Rayloom is made and maintained by one person. I aim to reply within 2 business days; issues that need reproducing can take longer. English or Chinese are both fine.
Note: Rayloom's interface is in Simplified Chinese. Menu and button names below are given in Chinese with an English gloss.
When reporting a problem, please include:
Rayloom's version (menu bar › Rayloom › About) and your macOS version;
your Mac model (Apple silicon or Intel);
the file format and camera model of the file in question — especially for RAW issues;
what you did, what you expected, and what happened; for combined results, how many frames and which blend mode.
1. Does it cost anything? What's free?
Browsing and editing are always free; exporting requires Rayloom Full Version.
Always free
Full Version unlocks
Adding folders, opening files
Results from stacks, time-lapses, and focus stacks
Grid, single, compare, and full-screen viewing
Single photo and video exports
Four-layer editing and saving recipes
Batch export and overwriting originals
Recipe presets, filter library, copyright and credit
The Full Version is a one-time purchase that never expires — not a subscription, and it never renews. The price shown in the App Store applies. Buy it from the menu bar › Rayloom › 织光完整版… (Full Version…); without a license, the export panel also shows a banner at the top.
2. How does the trial work? What about reinstalling or a new Mac?
The trial lasts 14 days, counted from the moment you click 开始 14 天免费试用 (Start 14-day free trial). Nothing counts down until you do.
The trial is an in-app purchase priced at zero, so it belongs to your Apple Account: one per account. Reinstalling or moving to another Mac does not restart it.
After it ends, browsing, comparing, and editing stay free; only exporting needs the Full Version. Jobs already running in the queue are not affected.
On a new Mac or after reinstalling, sign in with the same Apple Account and click 恢复购买 (Restore Purchases) in the Full Version window. If it says this Apple Account hasn't bought the Full Version, check that the App Store is signed in with the account you purchased with.
"Waiting for approval" means the purchase needs a parent or administrator to approve it; the app unlocks automatically once approved.
3. Which formats are supported? My RAW won't open
Type
Extensions
Camera RAW
DNG, NEF, CR2, CR3, ARW, RAF, RW2, ORF
Images
HEIC, HEIF, JPEG, PNG, TIFF
Video
MOV, MP4
RAW files are decoded by macOS itself; Rayloom has no decoder of its own. Whether a camera's RAW files can be developed depends on whether your version of macOS supports that model — new cameras often need a system update. Try opening the same file in Preview: if Preview can't open it, Rayloom can't either.
Rayloom only lists the top level of a folder: it doesn't look inside subfolders and skips hidden files.
4. Do edits change my originals? Where are recipes stored?
No. Every adjustment in the four layers (lens filters, tone, LUT, color) is saved as a hidden recipe file next to the original: same name, a leading dot, and the .crrecipe extension (for example .IMG_0001.crrecipe next to IMG_0001.heic). The original is left untouched.
Press ⇧⌘. in Finder to see hidden files. Copy the whole folder to another Mac and the recipes come along.
Pressing 复位 (Reset) while editing, or bringing every setting back to its default, deletes the recipe file.
Only exporting creates new files, and an original is only rewritten if you explicitly choose "Overwrite original" in the export panel (see question 11).
5. My edits to files opened with "Open Files" disappeared
That's by design. ⌘O Open Files and double-clicking in Finder open files temporarily: no path is remembered, no bookmark is kept, and nothing is left behind when the window closes. The macOS sandbox grants Rayloom access to those files only, not the folder they're in, so their recipes can't be written next to them and are kept in memory until you quit.
To keep your edits, add the whole folder as a source with 添加文件夹… (Add Folder…, ⇧⌘O), or export the photos before quitting.
6. A folder in the sidebar is greyed out
A greyed-out folder marked "location temporarily unavailable" usually means an external drive is disconnected, a network volume isn't mounted, or an iCloud Drive folder hasn't downloaded yet. Rayloom keeps the entry and checks again automatically when you switch back to it.
If the folder was moved or renamed, right-click it in the sidebar, choose 从列表中移除 (Remove from List), and add it again. Removing only deletes the entry — never any file in the folder.
7. What material do stacks, time-lapses, and focus stacks need?
Select two or more items in the grid, and four workflows appear at the top of the inspector: 堆栈 (Stack), 延时 (Time-lapse), 景深 (Focus), 导出 (Export).
Workflow
Suitable material
Options
Stack
The same scene shot in sequence from a tripod, 2 to 1,500 frames of the same size
Blend: Average (noise reduction, smoothing water and crowds) / Maximum (star trails, light trails, fireworks) / Star sky (rotational alignment on the stars); turn on image alignment for handheld shots or a slightly moving camera
Time-lapse
A set of photos shot at intervals, enough for at least 2 frames
Plain / noise-reduction stack / clean-up stack / star-trail video; 1080p or 4K; 30 or 60 fps. Frames are ordered by capture time
Focus
Matching DNG files only: a focus sweep from one camera with the same size and orientation
Frames are taken as near-to-far by default; if you shot far-to-near, turn on that option. The order follows the grid's sort order
The noise-reduction and clean-up stacks assume a fixed camera; time-lapses shot with a moving camera will ghost, so use the plain time-lapse for those.
8. Why were some frames excluded?
After you pick a workflow, Rayloom checks the selection first. Anything that can't join the sequence is labelled with the reason right on its grid cell, and the inspector shows how many of the selected items can be used. Common reasons:
Video — combining only takes photos;
Different size — it doesn't match the size of most frames (a cropped image slipped in, for example);
Same shot as another file — when a RAW and a JPEG share a name, only the RAW is kept;
Size unreadable / unsupported format — the file is damaged, or macOS can't decode that RAW;
Frames larger than 100 megapixels are also refused.
9. Why doesn't my combined result have my color edits?
Stacks, time-lapses, and focus stacks read the original material and don't apply each photo's recipe — with dozens of frames each edited differently, there's no single right choice. The result appears under 成片 (Results) in the sidebar once exported: open it and edit it with the four layers as usual.
To burn one look into a batch of photos, use the Export workflow and, under 配方 (Recipe) in the export panel, choose to apply one recipe to all — from a preset or copied from a photo.
10. Which export format should I pick? Why is DNG greyed out?
Format
When to use it
HEIF / HEIC
For viewing and sharing directly; the smallest files (lossy). Batch exports offer 8-bit and 10-bit, with 10-bit the default when RAW files are included
TIFF · 16-bit
For handing off to another app for further editing, with more tonal headroom
PNG
When you need lossless and widely compatible
DNG · linear negative
Combined results only. Stacks need all frames to be matching RAW files (or RAW plus TIFF) — any JPEG, HEIC, or PNG in the mix rules it out; focus stacks take DNG input anyway
Single and batch exports produce display-referred images, so DNG is greyed out there; the export panel states the reason next to any greyed-out option.
Combined results can't be written back into the source folder; otherwise the next stack of that folder would include the result itself.
"Same location as the original" is greyed out for temporarily opened files, for the reason in question 5.
Name clashes get _2, _3 appended — existing files are never overwritten.
⌥⇧⌘E (export with last settings) reuses the last location, format, and naming, and queues the export straight away.
11. Is "Overwrite original" safe?
It sits at the bottom of the location menu in the export panel. When chosen, the section turns red and the button reads "Overwrite and export N". Keep in mind:
It can't be undone: there is no trash for folders, and the original pixels are not kept anywhere;
it's only available for HEIF and JPEG photos, keeping the original container; RAW files, Live Photos, videos, and combined results can't be overwritten;
it is never remembered as your last settings, so ⌥⇧⌘E can never silently overwrite originals.
12. What LUTs can I import?
.cube files with a 3D size between 2 and 128;
the filter library takes creative LUTs that expect Rec.709 input: up to 36 imported (the built-in 冰蓝 and 负片 don't count), with up to 5 pinned;
input-restore LUTs for Apple Log or Apple Log 2 footage go in a separate list: import them under 输入还原 (Input Restore) when editing a video, not into the filter library;
import errors are reported in the filter library window; if you didn't see one, open that window (⇧⌘L) and import again.
13. What can I do with video?
Frame-accurate transport: space to play or pause, ,. to step frames, JKL for reverse, pause, and forward, HomeEnd for start and end; preview speeds from 0.25× to 2× (exports aren't affected).
The four edit layers work on video too (dragging on the picture to adjust the curve is for photos only).
Apple Log and Apple Log 2 footage: attach a restore LUT under Input Restore first, then grade.
Zoom, side-by-side compare, and full screen work just like photos.
Exports are HEVC, keeping the original container (MOV to MOV, MP4 to MP4).
There's no trimming, cropping, or timeline; videos are exported one at a time.
14. Where are copyright and credit written?
In the sidebar under 资源 › 版权与署名 (Resources › Copyright), turn on writing copyright and credit (off by default) and enter an author. Results exported afterwards carry the author, copyright notice, contact details, and usage terms:
photos get TIFF Artist / Copyright and IPTC fields; DNG files written by Rayloom also get XMP;
videos and time-lapses get QuickTime author and copyright fields;
with no author entered, nothing is written.
Single and batch photo exports, video exports, and stacks saved as HEIC/TIFF/PNG keep the GPS location from the original. Check the metadata before sharing if you'd rather not reveal where a photo was taken — Rayloom currently has no option to strip location on export. See section 5 of the Privacy Policy.
15. Keyboard shortcuts
Action
Keys
Open files / add folder
⌘O / ⇧⌘O
New window
⌘N
Grid / single / compare
⌘1 / ⌘2 / ⌘3
Full-screen viewing (Esc to exit)
⇧⌘F, or F on the stage
Fit / actual size / zoom in / zoom out
⌘9 / ⌘0 / ⌘+ / ⌘-
Select all / deselect
⌘A / ⇧⌘A
Export… / export with last settings
⇧⌘E / ⌥⇧⌘E
Show in Finder
⇧⌘R
Re-scan
⌘R
Filter library
⇧⌘L
In the grid: click to select, ⌘-click to add or remove, ⇧-click for a range, double-click to open, arrow keys to move. Zoom: double-click toggles between fit and 100%, pinch on a trackpad to zoom, drag to pan when zoomed in. Hold ⌥ while dragging a slider for quarter speed; double-click a slider's name to reset it.
16. How do I remove all of Rayloom's data?
Delete the Rayloom app;
delete ~/Library/Containers/com.gwongsam.rayloom/ — settings, credits, the filter library, presets, imported restore LUTs, and the thumbnail cache all live there;
to remove edit recipes too, delete the hidden .crrecipe files (leading dot) in your photo folders (press ⇧⌘. in Finder to show them).
Trial and purchase records belong to your Apple Account and are not affected; after reinstalling, use Restore Purchases.
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