Chapter 1: Quick Start

1.1 Introduction

Photocatalyst (光媒) is a professional AI-powered photo management application that helps you efficiently organize, manage, and browse your digital photo collections. It integrates a local AI inference engine and supports intelligent features such as face recognition, image similarity search, and OCR text recognition.

Core Features

• Smart Indexing: Automatically scan folders and build a photo index
• AI Face Recognition: Automatically detect faces and group them by person
• Multi-Dimensional Browsing: Timeline, geolocation, AI grouping
• Powerful Search: Search by image, face search, semantic search
• Albums: Flexible organization without altering file structure
• Batch Operations: Cross-page selection, batch rename, batch export
• Album Sharing: Create password-protected online albums

Supported Image Formats

1.2 Installation & System Requirements

System Requirements

Installation Steps

1. Download the installer for your operating system from the official website
2. Run the installer and follow the wizard to complete installation
3. The software will perform initial configuration on first launch
4. Select the interface language (Chinese/English) and basic preferences

Operating Modes

For detailed Docker deployment instructions, see Chapter 14.

1.3 Interface Overview

Main Layout

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ [≡ Menu]  [Search Box]                     [Status Bar]  │
├──────────────┬──────────────────────────────────────────┤
│              │                                          │
│  · All Photos│                                          │
│  · Albums    │        Main Content Area                 │
│  · Tags      │        (Photo Grid)                      │
│  · Duplicates│                                          │
│  · Trash     │                                          │
│ ──────────── │                                          │
│  · People    │                                          │
│  · Places    │                                          │
│  · Timeline  │                                          │
│  · AI Groups │                                          │
│ ──────────── │                                          │
│  · Folder Tree│                                          │
│              │                                          │
└──────────────┴──────────────────────────────────────────┘

Sidebar Navigation

The sidebar is divided into three sections:

Upper Section — Basic Features

Middle Section — AI Features

Lower Section — Folder Tree

• Displays the folder structure of added photo sources
• Click a folder to browse its photos
• Supports drag-and-drop to add new folders

Top Menu Bar

Click the menu icon (≡) at the top of the sidebar to access:

• Add Folder: Add a new photo source
• Settings: Open preference settings
• Keyboard Shortcuts: Configure keyboard shortcuts
• Refresh Index: Rebuild or refresh the photo index
• Activate: Manage software license
• Help: View documentation, check for updates, about info
• Refresh: Reload the current page
• Exit: Quit the application

Status Bar

Located at the bottom of the window, displaying:

• Number of photos selected on the current page
• Total number of cross-page selected photos
• Indexing progress and status

1.4 Basic Workflow

Add Folder → Scan & Index → Browse Photos → Organize → Search → Export & Share

Step 1: Add Photo Source

1. Click the sidebar menu → Add Folder
2. Select a folder containing photos
3. The software automatically starts scanning and indexing
4. Once indexing is complete, you can browse your photos

Step 2: Browse Photos

1. Select "All Photos" in the sidebar
2. Photos are displayed in a grid
3. Use the mouse wheel to browse more photos
4. Double-click a photo to enter full-screen preview

Step 3: Explore Features

• Search: Use the top search box to find photos
• People: View AI-identified people
• Timeline: Browse photos by shooting date
• AI Groups: Experience smart classification

Quick Reference

Next: Read Chapter 2 to learn how to add and manage photo folders.