digiKam runs on most known desktop environments and window managers, as long as the required libraries are installed. It supports all major
image file formats, such as JPEG and PNG as well as over 200
raw image formats and can organize collections of photographs in directory-based albums, or dynamic albums by date, timeline, or by
tags. Users can also add captions and ratings to their images, search through them and save searches for later use. Using
plug-ins, users can export albums to various online services including (among others) 23hq,
Facebook,
Flickr,
Gallery2,
Google Earth's KML files, Yandex.Fotki,
MediaWiki, Rajce,
SmugMug,
Piwigo, Simpleviewer,
Picasa Web Albums. Plug-ins are also available to enable burning photos to a
CD and the creation of web galleries. digiKam provides functions for organizing, previewing, downloading and/or deleting images from digital cameras. Basic auto-transformations can also be deployed on the fly during picture downloading. In addition, digiKam offers image enhancement tools through its
KIPI (KDE Image Plugins Interface) framework and its own plugins, like
red-eye removal,
color management, image filters, or special effects. digiKam was the only free photo management application on Linux that could handle 16 bit/channel images, until
RawTherapee version 4.0 was released in 2011, using a new 32 bits/channel engine for all internal image processing.
Digital Asset Management is the mainstay of digiKam. digiKam relies on libraries such as exiv2, allowing it to edit
XMP metadata embedded in images or separately as
sidecar files. It also supports DNG format reading and writing.
Marble is also integrated for editing and viewing of geolocations in images. digiKam also efficiently caches image thumbnails and paths in a database, in the
PGF format, allowing for quick overviews. There are various database backends to choose from, with scalability and portability considerations taken into account. This database file is independent of photo libraries, enabling remote paths, multiple roots and offline backups. As a non-modal image editor; digiKam's
UI also supports live search boxes in both sidebars and the main window. == History ==