https://github.com/ivanglie/go-libraw
Povides Go bindings for LibRaw, for reading and processing of RAW digicam images
https://github.com/ivanglie/go-libraw
camera-raw cgo go golang image-processing libraw photography raw raw-image
Last synced: 2 days ago
JSON representation
Povides Go bindings for LibRaw, for reading and processing of RAW digicam images
- Host: GitHub
- URL: https://github.com/ivanglie/go-libraw
- Owner: ivanglie
- License: mit
- Created: 2026-06-08T14:51:32.000Z (16 days ago)
- Default Branch: main
- Last Pushed: 2026-06-17T10:52:05.000Z (7 days ago)
- Last Synced: 2026-06-17T12:23:26.260Z (7 days ago)
- Topics: camera-raw, cgo, go, golang, image-processing, libraw, photography, raw, raw-image
- Language: Go
- Homepage:
- Size: 70.4 MB
- Stars: 0
- Watchers: 0
- Forks: 0
- Open Issues: 0
-
Metadata Files:
- Readme: README.md
- License: LICENSE
- Support: docs/support-matrix.md
- Agents: AGENTS.md
Awesome Lists containing this project
README
# go-libraw
[](https://github.com/ivanglie/go-libraw/actions/workflows/ci.yml)
[](https://codecov.io/gh/ivanglie/go-libraw)
[](https://pkg.go.dev/github.com/ivanglie/go-libraw/pkg/libraw)
`go-libraw` provides Go bindings to [LibRaw](https://www.libraw.org/docs)
for reading and processing of RAW digicam images.
## Requirements
`go-libraw` targets **Linux and macOS** (`amd64`, `arm64`). Windows is out of
scope; see the [Support Matrix](docs/support-matrix.md) for details.
- Go `1.26` or newer, as declared by `go.mod`
- cgo enabled
- LibRaw `0.21` or newer (`libraw-dev` or equivalent)
- a C/C++ toolchain for the target platform
Install LibRaw on common platforms:
```sh
# macOS
brew install libraw
# Debian/Ubuntu
sudo apt-get update
sudo apt-get install -y libraw-dev pkg-config
# Fedora
sudo dnf install LibRaw-devel pkgconf-pkg-config
```
Verify local discovery:
```sh
make libraw-check
```
See [LibRaw Build Setup](docs/libraw-build.md) and the
[Support Matrix](docs/support-matrix.md) for platform details.
## Quick Start
```sh
go get github.com/ivanglie/go-libraw/pkg/libraw
```
```go
package main
import (
"log"
libraw "github.com/ivanglie/go-libraw/pkg/libraw"
)
func main() {
processor, err := libraw.NewProcessor()
if err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
defer func() {
if err := processor.Close(); err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
}()
if err := processor.OpenFile("input.cr2"); err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
if err := processor.Unpack(); err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
if err := processor.DcrawProcess(); err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
if err := processor.WritePPMTiff("output.ppm"); err != nil {
log.Fatal(err)
}
}
```
Run the bundled example on checked-in fixtures:
```sh
make examples
make clean
```
The sample commands are mapped to upstream LibRaw samples in
[LibRaw Sample Parity Examples](docs/examples.md).
## API Concepts
- `Processor` owns one LibRaw handle. Create it with `NewProcessor`, then call
`Close` when finished.
- Opening input with `OpenFile`, `OpenBuffer`, or `OpenBayer` prepares metadata
and decoder state.
- Processing follows LibRaw order: open, optionally set params, `Unpack`,
`DcrawProcess` or lower-level image operations, then write or copy output.
- `Metadata` returns a Go snapshot of LibRaw metadata and maker-note summaries.
- Raw image, thumbnail, and memory image helpers return Go-owned data.
- LibRaw error codes are returned as Go errors; use `ErrorCode` and `StrError`
when you need to inspect an underlying LibRaw status.
## Documentation
- [Lifecycle And Processing](docs/lifecycle-processing.md)
- [Memory And Cgo Safety](docs/memory-and-cgo.md)
- [API Coverage Guide](docs/api-coverage.md)
- [Versioning Policy](docs/versioning.md)
- [Release Checklist](docs/release-checklist.md)
- [Upstream Sync](docs/upstream-sync.md)
- [LibRaw API Inventory](docs/libraw-api-inventory.md)
- [Metadata Coverage](docs/libraw-metadata-coverage.md)
- [Maker-Notes Coverage](docs/libraw-maker-notes-coverage.md)
- [Output And Raw Params Coverage](docs/libraw-params-coverage.md)
## Upstream Coverage
The generated inventory in [docs/libraw-api-inventory.md](docs/libraw-api-inventory.md)
tracks LibRaw symbols from the fixture headers and marks each as `wrapped`,
`internal`, `deferred`, `unsupported`, or `unmapped`. Run this before changing
coverage-related code:
```sh
make check-api-inventory
```
To regenerate the inventory after updating the coverage map:
```sh
make api-inventory
```
## License
The Go binding code in this repository is licensed under the MIT License; see
[LICENSE](LICENSE). That license covers only this project's own code.
`go-libraw` links the third-party [LibRaw](https://www.libraw.org) library
(dual-licensed CDDL-1.0 OR LGPL-2.1-or-later) and checks in copies of LibRaw's
public headers under `testdata/headers/libraw/`, which remain under LibRaw's
license rather than MIT. Software you build and distribute from this binding
links LibRaw and must satisfy LibRaw's license. See
[THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md](THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md) for the full attribution and
distribution notes (including static-linking guidance), and `licenses/` for the
complete LibRaw license texts.