I'm now creating gorgeous images from even mediocre data with very little effort using StarTools.G. B., United States
I discovered StarTools and my photos are now amazing. Thank you StarTools for turning my average photos into amazing ones.R. Forest, Canada
The code and the theory behind it are truly innovative and much easier to use than the competition.E. O., United States
I managed to process my fist image in 20 minutes after my first contact with StarTools. I never got this result using PS or PI ... and I have been using them for a long, long time.P.A., Portugal
No nonsense, affordable astro software that just works.S. Sheriff, Spain
Since I've discovered Star Tools I feel that processing can be something faster, easier and much more intuitive compared with other software.A. Roig, Barcelona, Catalunya
Your truly innovative and powerful software continues to amaze and delight me!D. Zielke, Canada
Your software makes intuitive sense to me.P. Brand, Australia
Congratulations for your huge and wonderful masterpiece in image post processing!M. Cecconi, Fundación Galileo Galilei - INAF, Fundación Canaria, Spain
It seemed easy to navigate and concise, but still crammed with advanced functions.T. Murray, United Kingdom
I tried your 'Startools' today and was blown away with its blinding speed and unique functionality.R. Higby, Australia
Such a wonderful piece of software.G. Stevens, Australia
StarTools offers a breath of fresh air in a field that at times can be complex and bewildering.BBC The Sky at Night Magazine, April 2013
Having acquired StarTools I'm now starting to feel confident with what I can do in this hobby. And that's a bloody good thing!!M. Vecchi, Australia
I love love love your StarTools! Please keep up the good work! Its an amazing piece of image processing software. I am so glad I found your StarTools.A. Svahins, United States
This ingenious software in my opinion out performs all previous packages I have used in the past.P. Scully, South Africa
Underneath its simple front interface is a powerhouse of tools.BBC The Sky at Night Magazine, April 2013
I am impressed with the ease of working with the package compared to MaxIm DL Pro 5, PI and PSCS2/3/4 with which I am very familiar.J. Giles, Australia
There are many clever things about StarTools, but the most impressive is the way it rejuvenates image processing by combining more primitive algorithms into new routines.BBC The Sky at Night Magazine, April 2013
- Home
- Download
Download
StarTools is a 64-bit optimized application for multi-core processors, with at least 6GB of memory available. For larger datasets 16GB to 32GB may be required. Fast SSD access will greatly benefit the application. Always check for oversampling and Bin down your dataset to a lower resolution where possible. Legacy 32-bit machines and operating systems are also still supported.
The single ZIP archive contains the executables for Windows, macOS and Linux. StarTools is a pure native application and does not rely on other frameworks.
Never download StarTools from anywhere else but startools.org. We do not allow distribution of StarTools by any other party, on-line or off-line. If you find a copy of StarTools not hosted on startools.org, please let us know.
macOS notes
Some macOS (e.g. Sierra and above) users may need to run;
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine StarTools.app
to un-quarantine StarTools.
This command needs to be run from the folder where the StarTools application is located (you can use the 'cd' command to navigate to the right folder, while using the TAB key to auto-complete the path).
Alternatively StarTools can be launched via control + click on the application, Show Package Contents, navigating to Contents/MacOS and clicking on the application.
Apple has been making it increasingly difficult for independent developers to distribute applications. As of Sierra you will need to follow the following steps to run StarTools.
Download stable RC version
Release Candidate versions are stable versions that are almost ready for release, and contain significantly enhanced functionality and features. They may still subject to small fixes and tweaks. Documentation may not be 100% complete
StarTools 1.6.394 for Windows 32-bit, Windows 64-bit, Windows 64-bit with AVX 2.0, MacOSX 64-bit, Linux 32-bit, Linux 64-bit, Linux 64-bit AVX 2.0 (6.8MB)
Latest version released 2020-05-02 (YYYY/MM/DD)
Download stable
StarTools 1.5.369 Maintenance Release 3, for Windows 32-bit, Windows 64-bit, MacOSX 64-bit, Linux 32-bit and Linux 64-bit (3.8MB)
Latest version released 2019-10-31 (YYYY/MM/DD)
Download Android Tech Demo
StarTools 1.3.204 for Android 1.6+ Technology Demo (1.5 MB)
NOTE: Put any file you want to load in /sdcard root and name it 'file.tiff'
English manual
StarTools uses AIFE.AI for content management and digital footprint. This means that the website content doubles as a printable manual and vice-versa. This content is also available as a smartphone/tablet app, virtual flipbook, virtual reality (VR) experience and more. This content will always be up-to-date with the latest information.
Unofficial English manual
Unofficial English StarTools 1.6 Manual (96MB), last updated 2020-04-17, with tips, tricks and information from various sources.
Many thanks to J. Scharmann for putting together this excellent work, as well as its German translation.
Unofficial German manual / Inoffizielle Deutsche Anleitung
Inoffizielle StarTools 1.6 Anleitung in Deutsch (96MB), letztes Update 2020-04-17.
Vielen Dank an J. Scharmann für die ausgezeichnete Übersetzung.
Unoffical Spanish manual / Manual en Espanol
Manual de StarToolsBasado en la versión 1.6 al español (16B). Ultima actualizacion 2020-05-05.
Muchas gracias a C. R. Guixé por la excelente traducción.
StarTools works on all 32-bit (NT-based) and 64-bit versions of Windows. This means that StarTools runs on Windows NT 4, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8 and Windows 10.
StarTools is display-device agnostic, but can be configured to display its GUI at a 4x higher resolution to accommodate high-DPI devices and 4K displays.
Some less reputable virus scanners such as BitDefender, Norton and SpyBot may falsely report StarTools as a Trojan or Potentially Unwanted Program (due to malware that carries a similar name). Despite multiple users going through the lengths of getting StarTools white listed, the same problem pops up every 6 months or so.
The minimum specifications for a computer to run StarTools successfully depends mostly on the resolution the data you intend to process.
StarTools uses all your CPU's cores to speed up processing in situations where it makes sense.
The 32-bit version is meant for older computers with less memory and/or a 32-bit Operating System.
StarTools is a completely native, self-contained application that does not require any further installation of helper libraries or run-time frameworks.
If you had bothered to read the 'buy' page, you would have learned that you could spare yourself the effort of writing a keygen or crack - if you can't afford the license fee and you are a genuine enthusiast, we're happy to work something out!
I'm now creating gorgeous images from even mediocre data with very little effort using StarTools.G. B., United States
I discovered StarTools and my photos are now amazing. Thank you StarTools for turning my average photos into amazing ones.R. Forest, Canada
The code and the theory behind it are truly innovative and much easier to use than the competition.E. O., United States
I managed to process my fist image in 20 minutes after my first contact with StarTools. I never got this result using PS or PI ... and I have been using them for a long, long time.P.A., Portugal
No nonsense, affordable astro software that just works.S. Sheriff, Spain
Since I've discovered Star Tools I feel that processing can be something faster, easier and much more intuitive compared with other software.A. Roig, Barcelona, Catalunya
Your truly innovative and powerful software continues to amaze and delight me!D. Zielke, Canada
Your software makes intuitive sense to me.P. Brand, Australia
Congratulations for your huge and wonderful masterpiece in image post processing!M. Cecconi, Fundación Galileo Galilei - INAF, Fundación Canaria, Spain
It seemed easy to navigate and concise, but still crammed with advanced functions.T. Murray, United Kingdom
I tried your 'Startools' today and was blown away with its blinding speed and unique functionality.R. Higby, Australia
Such a wonderful piece of software.G. Stevens, Australia
StarTools offers a breath of fresh air in a field that at times can be complex and bewildering.BBC The Sky at Night Magazine, April 2013
Having acquired StarTools I'm now starting to feel confident with what I can do in this hobby. And that's a bloody good thing!!M. Vecchi, Australia
I love love love your StarTools! Please keep up the good work! Its an amazing piece of image processing software. I am so glad I found your StarTools.A. Svahins, United States
This ingenious software in my opinion out performs all previous packages I have used in the past. P. Scully, South Africa
Underneath its simple front interface is a powerhouse of tools.BBC The Sky at Night Magazine, April 2013
I am impressed with the ease of working with the package compared to MaxIm DL Pro 5, PI and PSCS2/3/4 with which I am very familiar.J. Giles, Australia
There are many clever things about StarTools, but the most impressive is the way it rejuvenates image processing by combining more primitive algorithms into new routines.BBC The Sky at Night Magazine, April 2013