Development Logs

A small polish release on top of the 0.1.5 shell — opt-in product telemetry, saner window restore, a true frameless title bar, and macOS Intel installers joining Apple Silicon, Windows, and Linux.

• Opt-in telemetry — PostHog analytics in the desktop app, off until you consent. Frontend-only, prop whitelist (no filenames/paths), no autocapture or session replay.
• Window sizing — rejects runaway restored geometry (oversized or below minimum across displays with different scale factors) and opens maximized when there is no usable saved size.
• Frameless title bar — native macOS decorations stay off so only the Svelte traffic lights show. Fixes the “seeing double” bug where an old window-state file re-enabled the system title bar.
• macOS Intel — signed Intel DMG ships beside Apple Silicon. Download picks the right Mac build from the homepage.
• Denoise model-dir fix — a caller-supplied models directory is marked ready correctly for AI denoise.
• Download server — clearer JSON 404s when an installer key is missing in R2 (no raw S3 XML in the browser).

The cross-platform shell release — a full Svelte UI overhaul, Classic Look for denser Lightroom-style chrome, and real Windows + Linux installers next to the notarized macOS DMG. Under the hood: Merawler demosaic on every OS, and a pile of Windows import/preview fixes so folder import and develop actually work on the desktop you already use.

• Svelte UI overhaul — the React shell is gone. The editor is now a Svelte 5 app with a cleaner Modern layout, nanostores state, and spa-router navigation. Same Metal/Vulkan develop engine underneath — only the chrome moved.
• Classic Look — Settings → General → “Classic Look” restores denser, Lightroom-style panels beside the Modern shell. Same engine and catalog; toggle anytime without a second install.
• Windows & Linux installers — gated downloads on meratech.co for Windows (.exe) and Linux (AppImage, plus .deb / .rpm from the release). macOS stays signed + notarized Apple Silicon for this beta; Intel Mac is not shipping in 0.1.5 yet.
• Merawler demosaic everywhere — in-process algorithms (RCD default, plus Rawler, Bilinear, Malvar, LMMSE, AMaZE, IGV, DDFAPD) run on Mac, Windows, and Linux without external tools. Sidecar RawTherapee / LibRaw DHT engines still appear only when those binaries are installed.
• Demosaic picker honesty — the UI filters by availableDemosaic, so unavailable sidecar choices are hidden instead of silently falling back. Worker discovery improved for Program Files, LOCALAPPDATA, and common Unix paths.
• Windows preview transport — WebView2 cannot use bare frame:// / thumb:// schemes. Develop previews and filmstrip thumbs now load via http(s)://frame.localhost / thumb.localhost, so .ARW and other RAWs actually show pixels.
• Windows folder import fixes — catalog queries no longer assume Unix / path separators; they match Windows backslashes and the folder column. Canonical \\?\ paths from the filesystem are simplified so they match what the folder picker returns. Import also waits for workers and refreshes live as thumbs land (no more empty grid race).
• Import & menus — File → Import / Open Folder run the full import-and-browse path. Folder scans include RAW plus common rendered formats. App data on Windows uses %LOCALAPPDATA%\MeraRAW.
• Crop, denoise, hardening — crop tool completion, classical + AI denoise wiring, path-denylist canonicalization, and tighter license claim validation on the Rust side.
• Shipped builds — notarized macOS DMG, Windows installer, and Linux packages published for licensed beta users. Download from the homepage after sign-in.

The demosaic and reliability release — twelve reconstruction algorithms to pick from, a sturdier preview pipeline for Canon and Nikon (and the rest of your card), and export work that finally keeps up with full-resolution files.

• 12 demosaic algorithms — choose in-process engines (Bilinear, Malvar, RCD, LMMSE, AMaZE, IGV, DDFAPD, plus Rawler built-in) or sidecar reference paths via RawTherapee (RCD, LMMSE, AMaZE) and LibRaw DHT. Switching re-decodes the RAW; your develop edits stay intact.
• Frame transport fixes — the develop preview now loads Canon CR2/CR3, Nikon NEF, and other RAW files through a reliable frame:// JPEG transport (fetch → blob → canvas) instead of fragile direct image URLs. Fewer blank previews and fewer “frame transport failed” errors on heavy files.
• GPU & decode fallbacks — if a demosaic engine or GPU path isn't available on your Mac, MeraRAW falls back gracefully (e.g. unavailable sidecar binaries are disabled in the picker; decode errors route to Rawler) instead of silently showing stale pixels.
• Original look — new display and export look that shows the demosaic with gamut mapping and OETF only — no Reinhard, AgX, or extra tone shaping on top.
• 3D LUT looks — load .cube LUTs as selectable develop looks alongside existing transforms.
• Tiled GPU export — full-resolution exports run tile-by-tile on the GPU with live progress in the export dialog, so large RAWs don't stall or run out of memory.
• Demosaic cache fix — switching algorithms now invalidates the render graph so the preview always reflects the new decode (no more stale RCD pixels after picking AMaZE).
• Settings & analytics — in-app settings panel polish and lightweight usage analytics to help prioritize what ships next.
• Notarized macOS 0.1.4 build — signed and stapled DMG uploaded to the private download bucket for licensed beta users.

The biggest format and education update so far — MeraRAW stops being RAW-only and becomes a full import hub, with clearer Mac builds and deeper color tooling.

• Full-format import — open RAW plus JPEG, PNG, TIFF, WebP, HEIC/HEIF, JPEG XL, and Photoshop PSD alongside your existing RAW workflow.
• Education tab — built-in guides that explain the science of color grading inside the app.
• Three color-grading models — switch between Perceptual, Classic, and Light injection modes on the develop wheels.
• Native macOS builds — separate downloads for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs (replacing a single universal DMG).
• Smarter file metadata — real bit-depth reporting, ProRAW detection, and format badges in the library.
• CI release pipeline — automated macOS Intel + Apple Silicon artifact builds on each tagged release.

Cross-platform beta builds land for the first time, with stronger color-wheel control and continued develop polish.

• Windows & Linux builds — first public beta artifacts for Win (.exe) and Linux (.deb + AppImage), alongside a universal macOS DMG.
• Stronger color wheels — improved shadow-tint response on the 3-way grading wheels.
• Cross-platform feedback — report-a-problem mailto flow works on every platform.

The first numbered follow-up to the public beta — crop, presets, shortcuts, camera profiles, and a much faster develop engine.

• Crop tool — Lightroom-style crop with GPU extract, on-canvas handles, aspect-ratio presets, and straighten support.
• Preset tags — searchable category tags on the preset catalog so large libraries are easier to browse.
• Keyboard shortcuts — central keymap dispatcher and develop shortcuts wired through the app.
• DCP camera profiles — load Adobe .dcp look tables and calibration data for accurate camera color.
• RGB + R/G/B tone curves — per-channel point curves with right-click reset menus.
• GPU DCP look pass — moved profile rendering to the GPU, eliminating multi-second preview lag on pan/zoom.
• Slider latency cut — render graph only re-runs from the first dirty stage; develop sliders feel much snappier.
• AgX filmic look — added AgX as a selectable display/export look alongside existing transforms.
• Notarized macOS builds — release scripts and Apple notarization workflow for trusted DMG installs.
• Beta sign-in fixes — embedded Supabase config and Rust-side license activation so account login works in release builds.

The first downloadable MeraRAW beta — a native macOS RAW editor with a full develop studio, library, masks, AI assistant, and export pipeline built on Metal from day one.

• Library + Develop modes — import folders, rate and flag photos, then edit in a Lightroom-class develop layout.
• GPU develop engine — scene-referred linear Rec.2020 pipeline on Metal with cached render-graph updates.
• Full develop stack — exposure, white balance, tone, tone curve, 8-band HSL, 3-way color wheels, detail, and calibration panels.
• Smart masks — on-device subject segmentation plus radial, linear, and brush masks, each with its own scoped develop stack.
• AI Color Grader — optional assistant that edits through real labeled sliders (not baked filters), with undoable batch moves.
• Color-accurate export — full-resolution tiled export to JPEG, PNG, or 16-bit TIFF in sRGB, Display P3, or Adobe RGB with ICC profiles.
• Catalog & culling — thumbnails, star ratings, pick/reject flags, blur and duplicate detection.
• Free beta download — account-gated DMG on meratech.co with automatic beta license on sign-up.
• Report a problem — in-app feedback flow to help shape early releases.