps.
• Work with smaller catalogs when possible.
• Avoid extra thumbnail badges when browsing very large folders.