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Sigal

Python-based static gallery generator

943 stars 172 forks last commit first released MIT

Actively maintained

Last commit 2 Jul 2026.

Sigal is a simple static gallery generator written in Python. It processes image directories, creates resized images and thumbnails, and generates HTML pages using Jinja2 templates so galleries can be served as portable static sites.

Key Features

  • Command-line interface with commands to initialize, build and serve galleries (init, build, serve).
  • Generates HTML pages from Jinja2 templates with bundled themes and relative links for portable output.
  • Image processing: resize, create thumbnails, preserve or extract EXIF metadata, and optional video handling.
  • Multiple bundled themes (Colorbox / Galleria / PhotoSwipe-style frontends) and themeable templates.
  • Parallel processing for faster builds, plus ZIP export and feed/plugin support in templates.
  • Designed to work with common Python image libraries and toolchains; configurable JPEG options and thumbnail settings.

Use Cases

  • Create static photo galleries for personal portfolios, events, or project showcases that can be deployed to static hosts.
  • Generate optimized image sets (resized versions and thumbnails) for use in web projects or CDNs.
  • Build reproducible demo galleries for testing frontend gallery libraries or theme development.

Limitations and Considerations

  • Requires Python and a Python image library (Pillow); some image formats and full-featured EXIF handling depend on system image libraries being available. Autorotate and EXIF copy options have compatibility nuances because some image libraries cannot rewrite EXIF tags.
  • Produces static output only (no built-in user authentication, dynamic backend, or hosted service features).
  • Theme appearance and interactive features depend on included JavaScript libraries in the themes; advanced interactive features require those frontend libraries to be supported in the user's environment.

In summary, Sigal is a focused, CLI-driven tool for producing static image galleries from directories of media. It emphasizes configurable templates, image resizing/thumbnailing, and simple theme-based presentation for static deployments.

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