As a joint effort between the Universidad de Sevilla and the Museo Nacional del Prado, we make the Aracne software publicly available for non-commercial research and conservation use (see License, terms, and conditions).

Current Release: Aracne Version 4.3.15 (2026)

Version 4.3.15 is a complete rewrite of the program featuring a modernized graphical interface for both Microsoft Windows (64-bit, Windows 10 or 11) and macOS (Apple Silicon). It was compiled with MATLAB® R2026a and runs on the free MATLAB® Runtime (MCR), so a full installation of MATLAB is not needed.

  • Support for very large X-ray images (over 1 GB), accepting grayscale, colour, and 12/16-bit images.
  • Analysis of the full image, rectangular areas, or custom polygonal regions.
  • Interactive visualization with transparent overlay of thread density and angle deviation maps directly over the original canvas image.
  • Complete project management: save and reload projects (.mat), numeric summaries (.txt), parameters (.csv), and scaled TIFF maps.

1. License Acknowledgment & Download Files (Version 4.3.15)

License, Terms, and Conditions: Before downloading Aracne, please read the License, Terms, and Conditions (also available in PDF format and in Chapter 6 of the User Manual). Use of the software is restricted to non-commercial purposes and requires proper citation.

Please tick the checkbox above to enable the software download links.

2. Installation Steps

In order to run Aracne 4.3.15, two components are required: the MATLAB® Runtime (R2026a) and the Aracne executable. Please follow these steps:

  1. Independently download and install the MATLAB® Runtime (MCR) for Release R2026a:
    • Go to the official MathWorks MATLAB Runtime page: MathWorks MATLAB® Runtime Download.
    • Select release R2026a (latest update available) for your operating system (Windows 64-bit or macOS Apple Silicon), download the installer, and follow the installation instructions.
  2. Download and extract the Aracne 4.3.15 executable (requires ticking the license agreement checkbox above):
    • Microsoft Windows (64-bit): Download Aracne4.3.15.exe.zip and unzip it to obtain Aracne2.0.exe. Move Aracne2.0.exe into any preferred folder.
    • macOS (Apple Silicon): Download Aracne4.3.15.zip and unzip it to obtain Aracne2.0.app. Move Aracne2.0.app into your Applications folder (or any preferred folder).
  3. Launch Aracne:
    • Double-click Aracne2.0.exe (Windows) or Aracne2.0.app (macOS) to start the application.
    • Important — Please be patient on the first launch (especially on macOS): The very first time the software is called, it can take several minutes before the window appears while the operating system performs security and integrity verification checks and initializes the MATLAB® Runtime files. Please be patient and wait without launching it again; subsequent starts will take only a few seconds.
    • macOS security note: On macOS, the first time the program is opened the system may report that it cannot verify the developer. In that case, right-click (or Control-click) on Aracne2.0.app and select Open, or allow it under System Settings > Privacy & Security.

See the Manual section (or download the full Aracne 4.3.15 User Manual PDF) for a quick-start guide and detailed documentation. We kindly invite you to drop us a few lines with your affiliation and interest in the software at murillo@us.es.

3. Uninstall

To uninstall, simply delete Aracne2.0.exe (Windows) or Aracne2.0.app (macOS), and uninstall the MATLAB® Runtime if no longer needed. Note that the MATLAB® Runtime (MCR) requires a large amount of memory/disk space, so we recommend uninstalling any previous version of the MCR (keeping the latest R2026a version) if it is not used.

Previous Versions

Looking for the previous release? Visit Previous Version (Aracne v3.2.5 / v3.2.0).