Project Kestrel v(Willow Ptarmigan-F1) Release!

[SanjaySoniLV]

NOTE: This is a hotfix release to Project Kestrel v(Willow Ptarmigan) that fixes a critical bug preventing Kestrel from analyzing folders on MacOS. This update is not applicable for Windows users.

====== ORIGINAL RELEASE NOTES: v(Willow Ptarmigan) ======
Major user interface/user experience update coupled with improvements and customizability to the analysis pipeline. This is a massive update to expand Kestrel's functionality and intuitiveness.

Version Willow Ptarmigan Changelog

• Major improvements to Kestrel User Interface! Kestrel now shows your scenes in a filmstrip style view, allowing you to rapidly relive your memories and select which ones to edit and share.
  • New keyboard shortcuts let you rapidly flick through a scene and seamless advance to previous/next scenes.
  • New accept/reject tagging system lets you make culling decisions from the scene visualizer
  • Streamlined user interface maintains all functionality: rename the scene, edit tags, split the scene into multiple scenes, and view RAW previews.

• Improvements to Kestrel Culling Assistant and handling of culling decisions
  • New streamlined user interface allows you to drag and drop images in addition to using Shift+Click
  • New buttons to reset Culling Decisions allow you to reset Accept/Reject Ratings
• Significant improvements to Kestrel's analysis pipeline
  • New configurable rating system lets you customize how Kestrel assigns star ratings to your scenes.
  • New exposure compensation algorithm improves analysis options
  • Fixed bugs with Kestrel's scene grouping algorithm.
• NOTE: New Hotfix was released for MacOS users on March 19th, 2026 to fix a bug preventing successfully running the quality classifier model.

Minor Changes

• Other User Interface tweaks
  • Consolidated buttons in the main GUI
  • Updated in-app tutorials to thoroughly explain all new features and workflows
  • Improvements to how Kestrel writes metadata to align more consistently with visuals.
  • Tweaks to simplify language around metadata and culling categories.
  • Improved handling of auto-generated ratings and auto-generated culling decisions to enhance consistency and decouple the two features.
  • Show pipeline version in addition to standard version control.
• Substantial number of bug fixes, particularly around the user interface, settings menu, and culling assistant.

Coming Soon

1. Video Tutorial is coming soon on projectkestrel.org
2. Projectkestrel.org will be updated to reflect the full capabilities of Project Kestrel
3. No major features are planned at this time; user feedback is requested as soon as possible.
4. GPU support is on the roadmap; as are improvements to species classification.

Feedback? Please visit projectkestrel.org/contact or use the in-app feedback feature!

I really need feedback! Please provide feedback. Thank you!

Thank you for trying Project Kestrel! Download Kestrel from the Microsoft Store by visiting www.projectkestrel.org for automatic updates.

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