rawpy is a Python wrapper for the LibRaw library, providing robust RAW image processing capabilities for photographers and developers. It simplifies the complex task of decoding and post-processing RAW files from a vast array of digital cameras, offering features for hot/dead pixel detection and repair.

How It Works

rawpy acts as a direct interface to LibRaw, a C/C++ library renowned for its comprehensive support of camera RAW formats. It exposes LibRaw's functionality through a Pythonic API, allowing users to load RAW files, apply post-processing steps (like white balance, color correction, and demosaicing) with customizable parameters, and extract embedded thumbnails. The library leverages numpy for efficient image data manipulation.

Quick Start & Requirements

• Install via pip: pip install rawpy
• Requires Python 3.x.
• Official documentation and tutorials are available.

Highlighted Details

• Supports a wide range of RAW camera formats via LibRaw.
• Includes functionality for finding and repairing hot/dead pixels.
• Can extract embedded JPEG or bitmap thumbnails.
• Offers control over post-processing parameters like gamma and output bit depth.

Maintenance & Community

• Actively maintained by letmaik.
• Stable releases are tied to stable LibRaw versions; pre-releases use LibRaw snapshots.
• Users can check the LibRaw version via rawpy.libraw_version.

Licensing & Compatibility

• Licensed under the MIT license.
• Compatible with commercial and closed-source applications.
• Note: GPL demosaic packs from LibRaw are excluded due to license incompatibility.

Limitations & Caveats

• Installation from source on Linux requires manual installation of libraw-dev or building LibRaw from source.
• Building from source on Windows is experimental and not officially supported.
• Some optional LibRaw features (GPL demosaic packs) are not available due to licensing.