Open‑source digiKam add‑on sharpens AI handling in 8.7 release

Arabian Post

14-07-2025

digiKam's 8.7.0 update foregrounds artificial intelligence enhancements, integrating tools that tackle everyday pain points in photo management. Key features include bolstered facial recognition workflows, hardware‑accelerated processing, and a novel AI‑driven image auto‑rotation utility — moves that position digiKam as a free contender in the AI photo management space.
Face recognition has undergone targeted refinement. The system now initiates automatic scans when a user confirms or tags a face, streamlining management through proactive detection. In cases of misidentification, rejected suggestions are retained by the software, enabling it to propose the next-best match — an increment in precision notably absent in prior versions. Under the surface, digiKam continues to leverage its cross‑validating KNN and SVM classifier ensemble, originally introduced in version 8.6.0, which now exhibits further acceleration and reduced false positives.
The adoption of GPU acceleration marks another stride. Users can now verify compatibility and performance via a built‑in OpenCL/CUDA test in Settings, ensuring that pipelines such as face detection, resizing, and colour conversion tap into GPU performance where available. The update supports OpenCV's OpenCL layer and NVIDIA's cuDNN via CUDA. A toggle allows disabling GPU use if driver hiccups are suspected. Performance gains from GPU utilisation may significantly reduce processing times in extensive photo batches.
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Addressing a common hassle for event photography or mixed portraiture outputs, the new AI Auto‑Rotation tool analyses content and applies the correct orientation using deep‑learning techniques. Unlike earlier manual methods that rotated entire batches uniformly, this plugin scrutinises each frame for visual cues, autonomously rotating images with varied orientations — a major boon for photo collections with inconsistent metadata.
Beyond AI, the release refines foundational components. The RAW engine Libraw is updated to the May 12, 2025 snapshot, extending compatibility to more than 1,260 camera models. ExifTool is upgraded to version 13.29 for more reliable metadata handling. The Qt framework jumps to 6.8.3 on Windows/Linux and 6.9.0 on macOS. The G'MIC‑Qt plug‑in, now at 3.5.0, gains a new 'Montage' layer‑mode filter via G'MIC Generic, improving stack editing and creative use cases.
Stability improvements feature strongly: more than 240 bug fixes resolve issues in face workflow operations, memory leaks, installation across platforms, and database stability. The internationalisation effort reaches 61 interface languages, with documentation localised into 16 languages.
Looking ahead, the developers preview ambitions beyond current enhancements. The October 2025 update may introduce AI‑assisted noise reduction and colour correction. Plans are also underway to implement natural‑language querying via large‑language models, facilitating intuitive database searches like 'sunset beach photos'.
OpenCovering both fundamentals and future innovation, digiKam 8.7.0 builds solidity through stability and sharpens its AI edge without locking features behind a paywall. By delivering intelligent face management, GPU efficiency, and autonomous photo-orientation, it caters to enthusiast photographers and professionals alike, while maintaining zero-cost access across Linux, Windows, and macOS platforms. The update is available now for direct download, with cross‑platform packaging via AppImage, installers, and bundles.