MediaCatalog

As a long-time graphic designer I got tired of using expensive image cataloging apps that were way too complicated that kept all my images and catalogs in proprietary databases and weird formats that ended up becoming obsolete - so I built one myself.

MediaCatalog is a free image cataloging app built around ease-of-use, forward and backward compatibility, and data independence. It lets you create catalogs of thumbnails that point to the original images wherever you choose to put them — in a different folder, on an external drive, or on a network share.

Catalogs can be exported as (or imported from) single standalone Web pages you can share with anyone or saved on a shared drive so others can tag, rate, and add notes to thumbnails. The catalog format is non-proprietary (stored using SQLite and JSON), self-explanatory, easy to parse, extendable, and future-proof.

MediaCatalog isn't meant to be an image editor, although it supports batch renaming of original files and works alongside other apps so you can edit the originals a catalog points at.

Features:

• Images can be searched for colors, text and objects in them ("red", "vivid", "tree", etc.) as well as duplicates, variants, and similar images
• All images (or just selected images or sections) can be batch exported as-is or in the format, dimensions, and quality you choose
• Display and rate images in multiple zoomable viewer windows with 2-up to 8-up layouts
• Open and edit original images in multiple apps
• Mark thumbnails with multiple colors, ratings, flags, tags, and notes
• Batch rename original images with dynamic property names and sequencing
• Robust image location tracking and relinking allows you to move and reorganize original images wherever you want - nothing is stored in or moved to a central database
• A scalable user interface with customizable dark and light themes
• Export and import one-page standalone searchable, sortable, and filterable Web catalogs that contain the entire app and require no network access - tested in Chrome, Safari, and Firefox
• Catalogs have been designed to hold 50,000 images and beyond
• Tested against thousands of files generated by every version of Adobe Photoshop and Illustrator made since 1993

Supported formats include:

• Bitmap formats: JPEG, PNG, TIFF, GIF, BMP, HEIC, HEIF, WEBP, AVIF, PICT, ICNS, PGF, PSD
• Raw formats: NEF, NRW, CR2, CR3, CRW, ARW, SR2, SRF, DNG, RAF, ORF, RW2, PEF, SRW, RAW, RWL, IIQ, 3FR, FFF, ERF, KDC, MRW, X3F
• Vector formats: SVG, PDF, AI, EPS, EPSF, PS, WMF

You can import catalogs in these formats:

• Capture One
• iView Media Pro / Media Pro
• Adobe Lightroom Classic
• Luminar Neo
• NeoFinder
• Photos
• digiKam
• Picasa