Stacks

Stacks are enabled by default. A stack is a single logical photo represented by multiple physical files on disk that share the same filename stem (everything before the extension) in the same folder.

For example, a camera that saves both a JPEG and a RAW file will produce two files with the same name. Starsky groups them into one stack so the folder view stays clean while all files remain accessible.

What groups files into a stack

The rule is simple: same folder + same filename stem = same stack.

/2018/IMG_1234.jpg   ─┐
/2018/IMG_1234.arw   ─┤  shown as one item
/2018/IMG_1234.avi   ─┘

/2018/IMG_1235.jpg      separate item (different stem)

Any combination of extensions works: .jpg + .raw, .jpg + .avi, .jpg + .xmp, .arw + .dng, and so on. There is no fixed limit on how many files can be in one stack.

What you see in the folder view

With stacks enabled (the default), the folder shows one thumbnail per stack. The app picks which file to use for the thumbnail:

1. The first file whose extension supports thumbnail generation (e.g. .jpg, .png, .webp)
2. If none qualify (e.g. a pure .arw + .dng pair), it falls back to whichever filename sorts first alphabetically

The other files in the stack are not deleted — they are simply hidden from the list. Switch to flat view (see below) to see every file individually.

What you see in the detail view

When you open a stacked item, all file paths that belong to the stack are available. This is used by several features:

• Bulk open in editor — all stack members are opened together in your external editor
• Metadata editing — tags and color class are written to all members
• Export — you can export any or all members of the stack

Switching between stacked and flat view

The collections query parameter controls the view mode on every API request:

URL parameter	Effect
collections=true	Stacked view — one entry per filename stem (default)
collections=false	Flat view — every file listed individually

The frontend stores this preference in the URL so it persists while navigating.

The collectionsCount field in the API response always reflects the total number of individual files in the folder, regardless of the current view mode.

Open files in an external editor

In desktop mode you can batch-open all files in a stack with your preferred editor. The desktop open feature respects the stack settings so all members (JPEG, RAW, sidecar, etc.) are passed to the editor at once.

See Desktop Open for more information.