Aphelion
An image editor with 21 tools, 49 effects, plugin support, scripting, 11 file formats + proprietary project format.
Aphelion Image Editor
Aphelion is a professional, layer-based image editor for Linux, built with Python and PySide6. It provides Paint.NET-like functionality with 49 image effects, 21 tools, and extensive file format support.
✨ Features
🎨 Tools (21)
| Category | Tools |
|---|---|
| Selection | Rectangle, Ellipse, Lasso, Magic Wand |
| Drawing | Brush, Pencil, Eraser (pressure sensitive), Smudge |
| Shapes | Line, Curve, Rectangle, Ellipse |
| Fill | Paint Bucket, Gradient (Linear, Radial, Conical, Diamond, Reflected) |
| Retouching | Clone Stamp, Recolor |
| Utility | Text, Color Picker, Zoom, Move Selected Pixels |
🖼️ Effects (49)
| Category | Effects |
|---|---|
| Adjustments | Invert, Invert Alpha, Brightness/Contrast, Hue/Saturation, Auto Level, Sepia, Curves, Levels, Posterize, Black & White, Color Balance |
| Blurs | Gaussian, Sharpen, Motion, Radial, Zoom, Surface, Median, Bokeh, Sketch, Unfocus |
| Distort | Pixelate, Bulge, Twist, Tile Reflection, Dents, Crystallize, 3D Rotate/Zoom, Polar Inversion, Frosted Glass |
| Stylize | Emboss, Edge Detect, Outline, Fragment, Drop Shadow, Channel Shift, Relief |
| Artistic | Oil Painting, Pencil Sketch, Ink Sketch |
| Photo | Vignette, Glow, Red Eye Removal |
| Noise | Add Noise, Reduce Noise |
| Render | Clouds, Julia Fractal, Mandelbrot Fractal |
📁 File Formats
- Import: PNG, JPEG, WebP, TIFF, BMP, GIF, TGA, ICO, PPM, SVG
- Export: PNG, JPEG, WebP, TIFF, BMP, GIF, TGA, ICO, PPM
- Project:
.aphelion(non-destructive layer preservation)
🎭 Additional Features
- Layer System: Unlimited layers with blend modes, opacity, and masks.
- Visual Thumbnails: Real-time layer previews.
- Selection Tools: Advance operations like Feather, Expand, Contract, Invert.
- Undo/Redo: Full history with visual timeline.
- Plugin System: Extend with Python scripts.
- Themes: Light and Dark mode.
- Image Strip: Paint.NET-style open document thumbnails.
🚀 Quick Start
# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/RecursiveIntell/Aphelion.git
cd Aphelion
# Create virtual environment
python3 -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
# Install dependencies
pip install PySide6 numpy scipy pycairo
# Run
./run.sh
# OR
export PYTHONPATH=src
python3 -m aphelion
🔌 Plugin Development
Aphelion supports plugins for adding custom effects and tools.
Plugin locations:
./plugins/(project directory)~/.aphelion/plugins/(user directory)
See PLUGIN_DEV.md for development guide.
Included plugins:
- Sepia Filter
- Star Stamp Tool
🧪 Testing
# Run all verification tests
python verify_all.py
📋 Requirements
- Python 3.10+
- PySide6
- NumPy, SciPy
- PyCairo (Cairo-based rendering backend)
- Linux (tested on Fedora/Nobara)
Installing PyCairo
# pip (usually works)
pip install pycairo
# Fedora/RHEL (if pip fails)
sudo dnf install cairo-devel
# Ubuntu/Debian (if pip fails)
sudo apt install libcairo2-dev
📄 License
MIT License
Aphelion - A professional image editor for Linux
