A free Lightroom alternative for Linux
On Linux, open Lightframes in Firefox or Chrome when you want .xmp presets, .cube LUTs and a private RAW session without installing a raw developer. Install darktable when you want a native library, OpenCL and a module pipeline. Adobe’s published desktop requirements for Lightroom list Windows and macOS, not a Linux build.
Free, no account, nothing uploaded
Lightroom and Camera Raw are trademarks of Adobe. Lightframes is independent and is not affiliated with Adobe.
The browser on Linux
Lightframes is a free, open-source (MIT) photo editor that runs entirely in the browser. On Linux, open the editor in Firefox or a Chromium browser. RAW support is LibRaw in WebAssembly (ARW, CR2, CR3, NEF, NRW, DNG, RAF, ORF, RW2, PEF, SRW). Preview is half-size 16-bit; export goes back to the sensor data, capped at 8192 px on the long edge.
Chromium can open a folder through the directory picker. Firefox does not provide that API, so it uses the multi-file dialog instead. Either way the bytes stay on the device. Import .xmp and .cube from Presets. The editor UI is English.
AI tools run in the page: background removal and the subject mask download from this site (about 45 MB and a 5 MB upscaler), and object removal downloads MI-GAN from Hugging Face once. The photo is not part of that request.
darktable, the native app
darktable is the usual installed answer on Linux. The project says it should appear in your package manager, and it also ships an AppImage and a Flatpak (install). The FAQ says styles from other programs are not compatible, and that LUTs in several formats are the bridge. The same FAQ says the Flatpak does not include its AI features as of September 2026. Read Lightframes vs darktable before you pick one for a whole archive.
Adobe Lightroom’s desktop requirements name Windows and macOS. For what the free mobile tier includes, and what stays paid, see Lightframes vs Lightroom and the roundup.
Questions
Does Lightframes run on Linux?
Yes, in a current browser: Firefox, Chrome, Edge or Brave. It is the same web app. Photos are processed on the machine with WebAssembly and are not uploaded.
Should I install darktable instead?
Install it if you want a catalogue, tethered shooting and the desktop pipeline. It is GPL, version 3 or later, and its FAQ says presets from Lightroom are not compatible. The Flatpak build, as of September 2026, does not include darktable’s AI features.
Is there a Lightroom desktop app for Linux?
The Lightroom system requirements list Windows and macOS for the desktop app, not Linux. Lightroom on the web is a separate listing on Adobe’s web and mobile access page (https://helpx.adobe.com/creative-cloud/policy-pricing/cc-app-web-mobile-access.html).
Can I batch-export from the browser?
Yes. Select photos, paste edits or apply a preset, and export a ZIP of JPEG, PNG or WebP files. There is no long-term catalogue in the browser; the session is IndexedDB on that machine.