StarNet GUI

A desktop interface for the StarNet2 star removal command-line tool, on macOS, Windows and Linux.

Features

• Removes stars from one image or a batch, with drag and drop.
• Reads TIFF, PNG and FITS, including .fits.gz.
• Optionally saves a star mask and a star layer next to the starless image.
• Handles linear data, with adjustable stretch, and 2x upsampling.
• Processes up to four images at once, and shows a live log while it runs.
• Shows StarNet2 warnings, such as clipped data or a CPU fallback, on the finished image.
• Finds StarNet2 automatically after a normal install.
• Updates itself when a new version is released.

Getting started

1. Install the current StarNet2 command-line tool from the StarNet download page. Choose the installer for your system. This GUI does not include StarNet2.
2. Install StarNet GUI using a button above.
3. Open StarNet GUI, drop your images in, and select Remove stars.

If you used the StarNet2 ZIP instead of the installer, StarNet GUI asks you to choose the extracted folder. Keep all the files in that folder together.

Images at once sets how many images run together. The default is 2. Each extra image uses more memory, and your graphics card's memory on Windows and Linux, so lower it if images fail on a batch. Select Log while a batch runs to see StarNet2's output as it arrives.

Highlight protection, stride, the linear stretch settings and the StarNet2 location are under Advanced.

The older starnet++ tools are not supported. Install the current StarNet2 tool instead.

Output files

Each result is saved in the same folder as its image, or in the folder you set under Save to. Existing files are never overwritten: a number is added to the name instead.

Option	File
Always	name_starless.tif
Save star mask	name_starmask.tif
Save star layer	name_stars.tif

Output keeps the input format. A .fits.gz input is saved as .fits.

Images must be at least 512 x 512 pixels, or 256 x 256 with Upsample on.

First launch warnings

The app is not code-signed with a paid developer identity, so each system shows a warning the first time.

macOS: "Apple could not verify starnetGUI is free of malware" or "starnetGUI is damaged and can't be opened"

The app is signed ad-hoc but not notarized, so macOS blocks it the first time. You only need to do this once for each install.

First, drag starnetGUI to Applications. Then use either fix.

Using System Settings (not available for the "damaged" message):

1. Try to open starnetGUI, and select Done on the warning.
2. Open System Settings > Privacy & Security.
3. Scroll down to Security, and select Open Anyway next to the starnetGUI message.
4. Select Open Anyway again, and enter your password.

Using Terminal (works for both messages):

xattr -cr /Applications/starnetGUI.app

Then open starnetGUI as usual.

Windows: "Windows protected your PC"

Select More info, then Run anyway.

Upgrading from version 1

Version 1 cannot update itself to version 2. Download version 2 using a button above and install it once. Later versions update automatically.

Development

bun install
bun run dev

Run bun run release 2.0.1 to release. The script updates the version everywhere, points the download buttons above at the new version, then commits and pushes a tag. The Release workflow builds, signs and publishes the installers and the update manifest.

Publishing needs the TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY repository secret. TAURI_SIGNING_PRIVATE_KEY_PASSWORD is only needed if the key has a password. A tag with a hyphen, such as v2.1.0-rc.1, publishes a prerelease, which the updater ignores.