Mineral

Apple Photos is convenient but limited. More capable editors often introduce subscriptions, complex library management or an entirely separate workflow.

I built Mineral to explore a middle ground: a focused editor that feels native to macOS, works directly with the Photos library and offers more creative control without replacing the user’s collection.

A quiet editing interface

Mineral uses a dark, tool-focused interface that keeps attention on the image. Adjustments are grouped into a compact numeric sidebar, with a single amber accent identifying controls changed from their defaults.

Live previews, before-and-after comparison, individual resets, undo and redo make experimentation quick without making the interface visually busy.

One non-destructive model

Every edit is represented by a single serialisable parameter model. Manual controls, Auto Enhance, saved sessions, export and the Photos extension all use the same source of truth.

Mineral can restore an editing session exactly and re-render it at full resolution. The model also remains compatible as new controls are introduced.

Explainable Auto Enhance

Auto Enhance analyses luminance, saturation and Core Image adjustment suggestions, then writes its decisions back into the visible controls.

Changed parameters are highlighted and the overall intensity remains adjustable. The result is a useful starting point rather than an opaque one-click effect.

Beyond conventional adjustments

Alongside tone, colour, sharpening, noise reduction, texture and clarity controls, Mineral explores techniques more often associated with real-time graphics.

Custom Core Image Metal kernels power effects such as debanding and adaptive rim lighting. Portrait depth data can drive selective sharpening, synthetic bokeh and atmospheric haze.

Native Photos integration

Mineral includes an Apple Photos editing extension. Users can open an image from Photos, apply adjustments and return later with the editing state intact.

The main application and extension share the same rendering and serialisation architecture, keeping edits consistent in both environments while respecting the extension’s tighter memory limits.

Outcome

The working prototype includes Photos library browsing, file import, GPU-backed previews, non-destructive adjustments, adjustable Auto Enhance, depth-aware effects, JPEG and TIFF export, and Photos extension round-tripping.

Mineral became an exploration of how a capable professional tool can remain visually quiet and native to the platform it lives on.