What’s new

What's new

• chore(release): 1.0.7
• feat(web): show the Places map as the app now draws it
• docs(privacy): say the app's map tiles now come from OpenFreeMap
• perf(places): load the map only when Places is opened
• feat(places): draw the map with MapLibre in a Google-like style
• fix(app): give long indexing estimates in days
• perf(people): draw unnamed groups a page at a time
• feat(places): one small pin size, and a map that keeps up
• fix(app): page through big folders and favourites
• perf(app): stop piling up requests while a library indexes
• fix(places): estimate locations for the whole library, not its oldest photos
• fix(albums): suggest albums from capture dates, not file dates
• fix(timeline): show a photo once its real date is known
• perf(api): open every page quickly on a library of a whole drive
• feat(folders): handle a whole drive as a watched folder
• perf(indexer): leave the PC usable while a big library indexes
• perf(faces): group faces a batch at a time, in memory that stays flat
• perf(db): index the indexer's queues and keep query statistics current
• feat(backend): share expensive answers between requests
• fix(app): drop the model size and licence from the install page
• fix(setup): fall back to Pixal's own Python when the installer fails
• fix(setup): keep package names off the screen and explain failures plainly
• feat(store): put a Pixal shortcut on the desktop when the Store installs it
• fix(ui): draw Pixal's own scrollbars instead of Windows' default
• fix(ui): keep the page beside the sidebar in narrow windows
• feat(places): split the pins into cities and streets as you zoom in
• fix(places): zoom smoothly with the wheel and stop jumping back out
• fix(places): draw the map from OpenStreetMap now that CARTO needs a key
• feat(app): change the tagline to "On your own machine"
• feat(web): show real maps of New York and Lisbon for Places
• feat(web): show the GitHub star count in the header
• feat(web): move the "Star on GitHub" button to the footer
• feat(web): change the tagline to "On your own machine"
• feat(web): say how large a library Pixal is tested with
• feat(web): show the download count as "37+"
• feat(web): lead with the Microsoft Store download
• feat(web): add a Microsoft Store download badge
• fix(web): keep the system pointer instead of a custom cursor
• chore(web): use info@caspx.in as the contact address
• feat(web): play the v6 launch film with the new logo
• feat(ui): show the app icon in the nav rail, startup and welcome screens
• feat(web): use the app icon as the site logo and tab icon
• build(icons): draw the website's logo and tab icons from the app icon
• build: add a Microsoft Store (MSIX) package
• feat: let the Microsoft Store update Store installs
• build: leave the backend's tests out of the packaged app
• feat(web): show a live download count beside the download buttons
• feat(web): add Vercel Web Analytics and Speed Insights
• feat(web): link about, contact and privacy policy in the footer
• feat(web): add a contact page
• feat(web): add an about page
• feat(web): add a privacy policy page
• fix(web): hide download, speed and picture-in-picture on the film
• feat(web): play the launch film in the demo section

Download from pixal.caspx.in. Verify a download with SHA256SUMS.txt.

What's new

• chore(release): 1.0.6
• feat(web): ask for a GitHub star and link the releases repo
• fix(profile): put the scrollbar at the edge of the window
• fix(ui): keep long folder and album names inside their cards
• fix: stop People and Places reloading on every indexing tick
• fix(duplicates): stop reloading every second and show every thumbnail
• feat(places): show the album tip as a notification over the map
• fix(map): zoom with the scroll wheel, around the cursor
• fix(rail): show the indexing progress bar in the nav rail
• feat(settings): open the right section of Settings from links
• fix: accept photo dates before 1970
• fix(indexer): leave photos for later when a model will not load
• feat(indexer): run indexing stages side by side
• fix(web): show photos that match the site's example searches

Download from pixal.caspx.in. Verify a download with SHA256SUMS.txt.

What's new

• chore(release): 1.0.5
• fix: report the app's real version from the backend
• fix(privacy): stop the search model contacting huggingface.co at load
• feat: add Report a bug, from About to a form on the website
• feat(updates): offer new versions with a download-now-or-later dialog
• fix(trash): redraw the restore icon as one continuous arrow
• feat: ask before moving photos to the trash or clearing thumbnails
• fix(places): scroll the page as one and keep album pins pin-sized

Download from pixal.caspx.in. Verify a download with SHA256SUMS.txt.

What's new

• Release 1.0.4; keep Linux off the website until it has been tested.
• Website: one download button each for Windows, Mac and Linux.
• Edit photo info, put albums on the map, group faces as they're found, and stop the grid blinking.
• Website: downloads and changelog pages, pixal.caspx.in, and macOS held back.
• Share on Wi-Fi, back up the library, recover from crashes, and release every platform.
• Landing page redesign: Framer Motion, shadcn/ui and a new cursor (#4)
• Release 1.0.2: landing page, Windows installer and first-run fixes (#3)

Download from pixal.caspx.in. Verify a download with SHA256SUMS.txt.

New

• Folders. A new Folders section shows every folder you added and the folders inside it, so you can browse your library the way it is organised on disk.
• Zoom into photos. Scroll to zoom toward the pointer and drag to move around, like the Windows Photos app. Double-click zooms in or out; + , - and 0 work too.
• AVI, WMV and other video formats now play. Pixal makes a playable copy the first time you open one, showing its progress, and every video now gets a thumbnail.
• Python installs itself. If Python isn’t on your PC, Pixal downloads the official installer from python.org and sets it up for your account, with no extra steps.

Improved

• Thumbnails appear as you go. Photos show up while indexing runs, and thumbnails are made about twice as fast.
• Setup shows a percentage for every step, and retries automatically if a download drops.
• Memories show the whole photo, no longer cropped at the bottom.
• Videos with a placeholder date of 1 January 1970 are dated from their file name or file date instead.

Install or update on Windows

Download Pixal-Setup-v1.0.3.exe below and run it. Installing over an earlier version keeps your library, settings and desktop shortcut.

> Windows may show a SmartScreen prompt because the installer is not code-signed yet. Choose More info, then Run anyway.

Fixes from a full end-to-end test of 1.0.1: fresh install, first-run setup, every view, and upgrading an existing library.

Fixed

• Photo grid showed one photo per row after adding your first folder, until Pixal was restarted.
• Wrong dates for photos without camera data. WhatsApp images, screenshots and other app exports are now dated from the date in their file name (e.g. IMG-20250824-WA0100.jpg) instead of the day you downloaded or copied them. Files changed shortly after midnight no longer land on the previous day. Existing libraries are corrected automatically on first launch.
• Selection carried over between actions. After adding photos to an album, they stayed selected, so a following "Move to trash" also trashed them. Every action now ends the selection.
• Duplicates kept the newest copy of identical files; the original is now kept.
• Suggested trips no longer appear as albums a photo belongs to, and dismissed suggestions no longer show up in search.
• The "Autumn 2025"-style memory no longer repeats its photo count.
• The Privacy settings now name the map server actually in use (Esri for the default satellite map).
• Onboarding: the step dots no longer show stray numbers, and "Next" is the main button once a folder is added.
• The intended fonts (Outfit, Inter, JetBrains Mono) are now included, and first run no longer logs errors.

Install or update on Windows

Download Pixal-Setup.exe below and run it. Installing over an earlier version keeps your library, settings and desktop shortcut.

> Windows may show a SmartScreen prompt because the installer is not code-signed yet. Choose More info → Run anyway.

Fixes for the first-run setup in 1.0.0.

Fixed

• "Pixal cannot reach its processing service" after first-run setup. The app gave up waiting while Python packages were still installing and never reconnected, even once everything was ready. It now connects as soon as setup finishes, and Try again works.
• Setup screen shifted to the right while packages were installing. It now stays centred.
• The error screen no longer shows developer-only setup commands.

Install or update on Windows

Download Pixal-Setup.exe below and run it. Installing over 1.0.0 keeps your library and settings.

> Windows may show a SmartScreen prompt because the installer is not code-signed yet. Choose More info → Run anyway.

The first release of Pixal: all the convenience of Google Photos, none of the cloud. Every photo, face and place stays on your machine.

Install on Windows

1. Download Pixal-Setup.exe below and run it.

2. Follow the setup wizard: choose where to install, and whether to add a desktop shortcut.

3. Open Pixal from the desktop shortcut or the Start Menu.

On first launch Pixal sets up its own private Python environment (Python 3.10+ is required; the app links you to python.org if it is missing).

> Windows may show a SmartScreen prompt because the installer is not code-signed yet. Choose More info → Run anyway.

Highlights

• Timeline, people, places, albums, memories and favourites
• Fast search across people, places, cameras and dates
• Face recognition and optional ML features that run fully offline
• No account, no cloud, no tracking