The exchange format is the whole contract
Calibrated and registered frames come out as FITS or XISF with their headers intact, so anything downstream can pick them up. Nothing is stored in a private database you would have to migrate out of, and no step requires that the previous one was also done here. If you decide the tool is not for you, the files you already made stay usable.
Three ways people slot it in
None of these require abandoning the program you already know.
Calibrate and stack here, finish elsewhere
Run the night through calibration, registration and integration, then take the stacked result into PixInsight or Siril for the parts of post-processing you already have muscle memory for.
Stack elsewhere, inspect here
Point it at a folder of frames another program produced and use the measurement side — per-frame quality, alignment residuals, plate solutions and the post-stack tools.
Run both on the same night and compare
Because the inputs and outputs are ordinary files, the two stacks can be compared star by star. That is how this program is developed, and nothing stops you doing it yourself.
| What it is good at | |
| PixInsight | The deepest processing toolbox in the field, and the reference this project measures itself against. Steep to learn, and priced accordingly. |
| Siril | Free, fast and dependable for a straightforward calibrate-and-stack run. Its linear tab order keeps the workflow tidy but fixed. |
| AstrylStudio | Session structure and measurement: what each frame contributed, why one was rejected, and what the stack looks like as it accumulates. Windows only, private beta. |