[ghostly_s]

Don't lead people down a fruitless path. From their own FAQ:

>Is darktable a free Lightroom alternative?¶ Yes and no. Darktable is an alternative to Lightroom the same way any other raw editor is, since it edits raw files, but it would be a mistake to think it’s a direct replacement. Other than both being raw editors with photo library management, and looking somewhat similar, they have very little in common.

What they mean is, Darktable has very capable editing functionality, but its "library management" is such an afterthought that I would challenge whether it even deserves to be called library management. It seems to be oriented around the design philosophy that photographers should be organizing their library with CLI tools.

[donatzsky]

As the one responsible for writing much of the FAQ, I can assure you that's not what is meant. The point is to hopefully make new users aware that they can't assume their Lightroom knowledge will help them, and thus encourage them to consult the manual or some tutorials. It's an unfortunate fact that many coming from Lightroom think they already know everything and don't have to learn anything new, but when they fail to make head or tails of darktable they conclude that the issue is that it's trash and not that they didn't bother educating themselves - and they will often loudly proclaim this on Reddit in a rather entitled manner.

But yes, the library features could do with some improvements.

[Mashimo]

When I still used it, I only ever opened the folder with the files I wanted to edit.

I had folders based on dates YYYY.MM.DD - Eventname. No need for cli.

I still do the same now for CaptureOne to be honest.

[Arainach]

That's not library management, and it's not a replacement for Lightroom/C1.

"If you give up on these features, it's a replacement" doesn't make it a replacement.

[Mashimo]

Well not if you use the library management, it's not no.

People often use other software as replacement for establishes software, even though not every single feature is available. I still would say Firefox can be a chrome replacement.

[Arainach]

There are many image editors. The primary appeal of something like Lightroom is image editing workflow - library management and editing combined. Being able to organize and move around your library is a core feature.

My images are also stored in date-based folders, but C1/Lightroom allow me to very quickly move between folders and identify the file I want, search for files I've rated highly or tagged with keywords/colors, and more.

[Mashimo]

A believe you. But it's not like that for everyone. Every raw editor I ever used was strictly for editing a single project at a time.

[speed_spread]

I wish Darktable and Immich could be integrated into a single system.