Tag, connect, and search the references you already have. Bring an existing library across without changing the source.
Auto Tagger
Find more with less hand tagging. Auto Tagger can use your graphics chip to suggest tags and read text in images. You can also set up Search by meaning without adding general tags. It all runs on your device.
Suggested tags
# library# bookshelves# interior+ Add all
Auto TaggerOptional download · runs locally
SetupConfigurePipelineReview
starfield-library.webp12 of 48
ornate-ceiling.webp12 of 48
chinatown-street.webp12 of 48
Image added
Tags applied to image
TagsText
Quick review
Searchable
# library# bookshelves# interior# architecture
# ceiling# ornament# pattern# historic
# street# signage# city# night
Hidden from search
stock photo
Add or create a tag
Discard
SkipAccept
Search by meaning
Describe what you want, like 'dramatic lighting', even if nothing is tagged. Search your whole library or stay inside one folder. There is no fixed result limit.
dramatic lighting
4 matches · none of them tagged
Tag manager
Marquee select across your tags, restyle or delete a whole block at once, and pull a usage count for any tag when you want to know what is actually earning its place.
Bring over Eagle folders, tags, and every file type allowed by your workspace settings. Turn PureRef 2.x boards into editable canvases, or bring in Allusion libraries and tags. Your source library stays as it is.
Eagle library
3,204 items · folders & tags
Done
PureRef board
moodboard-final-v2.pur
62%
Allusion backup
allusion-export.json
Queued
Keep your metadata
Reads embedded keywords, ratings, descriptions, and sources (EXIF, IPTC, XMP) as you add images.
osaka-golden.jpg
1620 × 1080 px
Keywords · from EXIF
# sunset# golden hour# city
Source
Twitter / X
Linked copies
Let one physical file appear in multiple folders without duplicating it. Every linked copy shares the original media and metadata, and Eagle imports preserve multi-folder placements automatically.
autumn-leaves.jpg
One shared file
3 folders
References / Autumnlinked
Projects / Palette studylinked
Study / Warm lightlinked
Linked references
Crops, groups, and the canvases an image lives in all stay connected back to the source.
autumn-leaves.jpg
3 connections
Warm light cropcrop
Golden hourcanvas
Autumn palette studygroup
Tag with a tap
NEW
Hover over a grid item and press T to try Quick Tags. Apply tags or saved tag sets to one item or a selection. Keep each file's other tags, and undo a change if you need to.
Hover over an item
T
Quick Tags
WinterStudy tagsUndo
A link back to your references
NEW
Copy a link to a folder, canvas, or file and keep it in your project notes. Open the link to jump back to that spot. It works even when refern is closed.
Project notes
My reference board
Open in refern
My reference board
Files and formats
Keep video, PDFs, working files, and images together. The viewer and grid adapt to each format without changing the original file.
Video, built in
Videos live beside your images. Scrub on hover, step frame by frame, loop or export an A-B section, and play clips on a canvas with independent audio and optional muted autoplay.
0:12· frame 302
A 0:11LoopB 0:14
ocean-walkway.mp41920 × 1080
00:12.58
Loop1×
framePlayframe00:12.58
A · 00:11.03section loops while you reviewB · 00:14.12
PDFs, built in
NEW
Turn on Documents for a workspace and PDFs get first-page grid previews, then open inside refern with continuous scrolling, search, text selection and copy, print, view rotation, page controls, and zoom.
PDF
style-guide-v3.pdf
3 / 18125%
Search this PDF
First-page grid previewContinuous pages
Not just images
Keep images, video, PDFs, and other work files in one grid. Pick which file types each workspace includes. AVIF images keep their clear backgrounds in previews. Open files in your usual app, or choose another app.
PSDhero-key-art.psd# key art
BLENDclocktower-blockout.blend
ZIPproject-archive.zip
Switched on per workspace, next to your images
Edit in place
Crop and adjust brightness, contrast, and color without ever touching the original file.
Brightness
Contrast
Saturation
Original file untouched
Pixel art stays pixel art
Flag a file as Pixelated and it renders with hard, crisp edges at any zoom, in the grid, the viewer, and on the canvas. No more blurred upscales, and is:pixelated finds every sprite again.
Rendering
Pixelated
Work with your references
Study, compare, and move references between refern and the tools where you make the work.
Timed study
Practice with your own references and track sessions on a calendar. Keep notes, see your streaks, and link the work you made. Add work to any day, even when you did not use a timer.
Session history
5-day streak
M
T
W
T
F
S
S
12 sessions · 4h 18m this month
Gesture warm-up
Notes saved · linked work added
Replay
Timed studyDashboard
Start session
This week
1h 42m
8 sessions
All sessions
28h 16m
146 sessions
Practice streak
5 days
Best · 12 days
Practice activityLast 12 weeks
Gesture warm-up · figures
Today · 20 references · notes and linked work saved
Replay
Reference overlay
Pin any window on top, dial down its opacity, and click straight through it while you work.
pinned reference
click-through
Multiple windows
Pop any image or canvas out into its own window. Lay references side by side, spread them across monitors, and keep working in the main app.
gamcheon.jpg
Summer trip · canvas
Use your files in other apps
Select files, then copy them to the clipboard or drag them into another app. You get the original files. Open a file in your usual app, or choose the app you want.
Drop as files
Drag out
3 files
refernSummer references
3 selected
seaside-selfie.webp
emerald-coast.webp
golden-arches.webp
FilesProject / References
New folder
Drop files here
Originals, ready for any app
seaside-selfie.webpWEBP
emerald-coast.webpWEBP
golden-arches.webpWEBP
Library and reliability
Use folders across drives, keep heavy library data where it performs best, and recover the database without touching your files.
Built for huge libraries
Browse, search, and edit libraries with a million items or more. Load small parts as you go, select across the full results, and track large jobs as they run. Speed depends on your files, drive, and computer.
Index ready · changes stream in as you work184,926 / 184,926
Many folders, one library
Point a single workspace at several folders at once, even across different drives. refern indexes them together while every file stays exactly where it is.
References
D:\Art\References
HDD
Client work
E:\2026\Clients
NAS
Downloads
C:\Users\me\Downloads
SSD
Indexed together as one workspace
Recover from a backup
If a library's database is ever lost or corrupted, refern restores it in one click from an automatic backup or a refern export.
Automatic backup
Today, 09:12
Restore
Automatic backup
Yesterday, 21:40
refern export
refern-library.zip
Hidden folders
Hide a folder, or a whole content root. It stays indexed but drops out of search, grids, pickers, and counts, so drafts and private material stay out of the way. One click brings it back.
Anatomy1,284
Client draftsHidden
Environments947
Custom data folder
Keep a large library on a slow drive while its database, thumbnails, and backups live on a fast SSD. Changing the generated-data location leaves original images in place.
Image library
D:\Art\References
HDD
Database & thumbnails
C:\refern\data
SSD
Changing data location leaves originals in place
Small details that add up.
Useful controls that stay out of the way until you need them.
Use refern in your language
NEW
Choose English, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese, Korean, Japanese, French, German, or Italian during onboarding or in General Settings. Your choice is saved per profile, and non-English translations are currently in beta.
EN简繁ESPT한日FRDEIT
Saved per profileTranslations in beta
Choose thumbnail's backdrop
NEW
Set a file's grid thumbnail to Default, transparent, or a custom color without changing the source. Apply the same matte to an eligible file selection in one pass.
Default
Transparent
Custom
Find its visual neighbors
Right-click an image on the canvas to fan out visually similar references, then pick one to place beside it.
Capture straight into your library
Press a global shortcut to capture the screen under your cursor and save it directly into a folder in your workspace.
Global shortcut
CtrlShift4
Save to References
GIFs with real controls
Play, pause, step frame by frame, scrub the timeline, and change playback speed instead of waiting for a loop.
18 / 42
0.5×
Make the grid yours
Switch between masonry, horizontal, and justified layouts, then tune item size, spacing, and the metadata shown below each reference.
Masonry
Horizontal
Justified
Shuffle for a fresh look
Sort any grid randomly, then shuffle again whenever you want a new mix of references.
416253
Random sort
Shuffle again
Built for illustrators and concept artists. And every creative who collects.
refern is a godsend for me.I have libraries of photo references I purchase from reference photography studios, but that piles up really quickly when you start getting those 600+ action pose reference packs. After a certain point it becomes almost impossible to find what you want searching through countless folders. But the ways refern allows you to organize everything makes all my photos searchable or easily found otherwise, so I can actually make use of all the photos I have packed away.
Amy H. · from the refern community Discord
“refern has become my research hub for character design and writing. I can save a wide range of references, organize them later in a way that makes sense to me, and keep everything personal and local.”
misha
“Refern at this point feels like an extension of my brain that I can interact with, losing it would lobotomize me”
MrSirSquishy
“Refern has a clean, modern interface that makes managing large image collections feel simple. It gives me the organization tools I need without getting in the way of actually browsing my assets.”
1n9_
“Such a miniscule software that solves a BIG issue, I say it's revolutionary too I'm very grateful to come across this application and for the time it saves me”
Kenny · @revachuli on IG
Save from the web.
The free refern Clipper saves images from any site, keeps the source, and lets you tag them before they reach your library.
Yes. $35 once, updates included, and no subscription. Try the whole app free for 30 days before you pay.
What happens when the free trial ends?
Nothing happens to your files. Your library is stored in normal folders on your disk, so your files and data remain accessible. After 30 days, refern shows the activation screen until you buy a license.
Will refern copy or move my images?
Normal workspaces read the files already in your folder without moving or duplicating them. Explicit imports can add files: Eagle import copies each asset once into the workspace, then uses linked copies for any additional folder placements.
Can I get files back out of refern?
Yes. Select files and copy them to the clipboard, or drag them into another app or your file manager. You get the original files. You can also open a file in your usual app or choose another app.
Can I bring my Eagle, PureRef, or Allusion library across?
Yes. Go to Settings > Import. Eagle imports keep folders, tags, ratings, sources, and files that appear in more than one folder. They include every file type allowed by your workspace settings. PureRef 2.x boards become editable canvases. Allusion libraries keep their tags. The source libraries stay as they are.
Do I have to tag everything by hand?
No. Hover over a grid item and press T to add tags with Quick Tags. Or download Auto Tagger models to suggest tags and read text on your device. They can use your graphics chip. You can also set up Search by meaning without adding general tags. Your files stay on your device.
Does refern only handle images and video?
No. Images and video are included by default. You can also turn on PDFs, design files, 3D files, fonts, archives, code, or all files. PDFs have page previews and open inside refern. AVIF images keep clear backgrounds in previews. Other files use a file-type icon unless refern can preview them.
Does it need an account or an internet connection?
You do not need an app account. Core library, canvas, search, viewing, and study workflows work without an internet connection, and your library stays on your device. Internet is used for initial license activation, update and trial-time checks, optional model downloads, feedback, and saving media from the web.
How many devices can I use it on?
Three, on any mix of Windows, macOS, and Linux.
What if I buy it and it's not for me?
That's exactly what the free 30-day trial is for: the full app, no card, so you can be completely sure before you pay. Because you get to try everything first, purchases are final. In limited circumstances I can still issue a refund if you email me within 5 days of purchase. See the refund terms you agree to before using the app.
Own your references. Forever.
Your reference library and infinite canvas, together. Try it free for 30 days.
