Scout

Scout turns a folder of photos into a navigable library. Drag in a shoot, get automatic place-grouping, shortlist your picks, and export a printable deck. Runs locally on your Mac — all data stays on your machine.

private beta — request access

Currently in closed beta on Mac. Enter your license key to download.

License key:
Scout.app.zip ~100 MB
Download →

First-time setup · Mac only · private beta

  1. Double-click the .zip to expand it (you'll get Scout.app).
  2. First launch only: double-click Scout.app. macOS will block it with "Scout is not from an identified developer." Click Done, then open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll to the Security section at the bottom, and click Open Anyway next to the Scout notice. Confirm with your password/Touch ID, double-click Scout again, and click Open on the final prompt. Regular double-click works from then on.
  3. A browser tab opens at http://127.0.0.1:5055. Use it there.
  4. Scout lives in your Dock while running. To quit: Cmd+Q on the Dock icon (not the browser — closing the browser tab doesn't stop the app).
  5. Your data lives in ~/Documents/Scout/ — photos, database, log. Back it up by copying that folder.

Try it: click Ingest… in the top bar → drag a folder of photos from Finder onto the drop zone → Ingest. Scout auto-groups them into Places. Click around, shortlist a few, hit Shortlist to get an HTML deck you can print to PDF.

If anything breaks: open ~/Documents/Scout/scout.log in TextEdit and send me the last screenful + what you were doing. Screenshots help.