Lumen for Mac
Lumen makes it searchable, comparable, and finishable without importing a thing.
The first signed release is coming soon. Local-first, with no account required.
The problem is not a lack of storage.
Visual work gets hard at the moment a useful image becomes one of hundreds: the right screenshot, the strongest generation, the reference with the exact light, the export that was almost final.
Lumen adds the missing layer of memory and judgment while your real folders stay in charge.
Open in place
There is no import ceremony and no new taxonomy to maintain. Choose a folder in Finder and Lumen progressively maps the images it finds there.
That means the app becomes useful before you have reorganized your life around it.
How folders workJudge the image
Use the wall for context, then open Focus when one image needs your full attention. The result set, curation controls, metadata, and filmstrip stay close to the decision.
You can mark a keeper, reject a near miss, compare a variant, or copy the image without losing where it came from.
See real workflows
The point is not to add more controls to the image workflow. It is to make the next decision easier to reach.
No import step. No migration project.
Choose a real folder in Downloads, Pictures, or a project directory. Lumen reads the images where they already live and builds an image-first wall over that source.
Why it matters: You can get useful on the first session instead of spending the first session preparing a new library.
Useful memory survives the next rename.
Lumen progressively builds local derivatives such as thumbnails, OCR, colors, exact fingerprints, file traits, provenance, and optional visual embeddings. Successful work is persisted against content identity.
Why it matters: The clue you remember can still lead to the image when the name, path, or folder arrangement has changed.
Words, appearance, and color belong in the same search conversation.
Search filenames, paths, OCR, tags, notes, provenance, dates, traits, and curation. When local visual understanding is available, use Appearance or Both and keep the active mode visible.
Why it matters: “The screenshot with the pricing table” is a better starting point than guessing which export was called final-7.
Browse, focus, compare, and cull without losing the thread.
Use the image wall for context, Focus for a close read, Compare for variants, Duplicate Review for cleanup, and local curation for keepers, rejects, tags, and collections.
Why it matters: You stop reopening Finder, Preview, and temporary copies just to answer a visual question.
Derivatives are where the work gets done.
Batch rename with a preview, Smart Resize with Crop, Fill, or Pad, contact sheets, export, and optional local upscale packs turn a selected set into a deliverable. Source changes stay explicit and recoverable where macOS supports it.
Why it matters: The shareable result can leave the workspace while the original folder remains the source you trust.
Screenshots, generations, references, photos, exports, and the files you meant to come back to.
Generations multiply faster than filenames can keep up. Lumen gives a working folder enough memory to browse the set, find a visual direction again, compare variants, and separate a keeper from the almost-right attempts.
A Downloads folder can be a product history, a bug archive, and a research shelf at the same time. OCR and provenance make the evidence easier to retrieve without forcing a new filing system.
Collect first and name the pattern later. Lumen keeps color, appearance, tags, notes, and saved search recipes close enough to become useful handles when the folder gets large.
When a set needs a human decision, a wall of thumbnails is the beginning, not the finish. Focus, Compare, Duplicate Review, and export keep the selection process together.
Local by design
No accounts. No cloud upload. No analytics of your filenames, paths, tags, OCR, thumbnails, or image contents. Local understanding stays local.
The first signed release is coming soon. The signed download and App Store link will appear when they are real.
