AstroRAW-o-Matic

Mostly harmless RAW conversion.

⚠️ Early Alpha // not ready for production use. The core architecture and CLI are in place, but RAW pixel extraction is not yet fully implemented. Expect breaking changes. Feedback and contributions welcome.

"Space is big. You just won't believe how vastly, hugely, mind-bogglingly big it is. And it turns out, so are CR2 files."

AstroRAW-o-Matic is a reproducible, workflow-oriented RAW-to-FITS converter for astrophotographers. It is the clean first step before stacking and image processing // not a competitor to PixInsight, Siril, or DeepSkyStacker, but the tool you run before those.

It takes your DSLR RAW files and turns them into properly-headered, reproducible FITS files, ready for your stacking software of choice.

Community

Dark Matters // Astro Community Questions, feedback and discussions about AstroRAW-o-Matic:

🔗 discord.gg/mvgC6aXY

Why AstroRAW-o-Matic?

Existing RAW-to-FITS tools tend to be technically dated, weakly documented, and workflow-unaware. AstroRAW-o-Matic is built as a modern, CLI-first, session-driven tool:

Reproducible: session JSON captures your equipment and observation data // re-run the same conversion months later and get the same output.
Workflow-oriented: designed as the step before stacking, not a replacement for it.
CLI-first: usable in scripts, pipelines, and automation from day one.
GitHub-first: professional structure, open source, MIT licensed.
Engine / UI separated: same core will power a future GUI // no spaghetti.

Features

Convert Canon CR2 RAW files to FITS
Preserve RAW Bayer data without debayering (astronomer-friendly)
Automatically extract EXIF metadata (camera, exposure, ISO, date, focal length)
Apply session metadata from JSON (object, telescope, filter, location, observer…)
Full FITS header with all standard and astro-specific keywords
Frame type classification: Light, Dark, Flat, Bias
Batch directory conversion
Dry-run mode
Per-file metadata overrides
Machine-readable JSON logging

Supported Formats

Format	Read	Notes
Canon CR2	✅	Canon 600D/60Da and similar DSLRs
Canon CR3	🔜	Planned
Nikon NEF	🔜	Planned
Sony ARW	🔜	Planned

Output: FITS 16-bit (BITPIX=16), RAW Bayer mosaic.

Installation

From source (requires Rust toolchain)

git clone https://github.com/lindekai/AstroRAW-o-Matic.git
cd AstroRAW-o-Matic
cargo build --release

The binary will be at target/release/astroraw-o-matic.

Add it to your PATH, or create an alias arom:

alias arom='astroraw-o-matic'

macOS (Homebrew)

brew tap lindekai/astroraw-o-matic https://github.com/lindekai/AstroRAW-o-Matic
brew install astroraw-o-matic

Windows // binary releases planned

Linux // binary releases planned

Quickstart

Inspect a RAW file

astroraw-o-matic inspect image.CR2

Convert a single file

astroraw-o-matic convert image.CR2 --output ./FITS --object "M31" --type light

Convert a directory with session metadata

astroraw-o-matic convert ./RAW --output ./FITS --metadata session.json

Validate a session JSON

astroraw-o-matic validate session.json

Dry run (see what would happen, write nothing)

astroraw-o-matic convert ./RAW --output ./FITS --metadata session.json --dry-run

Session JSON

The session JSON is the contract between you, the CLI, and the FITS headers. It captures everything the RAW EXIF doesn't know about your observation.

{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "object": "M31 Andromeda Galaxy",
  "observer": "K. Linde",
  "notes": "First light with new scope",
  "session_date": "2024-09-15",
  "frame_type": "light",
  "equipment": {
    "telescope": "Skywatcher 80ED",
    "focal_length": 600,
    "aperture": 7.5,
    "filter": "L",
    "camera": {
      "make": "Canon",
      "model": "EOS 600Da",
      "pixel_size_x": 4.3,
      "pixel_size_y": 4.3
    }
  },
  "location": {
    "latitude": 52.5200,
    "longitude": 13.4050,
    "elevation": 34.0,
    "site_name": "Backyard Observatory, Berlin"
  },
  "output": {
    "raw_mode": "raw_bayer",
    "header_mode": "astro",
    "overwrite": false,
    "write_history": true
  },
  "file_overrides": {
    "IMG_0001.CR2": {
      "frame_type": "dark"
    }
  }
}

Metadata priority (highest to lowest)

File-specific override (file_overrides in session JSON)
Session-level JSON values
EXIF data extracted from the RAW file
Built-in defaults

CLI Reference

`convert`

astroraw-o-matic convert <INPUT> --output <DIR> [OPTIONS]

Options:
  --output <DIR>        Output directory for FITS files (required)
  --metadata <FILE>     Session JSON file
  --recursive           Recurse into subdirectories
  --type <TYPE>         Frame type: light, dark, flat, bias
  --object <NAME>       Target object name
  --telescope <NAME>    Telescope or lens
  --filter <NAME>       Filter (e.g. L, Ha, OIII)
  --observer <NAME>     Observer name
  --header-mode <MODE>  minimal or astro (default: astro)
  --overwrite           Overwrite existing FITS files
  --dry-run             Show what would happen, write nothing
  --log-file <FILE>     Write log to file
  --verbose             Verbose debug output

`inspect`

astroraw-o-matic inspect <FILE> [--json]

Print metadata extracted from a RAW file. Use --json for machine-readable output.

`validate`

astroraw-o-matic validate <session.json>

Validate a session JSON file and report warnings.

FITS Headers

Mandatory (always written)

Keyword	Description
SIMPLE	Conforms to FITS standard
BITPIX	Bits per pixel (16)
NAXIS	Number of dimensions
NAXIS1	Image width
NAXIS2	Image height
EXTEND	Extensions permitted

Astro mode (default)

Keyword	Source	Description
INSTRUME	RAW EXIF / JSON	Camera model
EXPTIME	RAW EXIF	Exposure time [s]
ISOSPEED	RAW EXIF	ISO setting
DATE-OBS	RAW EXIF	Date/time of observation
BAYERPAT	Inferred / JSON	Bayer CFA pattern
CFATYPE	Inferred / JSON	CFA type
COLORTYP	Fixed	RAW (not debayered)
XPIXSZ	JSON	Pixel width [µm]
YPIXSZ	JSON	Pixel height [µm]
BITDEPTH	Inferred	Sensor ADC bit depth
IMAGETYP	JSON / CLI	Frame type (LIGHT/DARK/FLAT/BIAS)
OBJECT	JSON / CLI	Target name
TELESCOP	JSON	Telescope / lens
FOCALLEN	RAW EXIF / JSON	Focal length [mm]
APERTURE	RAW EXIF / JSON	Aperture f-number
FILTER	JSON	Filter name
OBSERVER	JSON	Observer name
SITELAT	JSON	Site latitude
SITELONG	JSON	Site longitude
SITEELEV	JSON	Site elevation [m]
BLACKLVL	RAW	Black level (ADU)
WHITELEV	RAW	Saturation level (ADU)
SWCREATE	Fixed	AstroRAW-o-Matic version
HISTORY	Auto	Conversion provenance

Architecture

AstroRAW-o-Matic
├── crates/
│   ├── astroraw-models/     # Shared data models (session JSON, FITS header, frame types)
│   ├── astroraw-core/       # Engine: RAW reading, metadata resolution, FITS writing
│   └── astroraw-cli/        # CLI frontend (uses core, no UI deps)
└── (future) crates/
    └── astroraw-gui/        # Tauri GUI // same core, different frontend

The engine is UI-free. The CLI is a thin layer over the engine. The future GUI will be another thin layer over the same engine.

N.I.N.A. Integration (planned)

An optional Bridge Plugin for N.I.N.A. is planned.

N.I.N.A. Session (Windows)
        │  new CR2 captured
        ▼
AstroRAW-o-Matic Bridge Plugin (C#)
  → collects session metadata from N.I.N.A.
  → generates session.json
  → calls astroraw-o-matic CLI (async)
        │
        ▼
   FITS file // full astro header

Key principle: The plugin contains no conversion logic. All conversion is done by the Rust CLI. The plugin is a thin bridge only.

See integrations/nina-plugin/ for architecture, scaffold and documentation.

Roadmap

Building

# Debug build
cargo build

# Release build
cargo build --release

# Run tests
cargo test

# Run CLI directly
cargo run --bin astroraw-o-matic -- --help

Prerequisites

Rust 1.75+ (install via rustup)
No C dependencies required for current build
Future LibRaw integration will require a C compiler and LibRaw headers

Platform Support

Platform	Status
macOS (Apple Silicon)	✅
macOS (Intel)	✅
Linux (x86_64)	✅
Windows 10/11	✅

License

Contributing

See CONTRIBUTING.md.

"The answer is 42. The question is what FITS keyword to use for it. We recommend OBJECT."

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 45 Commits
.github/workflows		.github/workflows
Formula		Formula
crates		crates
docs		docs
examples		examples
integrations/nina-plugin		integrations/nina-plugin
logo		logo
.gitignore		.gitignore
CHANGELOG.md		CHANGELOG.md
CONTRIBUTING.md		CONTRIBUTING.md
Cargo.toml		Cargo.toml
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.de.md		README.de.md
README.md		README.md

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AstroRAW-o-Matic

Community

Why AstroRAW-o-Matic?

Features

Supported Formats

Installation

From source (requires Rust toolchain)

macOS (Homebrew)

Windows // binary releases planned

Linux // binary releases planned

Quickstart

Inspect a RAW file

Convert a single file

Convert a directory with session metadata

Validate a session JSON

Dry run (see what would happen, write nothing)

Session JSON

Metadata priority (highest to lowest)

CLI Reference

convert

inspect

validate

FITS Headers

Mandatory (always written)

Astro mode (default)

Architecture

N.I.N.A. Integration (planned)

Roadmap

Building

Prerequisites

Platform Support

License

Contributing

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