Kokon

https://github.com/user-attachments/assets/8851c580-99b9-432a-82be-b6d42fa9a749

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New in 0.12: split any image into layers

• Layers lab (experimental): click the things you want on their own layer. Kokon cuts each one out and paints the background behind it, so you can move, scale, hide or edit any piece, expand one that was cut off by the frame, and save one image or export a PSD for Photoshop, GIMP or Photopea.
• Blend into scene (experimental): after a move, Kokon redraws the shadows, or reflections on wet or shiny ground.
• Paint with colours: one colour per thing, and say what goes there, right on the picture; Select picks an object with one click.
• Prompt+ for painted areas and Expand, with a Standard or Detailed level.
• Kokon's own Mac engine is the default on Macs with 16 GB or more: about a minute for a new 1-megapixel image on an M2 Pro, four times faster than before.
• AI marking: every image says, in its file and in an invisible watermark, that it was made with AI (docs/ai-marking.md).

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Since 0.11: use it from your phone, or run it as a server

Your computer with the graphics card makes the images; your phone, tablet or laptop uses Kokon in a browser. Nothing goes through a cloud, and there is no account. ▶ Watch the 0.11 video (77 s)

• Other devices: open Settings → Other devices, set a password and scan the QR code with your phone. Add Kokon to the home screen and it opens like an app. Off until you turn it on; 5 wrong passwords make that device wait.

• From anywhere: connect your devices with Tailscale or another VPN. Never open Kokon's port on your router.

• As a server: kokon-service on a Linux box without a screen, or the Docker image for NVIDIA cards:

  curl -fsSLO https://raw.githubusercontent.com/GabrieleLozupone/kokon/master/docker/compose.yaml
  docker compose up -d
  docker exec -it kokon kokon-service --set-password
  

Step by step: kokon.app/self-hosted · full reference: docs/remote-access.md and docs/docker.md.

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A local alternative to Nano Banana, without the node graph

Cloud editors made "edit a photo with a sentence" normal, but they upload your photos and limit how much you use them. Node-based tools run locally, but you build everything yourself. Kokon is simple and local: we make the technical choices (model, files, steps, memory), you make the edits.

	Kokon	ChatGPT, Gemini (Nano Banana)	Photoshop Generative Fill	ComfyUI
Your photos stay on your computer	✅	❌ uploaded	❌ Adobe's cloud	✅
Free, no limits	✅ it's your GPU	daily limits or subscription	subscription + credits	✅
Works offline	✅ after setup	❌	❌	✅
Setup	one installer	an account	Creative Cloud	Python, nodes, model files
Who picks the model and settings	Kokon, tested for your GPU	the service	Adobe	you
Edit with one sentence	✅	✅	short prompt for a selection	after building a workflow

Fair to say: cloud models run on data-center GPUs, so they can be faster and stronger on some edits. Kokon runs Qwen-Image 2.1, which leads the open-weights image-editing rankings, on the computer you already have. You need a 12 GB graphics card (8 GB in beta) or an Apple Silicon Mac, and the images are for non-commercial use because of the model's license.

Why Kokon

Examples

Every image below was made by Kokon itself (no stock photos), first try with that seed. Prompts, seeds and times are in marketing/showcase/PROMPTS.md.

Remove · paint the scooter · “the red scooter”	Replace · “Replace the yellow armchair with a deep green velvet sofa and hang an abstract painting above it”
Relight · “Make it a snowy winter night, warm light glowing from the cabin windows”	Restyle · “Turn it into a hand-painted watercolor illustration”
Text · “Change the gold sign text to ‘KOKON CAFÉ’”	Expand · 40 % left and right · “continue the rocky coastline and the turquoise sea”

Install

1. Download from the latest release:

• Windows: Kokon_<version>_x64-setup.exe. Run it. It installs for your user only, so you don't need administrator rights.

• Mac (Apple Silicon, beta): Kokon_<version>_aarch64.dmg. Open it and drag Kokon to Applications. The first time, macOS blocks it because the app is not notarized by Apple: open System Settings → Privacy & Security and click Open Anyway, or run one Terminal command if there is no such button (details).

• Linux (x86-64, beta): Kokon_<version>_amd64.deb for Ubuntu, Debian and Mint, or Kokon-<version>-1.x86_64.rpm for Fedora. Install it with your package manager, which also pulls in the few libraries it needs:

  sudo apt install ./Kokon_<version>_amd64.deb      # Ubuntu 22.04+, Debian 12+, Mint 21+
  sudo dnf install ./Kokon-<version>-1.x86_64.rpm   # Fedora 40+
  

This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗