JiaFeiMiao-K-Cat/DiscImageStudio

What it does

Disc Image Studio turns an image into data that satisfies the physical constraints of CD, DVD and single-layer BD-R media, so that after burning, a pattern becomes visible on the disc surface. It is a desktop application with a WPF GUI on Windows and an experimental command-line interface for Linux and macOS, written in C# and targeting .NET 10.

The workflow covers the whole path: create a project for a disc type, lay out the artwork on a layer canvas with dithering, gamma, brightness and grayscale-level controls, preview the projected result, then export an ISO or RAW image, a WAV+CUE audio track for CD, or burn directly to a blank disc. Mixed-mode discs can also carry regular files, which are shown in yellow on the design projection.

Because disc rendering depends on the recorder and media, the project includes a three-stage calibration process (coarse, boundary, fine) that estimates inner/outer radius and track-pitch distribution from photographs of a burned disc, plus built-in presets for several disc brands.

Quick start

On Windows, download the win-x64.exe release and run it; the package bundles the .NET runtime. On Linux or macOS, download the experimental CLI archive matching your CPU, extract it and run ./disc-image-studio --help. Releases are on the GitHub Releases page.

1. On the home page choose CD, DVD or Blu-ray and pick an output location to create a project.
2. On the design page import an image, arrange it with layers, and tune dithering, gamma, brightness and grayscale levels in the right-hand tone panel.
3. On the preview page check the disc projection, then on the export page produce an ISO / RAW / WAV+CUE image, or use the experimental instant-burn feature to write directly to a blank disc.

To try the CLI without a release, run it from source with the .NET 10 SDK:

dotnet run --project src/DiscImageStudio.Cli -c Release -- --help

A short CD-generation check that also writes the matching CUE file:

./disc-image-studio cd-generate --input picture.png --output sample.wav --sectors 2

The CLI reads PNG, JPEG, BMP and GIF, using the first frame of animated images.

Constraints

The GUI requires Windows 10 2004 (build 19041) or later, or Windows 11. Self-built non-self-contained builds need the .NET 10 Windows Desktop Runtime; release executables already include it. Building from source requires the .NET 10 SDK, pinned by global.json.

Instant burning needs a Windows-recognized CD/DVD/BD recorder, a blank disc, and for BD-R a single-layer disc that supports sequential writing. It is experimental: recorder, media and firmware coverage is limited, and an interrupted burn, power loss or insufficient generation speed can ruin the disc. The project advises using only disposable test media.

Visible results depend on the disc, drive, firmware and write strategy; calibration accuracy depends on photo correction, point selection and verification. When mixing files, folders are scanned and the layout fixed before burning; if a source file changes size mid-burn, the task terminates safely, but the partially written disc may still be unusable. BD-R sequential writing has no spare-area remapping, so a disc interrupted mid-write usually cannot be continued.

The app does not connect to the network, upload files or collect telemetry. It is licensed under GPL-3.0-or-later; the CD interleaving implementation is derived from CDImage, and redistributing binaries or modified versions carries the corresponding source-code obligations.

HotRepo's take

Disc Image Studio entered the all-language GitHub daily ranking at 11th on 2026-11-04 with 6,548 stars and 1,792 stars gained that day; it then held 12th and 15th on the following two days while adding 977 and 984 stars. That is a strong burst of attention for a niche optical-media project, but the recorded data covers only three consecutive daily snapshots, so it does not establish whether interest is sustained. What the repository does show is substantial engineering depth: a documented physical model, separate CD/DVD/BD engines, architecture and validation notes, and a real-disc calibration tutorial with before/after comparisons — unusual for a project whose visible output is burned artwork.