Stakka

iOS astrophotography for dark-sky discovery, capture sequencing, and frame stacking.

Overview

Stakka combines three product areas:

• Library stacking with project-based workflows, grouped calibration frames, TIFF export, and DSS-style comet modes
• Capture sequencing with wheel-picker camera controls and handoff into the stacking project system
• Dark-sky exploration with MapKit-based location readings and a light-pollution surface

The current codebase is beyond the original prototype, but still mid-transition. RAW/FITS import, intermediate exports, live stacking, and real light-pollution data are still in progress.

Current Capabilities

Library Projects

• Create, open, duplicate, and delete local stacking projects
• Organize Light / Dark / Flat / Dark Flat / Bias frame groups
• Import frames from Photos or Files
• Run analyze -> register -> stack
• Save the final result to Photos or export TIFF

Comet Modes

• standard: stars frozen, comet trails
• cometOnly: comet frozen, stars trail
• cometAndStars: comet and stars both frozen
• Automatic comet estimation after registration
• Full-screen per-frame comet review and manual correction

Camera

• Sequential multi-frame capture
• Wheel-picker controls for exposure and shot count
• Expandable advanced controls
• Capture-to-project handoff into the recent stacking project

Light Pollution

• MapKit-based dark-sky exploration
• Current-location centering
• Bortle-style mock readings

Architecture

Stakka uses a domain-oriented structure:

Stakka/
├── App/
├── Domains/
│   ├── Capture/
│   ├── DarkSky/
│   ├── Library/
│   ├── Session/
│   └── Stacking/
└── Platform/

Core rules:

• App wires dependencies and root navigation
• Domains/*/Presentation owns SwiftUI views and view models
• Domains/*/Application owns orchestration and use cases
• Domains/*/Domain holds business models and protocols
• Domains/*/Infrastructure holds framework adapters and storage

Start with docs/overview/ARCHITECTURE.md for the full system guide.

Tech Stack

• SwiftUI
• AVFoundation
• MapKit
• PhotosUI
• CoreImage + CoreGraphics
• Vision
• Swift Concurrency
• XcodeGen

Quick Start

brew install xcodegen
git clone https://github.com/stvlynn/Stakka.git
cd Stakka
xcodegen generate
open Stakka.xcodeproj

Build from the command line:

xcodebuild \
  -project Stakka.xcodeproj \
  -scheme Stakka \
  -destination 'platform=iOS Simulator,name=iPhone 15 Pro' \
  build

If that simulator is unavailable, use any installed iPhone simulator or a concrete simulator identifier.

Docs

Start Here

• docs/README.md
• docs/overview/ARCHITECTURE.md
• docs/development/WORKFLOW.md

Module Docs

• docs/modules/library-stacking.md
• docs/modules/image-stacking.md
• docs/modules/camera.md
• docs/modules/light-pollution.md
• docs/modules/design-system.md

Guides

• docs/guides/project-catalog.md
• docs/guides/library-workflow.md
• docs/guides/comet-mode.md
• docs/guides/capture-handoff.md

Planning

• docs/roadmap.md

Known Gaps

• No RAW/FITS import yet
• No calibrated or registered intermediate export yet
• No live stacking yet
• No background calibration, channel alignment, or cosmetic correction yet
• Advanced camera controls are not fully wired to device hardware
• Light-pollution data is still mocked

License

MIT. See LICENSE.