AI photo culling, on your computer.
Drop a shoot: blurry and shaken photos, closed eyes and duplicates are set aside, the best of each burst is kept. You review, then export to Lightroom.
- Free with a Pelli account
- Open source (MIT licence)
- macOS (Apple Silicon) and Windows
Pelli Instant in brief
On your computer: sorting never sends your photos
Open source, under the MIT licence
RAW and JPEG from most cameras
Nothing deleted: your originals stay untouched
From memory card to selection, in four steps.
Pelli Instant does the first pass. You keep the last word.
Drop a shoot
Drag a folder onto the window, with or without its sub-folders. A RAW and its JPEG twin count as one photo.Let it sort
It reads the preview embedded in each RAW, measures focus, motion blur and exposure, finds closed eyes and groups bursts. The grid fills in as it goes.Review
Selected, To review, Rejected: each rejection says why. Change any call in one key; your choices always win over the AI's.Export
Star ratings and colour labels for Lightroom, a copy of the selection, or the rejects moved to a sub-folder.
Every rejection gives its reason.
Blurry, Motion blur, Eyes closed, Duplicate: filter by reason, fix what you disagree with in one key, move on.
Drop
Drop a folder, the sorting starts
Review
Review at the keyboard
- ↑Keep
- ↓Reject
- PXULightroom flags
- 1–5Stars
Photos in the animation and screenshots: Flickr photographers, under CC BY 2.0 and CC0 licences. See the credits (opens in a new tab).
A first pass that looks like a photographer.
It tells a deliberate choice from a mistake: creamy bokeh, low-key light or a kiss with closed eyes aren't rejected for nothing.
Focus you can trust
It measures how wide edges are, not how contrasted: shallow depth of field, high ISO and soft light aren't taken for blur. When there's a face, its focus comes first.
Closed eyes
It reads the eyes of every face and tells a blink from a smile. On Balanced or Lenient, closed eyes send a photo to review, never straight to the rejects.
Exposure in stops
It estimates how many stops a photo is off. Low-key and high-key on purpose stay fine; 2 stops off usually goes to review, since a RAW can recover it.
Bursts and duplicates
Similar shots taken seconds apart are grouped, and the best one, or the best few, is kept. Exact copies are found whatever their date.
Ratings for Lightroom
Stars and colour labels in an .xmp file next to each RAW, for Lightroom, Capture One, Bridge or darktable. Ratings set in another app stay, unless you change them here.
Copy or file away
Copy the selection (RAW, JPEG or both) where you want, or move the rejects to a sub-folder next to the originals. Nothing is deleted.
Maximum precision
Standard comes with the app and is fast. The optional Maximum pack (about 777 MB) makes finer calls on group photos, bursts and subjects without a face.
AI search
Type “bride bouquet” or “first dance” and the matching photos come first.
Your photos stay on your computer.
The AI models run locally. Pelli Instant reads your photos where they are and never uploads them: not to sort them, not to train anything.
Sorted on your computer
The analysis runs without the internet. Your folders stay untouched until you export, and your photo files are never modified or deleted.
Open source
The whole app is on GitHub under the MIT licence: read it, check it, build it yourself. Each download comes with its SHA-256 fingerprint.
No telemetry
No analytics, no crash reporter. For the account and the quota, Pelli receives photo counts, never your photos, their names or their content.
Free, with a Pelli account.
The official builds ask you to sign in with a Pelli account, free to create. How many photos you sort each month depends on your Pelli plan.
| Pelli plan | Photos / month |
|---|---|
| FreeNo subscription | 200 |
| LiteFrom €5/month | 1,000 |
| ProFrom €15/month | Unlimited |
| UltraFrom €35/month | Unlimited |
| Free trial15 days, no credit card | Unlimited |
- A RAW and its JPEG twin count as one photo.
- Sorting again doesn't count: only photos the app has never seen.
- The count starts again on the first day of each month.
Download Pelli Instant.
Always the latest version, straight from GitHub. On first launch, sign in with your Pelli account.
Mac
- macOS 12 Monterey or later
- Apple Silicon: M1 or newer
If macOS refuses access to a folder, allow Pelli Instant in System Settings → Privacy & Security → Files and Folders.
Windows
- Windows 10 or 11
- 64-bit (x64)
The installer isn't code-signed yet: if SmartScreen warns you, click More info, then Run anyway. No administrator rights needed.
Standard models included: it works as soon as it's installed.
Maximum precision: optional pack of about 777 MB, from the app.
Automatic updates, signature-checked before they install.
No Intel Mac or Linux build yet. The code is open: build it yourself (opens in a new tab). Every version: releases on GitHub (opens in a new tab).
Frequently asked questions
Is Pelli Instant free?
Why do the official builds need a Pelli account?
Is it an alternative to Aftershoot, Narrative Select or FilterPixel?
Standard or Maximum precision?
Does it work offline?
Does it change my RAW files?
Are my photos used to train AI models?
Why no Intel Mac or Linux version?
Your next shoot, sorted on your computer.
Download Pelli Instant, sign in with your free Pelli account, drop a folder.
Open source under the MIT licence · Source code on GitHub (opens in a new tab)