Getting started with AgX

Assumes AgX is installed — see Install.

In ten minutes, you'll edit your first photo two ways: by applying a preset (one command, full look) and by tweaking inline parameters (the slider model underneath). Both produce a real PNG on disk.

This tutorial uses a sample image and preset bundled in the AgX repository. If you cloned the repo, run the commands from its root. If you installed via cargo install agx-cli only, download the example/ directory or swap the paths for your own image and preset.

Apply a preset

Run:

agx apply \
  -i example/images/sunset_river.png \
  -p example/presets/golden-hour.toml \
  -o golden-hour.png

AgX decodes the source, renders it through every adjustment in the preset (tone, white balance, HSL, optional LUT — see the preset model), and writes a new PNG.

Open golden-hour.png in your image viewer. The result should be warmer, with lifted shadows and pulled-back highlights — a late-afternoon feel.

Try a different preset by swapping -p:

agx apply \
  -i example/images/sunset_river.png \
  -p example/presets/moody-dark.toml \
  -o moody-dark.png

Each .toml file in example/presets/ is a complete editing recipe. Presets are plain text — open one in your editor to see what's inside.

Tweak the result with edit

A preset is just a saved bundle of parameters. To see the parameters themselves, use edit instead of apply:

agx edit \
  -i example/images/sunset_river.png \
  -o tweaked.png \
  --exposure 0.5 \
  --shadows 30 \
  --highlights -20

Three flags, three basic adjustments: brighten the image by half a stop, lift the shadows, pull back the highlights. The agx edit command exposes the same internals a preset addresses; the only difference is whether the values come from a .toml file or the command line.

Try other flags. The full list lives in the CLI reference. Common ones:

• --temperature (warm/cool slider — positive warmer, negative cooler)
• --contrast and --saturation
• --vignette-amount (see the vignette explanation)
• --grain-amount (see the grain explanation)

What's next

You've seen the two foundational AgX commands. Where to go from here:

• Apply a preset to a folder of photos — run batch-apply over a directory.
• Compare looks side-by-side — multi-apply for preset audition.
• Write your own preset — author a TOML preset from scratch.
• Compose layered looks — stack presets at apply time.
• CLI reference — every subcommand and flag, generated from the source.
• Preset format reference — every field, type, and default.
• Algorithm explanations — how each adjustment works under the hood.