Frequently Asked Questions

CullVue is a desktop application for managing and browsing your photo library. It runs entirely on your local machine, meaning your images are never uploaded to the cloud. The app indexes your existing photo folders, provides a fast browsing experience, and includes AI-powered semantic search so you can find images by describing what's in them.

When you add a watch folder, CullVue runs a lightweight vision model on each image to generate a compact numerical representation called an embedding. These embeddings capture the visual content of the photo, such as objects, scenes, colors, and composition. When you type a search query, the app converts your text into the same embedding space and finds the photos whose embeddings are most similar. Everything runs locally on your CPU or GPU — no internet connection is required.

No. CullVue is a local-first application. Your photos, metadata, tags, albums, and AI embeddings are all stored on your device. The app does not require an internet connection to function, and no data is ever transmitted to external servers. The only network request the app makes is an optional check for software updates, which you can disable in Settings.

CullVue supports all major image formats including JPEG, PNG, WebP, TIFF, HEIF/HEIC, and AVIF. It also handles common RAW formats from major camera manufacturers, including CR2, CR3 (Canon), NEF (Nikon), ARW (Sony), RAF (Fujifilm), ORF (Olympus), and DNG. Video files are recognized in the library but are not indexed for AI search at this time.

CullVue is free to download and use for personal libraries of up to 10,000 photos. For larger libraries and advanced features such as smart albums, batch operations, and priority support, a one-time license is available. Check the pricing page for current details. There are no subscriptions and no recurring fees.

CullVue runs on macOS 12 or later, Windows 10 or later, and most modern Linux distributions (Ubuntu 22.04+, Fedora 38+). You will need at least 4 GB of RAM and around 500 MB of disk space for the application itself. The AI search model requires approximately 1 GB of additional disk space. A dedicated GPU is not required but will significantly speed up the initial embedding generation.

Yes. Your license allows installation on up to three devices you personally own. Since CullVue is local-first, each installation maintains its own library database. If your photos are stored on a shared network drive or a synced folder (such as Dropbox or iCloud Drive), each device will independently index the same files. Tags and albums are stored locally per device, but an import/export feature is available to transfer your organizational data between installations.

You can reach us through the contact page on our website, or by emailing support@cullvue.com. We also maintain a community forum and a GitHub repository where you can report bugs and request features. Paid license holders receive priority email support with a guaranteed response within one business day.