2026-10-09 APP 2.0.0-beta48 has been released !
This is mainly a bug fix release for the reported bugs in beta47. In addition it has a significant User Interface performance improvement noticable when you need to process 1000s of images in APP.
2026-10-03 APP 2.0.0-beta47 has been released !
This is a very big release... many code optimizations/rewrites, many parts of APP are much faster and more precise, especially star analysis and registration are much faster ! Big mosaics will go much faster 🙂
And we introduce a new preview filter, which includes the new Adaptive Deep Sky Stretch and a General Levels Stretch, this has been long over due. The old preview filter (the panel on the right side to stretch and preview your data) has not been updated for a couple of years and it is a critical part of any APP session.
Adaptive Deep Sky Stretch or ADSS is a much more intuitive stretch algorithm. It is also color preserving (which is a great new addition in itself ! ) which means that the highlights are no longer bleached, color is maintained from the linear data while stretching. You can simply stretch your data using the sky background level and signal width sliders which work much easier and more intuitive. You no longer need to fiddle with the old complicated sliders with zoom buttons. All the zoom buttons for the sliders are made redundant. And you can enter slider values in the slider value fields yourself. I will make a youtube video in the coming days to explain and fully introduce ADSS. Once the video is ready, it will be highlighted on the forum.
RGB Combine upgrade !. The RGB Combine Tool has been rewritten mostly. The tool is faster and easier to use and most importantly, the Luminance slider to inject a luminance channel or channels into the RGB composite is now working correctly. It no longer bleaches the RGB colors. Combined with the new ADSS preview, you will get much better and easier great composites with great color! I will also explain this in a new youtube video.
Hello
I see the latest beta is almost 7 months-old. I'm worried that the software is no longer maintained.
My renter license is about to expire, in a couple of weeks from now. What will happen then if I pay for the renewal? Will I get new codes immediately after like in the past?
Has anyone renewed lately (say last month or so) and received their codes?
Thanks in advance.
KR
Rodolphe
Hi, this is the essential question ...
Hi, this is the essential question ...
It is still alive, but sometimes it takes a while between releases (I think we have gone longer than this) and sometimes betas come out very fast to fix bugs discovered in a previous beta. @Mabula-Admin is probably working on some of the more difficult portions of the next APP beta or even full release.
But these are just unconfirmed assumptions. In this way, we can speculate for years because we all would like it to be true. Why doesn't @Mabula or anyone from his team speak up?
My renter license is about to expire, in a couple of weeks from now. What will happen then if I pay for the renewal? Will I get new codes immediately after like in the past?
Has anyone renewed lately (say last month or so) and received their codes?
I renewed my renters license in August. The codes came within minutes of renewal and I was back in business.
Bob
Thanks Bob, glad to hear it.
I’m not worried about betas staying in this state for month, but much more by paying for a worthless license!
A simple status update from Mabula could eliminate a lot of angst. And it would make good business sense.
Where is Mabula? What is happening with APP? Where is the promised manual? When will we see 2.0.0 stable? Why so long since last update? Why not spend 30 minutes to drop an update message on the forum?
So many good questions.
On facebook I found his account and dropped a message. But as expected - no answer. His last post there was some private holiday-stuff June 2024 from Portugal.
Ok, I just renewed the renter licence and received the new codes a few seconds afterwards.
Pfewww!
I am also concerned that the latest beta is months-old and am worried that the software is no longer maintained. A quick A simple status update from Mabula is in order to ease concerns - this only makes geed business sense as prospective customers are going to be concerned about software that is in Beta 29 with months of silence on development. I realized that perhaps Mabula is the only individual working on development; but it is crucial to keep your customer base informed - especially if there is a need to renew a license.
Thanks for listening to and addressing these concerns.
Similar concern from me, due to renew soon. There's also a question on how the licensing works. Will licenses be valid if the server goes offline?
It's great to say Mabula is probably doing this, probably doing that. Meanwhile, Mabula's profile shows he definitely went from quite active to completely inactive on these forums.
I think the licese renewal is automated by scripts and a database. Mabula might have given up on this project, but he would be silly to shut down this self-running cash-cow he created.
Hi all @walsc, @davidazus, @prbrandy, @rodolgo, @wjaincbr, @szumi, @bobharmony, @mizar, @imnewhere
Thank you all for your concerns. First of all, Astro Pixel Processor is still alive, I am perfectly fine and I will soon provide a new update again. I will address all questions on the forum as well in the coming days.
I sincerly apologize to all of you for keeping you in the dark. I will make a sticky post to explain what happened and how we will go forward.
Kind regards,
Mabula
... I will make a sticky post today to explain what happened and how we will go forward.
Nobody wants to put pressure on you. But the whole community is waiting. 😉
Hi all, thank you all for your nice messages. We will get up to speed quickly in the coming days 🙂 I promise !
Mabula
I was 100% sure that there were outside factors contributing to the lack of updates the past year. APP still works great for me, but it was really reassuring to hear that it is still being worked on and improved. I think the program is one of the very best stackers out there.
Glad to hear that you are OK Mabula.
@mabula-admin Awesome to hear you say you're fine. And glad APP isn't abandonware; I've tried a few softwares over the years and APP is by far my favorite in terms of ease of use and power!
I sincerly apologize to all of you for keeping you in the dark. I will make a sticky post to explain what happened and how we will go forward.
Kind regards,
Mabula
Thanks for the responses, but It's been a few days... When should we expect this?
Nothing has changed, zero communication...
