# tannerhelland/PhotoDemon

A free portable photo editor focused on pro-grade features, high performance, and maximum usability.

Repository: https://github.com/tannerhelland/PhotoDemon
Canonical: https://ross.abutalabs.com/products/photodemon
Homepage: https://photodemon.org
Language: Visual Basic 6.0
License: NOASSERTION
License Family: other
Topics: photo-editor, image-processing, image-filters, win32, vb6, computer-vision, paint, image-editor
Last push: 2026-08-18T17:17:58+00:00

## Health v2 (maintenance only)
Score: 74/100 (v2, computed 2026-09-03T02:20:16.233290+00:00)
- activity 98, release rhythm 28, longevity 100
- inputs: {"age_days": 5172, "days_push": 15, "days_rel": 264, "gap_med": 183.0, "n_releases_24m": 3}
- flags: no_license
- formula: round(0.45*activity + 0.35*rhythm + 0.20*longevity); archived -> min(score, 10)

## Adoption (not part of the score)
Stars 2304, forks 249 (observed 2026-08-28T04:06:35.643924+00:00)

## What it is
PhotoDemon is a free, open-source, portable photo editor for Windows built in Visual Basic 6. It offers pro-grade tools like layers, RAW support, macro recording, and batch processing in a 22 MB download that requires no installation.

## Use cases
- edit photos on windows without installing software
- run a photo editor from a usb stick
- batch process folders of images
- open and edit photoshop psd files for free
- apply recorded macros to many photos
- recover shadows and highlights in raw photos
- correct lens distortion and perspective
- edit images with color management and icc profiles

## When to choose
- you need a lightweight, no-install photo editor on any Windows version from XP to 11
- you want pro features like layers, RAW, and PSD support without paying for Photoshop
- you need macro recording and batch processing for image folders
- you want a portable tool that leaves no trace on the host machine

## When to avoid
- you need a photo editor on macOS or Linux
- you require GPU-accelerated or AI-powered editing features
- you need a modern codebase for contributing (it is written in VB6)
- you want deep plugin ecosystems like GIMP's

## Facets
- artifact type: application
- maturity: active
- function: image-processing, gui
- domain: image-processing, photography, desktop-applications, graphics
- platform: windows
- tags: photo-editor, portable-app, photoshop-alternative, batch-processing, macro-recording, layers, raw-support, vb6, desktop

## Member repositories
- tannerhelland/PhotoDemon (main) score 74

## Provenance
- Observed fields: from GitHub, fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:35.643924+00:00.
- Health v2: computed from the inputs above; adoption is never an input.
- Inferred fields (summary, facets, guidance): AI-extracted, prompt v1, taxonomy v1, on 2026-08-30T02:39:44.067257+00:00, confidence not recorded.
  - readme: https://github.com/tannerhelland/PhotoDemon (fetched 2026-08-28T04:06:35.643924+00:00, sha ac1f1f6d0c7b)
  - homepage: https://photodemon.org (fetched 2026-08-29T10:20:10.475630+00:00, sha 20792f05b841)
  - site_page: https://photodemon.org/about (fetched 2026-08-29T10:20:10.484611+00:00, sha 4fa164fff496)
  - site_page: https://photodemon.org/about/contact (fetched 2026-08-29T10:20:10.486508+00:00, sha a5a81caf72fd)
- Data as of 2026-08-30T08:39:29.467469+00:00.