ChimpStackr

Open-source focus stacking application for Windows, macOS, and Linux.

Features

• 4 stacking algorithms: Laplacian Pyramid, Weighted Average, Depth Map, Exposure Fusion (HDR)
• Automatic alignment: Translation-only or Rotation + Scale correction (focus breathing)
• 16-bit pipeline: Full bit-depth preservation from RAW to output
• Auto-crop: Removes black edges from alignment shifts
• Auto-tuning: Parameters auto-detected from image resolution
• GUI + CLI: Full graphical interface and headless command-line tool
• Cross-platform: Native builds for Windows, macOS, Linux
• Pause/resume/cancel: Control long-running stacks
• Before/after comparison: Slider viewer for comparing input vs output
• Drag & drop: Drop image files or folders directly into the app

Download

Pre-built packages are available on the Releases page:

Platform	Download	Notes
Windows	ChimpStackr-Windows.zip	Extract and run chimpstackr.exe
macOS	ChimpStackr-macOS.dmg	Open DMG, drag to Applications
Linux	ChimpStackr-Linux-x86_64.AppImage	chmod +x and run

CLI Usage

The CLI allows headless focus stacking without a GUI:

# Basic stack
chimpstackr-cli --input images/*.jpg --output result.tif

# Align + stack with auto parameters
chimpstackr-cli -i images/*.jpg -o result.tif --align --auto --auto-crop

# Full options
chimpstackr-cli -i images/*.jpg -o result.png \
  --align \
  --method laplacian \
  --rotation-scale \
  --kernel-size 6 \
  --pyramid-levels 8 \
  --auto-crop \
  --quality-report

Available methods: laplacian (default), weighted_average, depth_map

Stacking Algorithms

Method	Best for	How it works
Pyramid	Fine detail (hairs, bristles, edges)	Laplacian pyramid decomposition, max-contrast selection per frequency band, local tone-mapping
Weighted	Smooth subjects, good color	Per-pixel contrast weighting with proper accumulation
Depth Map	Opaque surfaces, best color fidelity	Multi-scale sharpness with edge-aware bilateral smoothing
HDR	Varying exposure/lighting	Mertens exposure fusion (not for focus stacking)

Build from Source

Requires Python 3.9-3.13.

git clone https://github.com/noah-peeters/ChimpStackr.git
cd ChimpStackr
python -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate  # or .venv\Scripts\activate on Windows
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Run GUI
python src/run.py

# Run CLI
python -m src.cli --help

# Run tests
pip install pytest
pytest tests/ -v

Packaging

Builds use PyInstaller with platform-specific post-processing. You can only build for your current platform.

# Install build tools
pip install pyinstaller

# Build (creates dist/chimpstackr/ and dist/ChimpStackr.app on macOS)
pyinstaller chimpstackr.spec --noconfirm

# Or use the platform scripts:
./scripts/build_macos.sh        # macOS → .dmg
./scripts/build_linux.sh        # Linux → .AppImage
.\scripts\build_windows.ps1     # Windows → .zip or installer

CI/CD automatically builds all platforms on tagged releases via GitHub Actions.

Gallery

The following stacks were taken at ~4x magnification on a slightly wobbly rig (~150 images each), stacked with ChimpStackr and post-processed in darktable.

Sources

• Focus stacking algorithm based on: Wang, W., & Chang, F. (2011). A Multi-focus Image Fusion Method Based on Laplacian Pyramid. Journal of Computers, 6(12).
• DFT image alignment adapted from: imreg_dft
• Mertens exposure fusion: Mertens, T., Kautz, J., & Van Reeth, F. (2007). Exposure Fusion.
• Sum Modified Laplacian focus measure: Nayar, S.K., & Nakagawa, Y. (1994).

License

GPL-3.0 - see LICENSE for details.