LUTviewer is a free Mac app that answers one question fast: which LUT should I use on this footage?
It sits as a slim panel on the side of your screen. Drag your LUT collection in once, drop in a clip, and every LUT renders live on your actual frame. Pick the one you like, then go grade.
Shooting log? Tell LUTviewer your camera and it converts the footage to Rec.709 first, so creative LUTs look the way they were designed to.
- Download LUTviewer.dmg (works on Apple Silicon and Intel Macs)
- Open the DMG and drag LUTviewer into Applications.
- First launch only: right-click LUTviewer in Applications → Open → Open.
Why the extra step? LUTviewer is free and isn't notarized by Apple (that costs a yearly developer fee), so macOS asks you to confirm the first time.
If macOS says the app "is damaged and can't be opened", paste this into Terminal once, then open it normally:
xattr -cr /Applications/LUTviewer.app
- 🎞 Every LUT at once. A live thumbnail grid shows each LUT in your library on the current frame, and it updates as you scrub.
- 📷 Log → Rec.709 built in. Pick your camera and LUTviewer handles the conversion. No conversion LUTs to hunt down.
- 🧭 Side panel. Docks to the edge of your screen and can float above Premiere, Resolve or Final Cut.
- 📂 Drag & drop everything. Drop in
.cube/.3dlfiles or whole LUT-pack folders once and they're saved in your library. Drop footage on the window, the Dock icon, or use Open With. ↔️ Before / after split. Drag the wipe across the frame, or hold \ to see the image without the LUT.- ⭐ Favorites, search, mix. Star your go-tos, filter by name or pack, and blend a LUT with the mix slider.
- 🎬 ProRes friendly. ProRes clips get a quick preview copy made automatically with macOS's built-in tools.
- 🎚 Basic adjustments. Exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, saturation, temperature and tint, applied before the LUT so every thumbnail shows your corrections.
- 🗂 Tidy panel. Camera, Adjust, LUT and Library are collapsible sections that show a summary when closed and remember how you left them.
- 🎬 Before / after video export. Turn any clip or still into a shareable MP4 with an animated wipe, split screen or side by side, plus a small LUTviewer watermark.
- 🔄 Automatic updates. LUTviewer checks GitHub for new versions and updates itself in one click (LUTviewer menu → Check for Updates…).
- 🔒 Private. Your footage and LUTs never leave your Mac. The only thing ever sent is a star rating, and only if you choose to give one.
| Brand | Log profiles |
|---|---|
| Sony | S-Log3 / S-Gamut3.Cine · S-Log3 / S-Gamut3 · S-Log2 · HLG |
| Canon | Canon Log 3 · Canon Log 2 · Canon Log |
| Panasonic / Lumix | V-Log / V-Gamut |
| Fujifilm | F-Log2 · F-Log |
| Nikon | N-Log |
| Blackmagic | Film Gen 5 / Wide Gamut Gen 5 |
| ARRI | LogC3 / AWG3 · LogC4 / AWG4 |
| RED | Log3G10 / REDWideGamutRGB |
| DJI | D-Log / D-Gamut |
| Apple | Apple Log (iPhone 15 Pro and later) |
| GoPro | Protune Flat |
| DaVinci | DaVinci Intermediate / Wide Gamut |
| Already graded | Rec.709, no conversion |
Missing your camera? Open an issue and let us know.
- Add your LUTs. Drag
.cube/.3dlfiles or folders onto the window. You only do this once. - Pick your camera from the Camera / log profile menu.
- Drop in a clip (or a still frame).
- Browse. Click thumbnails or use the arrow keys, and compare with the split view.
There are two kinds of LUTs, and LUTviewer handles both:
| Type | What it expects | What LUTviewer does |
|---|---|---|
| Look (creative LUTs, film emulations) | Rec.709 footage | Converts your log footage to Rec.709 first, then applies the look |
Log in (e.g. SLog3_to_Rec709.cube) |
Raw camera log | Applies the LUT straight to your log footage |
LUTviewer guesses the type from the file name (anything mentioning S-Log, C-Log, V-Log and so on is treated as Log in). Switch it any time with the Look / Log in toggle.
| Key | Action |
|---|---|
| ↑ ↓ / ← → | Previous / next LUT |
| Space | Play / pause |
| S | Toggle before / after split |
| hold \ | Show without LUT |
| F | Favorite current LUT |
| 0 | No LUT |
| ⌘ O | Open footage |
| ⌘ E | Export before / after video |
| ⇧ ⌘ L | Add LUTs |
| ⇧ ⌘ D | Dock window to the right edge |
Click the export button under the preview (or press ⌘ E) to make a short MP4:
| Layout | What you get |
|---|---|
| Wipe | A divider sweeps back and forth across the frame. The most eye-catching option for social posts. |
| Split | Before on the left, after on the right. |
| Side by side | The full frame twice, before next to after. |
Choose a length (from the playhead, or the whole clip), toggle the Before / After labels, and for log footage choose whether "before" shows the original log image or the Rec.709 conversion. A small LUTviewer watermark is added in the bottom corner. Exports are H.264 MP4 files, encoded on your Mac's hardware.
| Formats | |
|---|---|
| LUTs | .cube (3D and 1D), .3dl |
| Video | H.264, HEVC / H.265 (8- and 10-bit), ProRes (via automatic preview copy of the first 30 s) |
| Stills | JPG, PNG, TIFF, HEIC, WebP |
BRAW, R3D and ARRIRAW can't be opened directly. Export a short ProRes clip or a still from your editor first.
Is it really free?
Yes. LUTviewer is free and open source under the MIT license. No accounts, no subscriptions, no tracking.
Where are my LUTs stored?
LUTs you add are copied to ~/Library/Application Support/LUTviewer/LUTs, so your library keeps working even if you move or delete the originals. Open it from File → Show LUT Library in Finder. Removing a LUT in the app moves its copy to the Trash.
How accurate is the log → Rec.709 conversion?
The conversion uses each manufacturer's published log curve and color gamut math, computed on the GPU in real time. Filmic adds a gentle highlight roll-off similar to the official camera LUTs; Clip is a straight technical conversion. It's built for choosing a look, not for final delivery. Do your final grade in your editor.
My footage looks washed out or too contrasty.
Check that the camera / log profile matches what you shot. If blacks still look lifted, open Advanced and toggle Full data levels. Some cameras and recorders write full-range files.
How do updates work?
LUTviewer checks for a new release when it opens (and every few hours while it runs). When one is out, a banner appears at the top of the window: click Update and it downloads, installs and restarts itself. You can turn automatic checks off in the LUTviewer menu. Only version 1.0.0 needs a one-time manual download, since updates were added in 1.1.0.
Does LUTviewer collect any data?
No usage tracking, and your footage and LUTs never leave your Mac. After you've used the app for a couple of minutes it asks once whether you'd like to rate it. If you tap a star, only that star count (and the app version) is sent, anonymously. Updates are checked against GitHub's public release list.
Does it work on Intel Macs?
Yes. The download is a universal app that runs natively on both Apple Silicon and Intel.
Requires Node.js 20 or newer.
git clone https://github.com/830prod/LUTviewer.git
cd LUTviewer
npm install
npm start # run the app
npm test # check the color math
npm run dist # build dist/LUTviewer.dmgProject layout
src/main.js App windows, LUT library, footage loading
src/preload.js Bridge between the interface and the app
src/renderer/colorscience.js Camera log curves, gamut math, GPU shader
src/renderer/gl.js WebGL2 renderer for the preview and thumbnails
src/renderer/lut.js .cube / .3dl reader
src/renderer/app.js Interface
src/renderer/splash.html Splash screen
assets/ 830 Productions branding
build/ App icon and DMG artwork
Bug reports, camera requests and pull requests are welcome. Open an issue to get started.
MP4 writing uses mp4-muxer by Vanilagy (MIT).
MIT © 830 Productions
Made by 830 Productions