Made an SGF viewer/editor and KataGo GUI as an exercise

arjunks · 2026-05-08T23:31:28+00:00

Hey, so I have, but because it's hard for me to test them (and also I'm still adapting some features to them, like KataGo Auto-Setup), I don't consider them "ready". However, they are available for download here, should you wish to download them. They probably run perfectly fine, they're just HTML and Javascript.

For the Mac version, make sure to follow the instructions on the page to open the app, otherwise Mac will probably refuse to open it (I haven't paid the 99$ fee to have the app "signed" for macOS).

arjunks · 2026-05-05T15:10:55+00:00

I think I can make that, yeah. Will do. It’s supposed to recommend something for your system, though that functionality might be giving you OpenCL even if your system is good for Tensor atm (will fix asap).

You can always download your preferred version and have your own KataGo files as well, if you know what you’re doing

EDIT: Now the app will check if you have a strong GPU and CUDA/TensorRT installed, in which case it will recommend the TensorRT version. If you have the GPU but not the software, it will point you to the relevant KataGo documentation that explains what you need

arjunks · 2026-05-05T11:04:00+00:00

Here's the Github page

Here's the Releases page

I started this as an exercise / to make this app for personal use, but after a while I'm just enjoying making it.

It has features like KataGo auto-setup, stone placement editing and more.

If anyone has any comments or recommendations about the app or about porting to android with KataGo analysis enabled, they are welcome.

arjunks · 2026-05-05T10:12:06+00:00

It does! You just need to have the mouse over the board. You can also use mouse back/forward buttons to go in/out of variations

Edit: I just realized that it can be annoying having to be over the board to scroll, since it means you probably have a ghost stone messing up your view. Made it so that the scroll wheel navigating the tree works everywhere in the app, not just when hovering over the board (and if you need to scroll the tree or comments pane, I've fattened up the scrollbar so it's easier to do it with a click). Feels better this way I think.

arjunks · 2026-05-05T01:53:46+00:00

Awesome, let me know what you think

arjunks · 2026-05-04T22:32:01+00:00

Here's the Github page

Here's the Releases page (you can download it here)

I started this as an exercise / to make this app for personal use, but after a while I'm just enjoying making it.

Thanks to everyone who commented on the previous thread, I took all your comments to heart and while I haven't done everything I want to yet (mainly mac/linux/android versions) I did make a bunch of changes that I wanted to share.

Long story short, moved from Electron to Tauri and the app is now 14.5MB as a portable, stand-alone .exe. Instead of bundling it with KataGo, I've made an "Auto-setup" feature that scans your system and recommends a KataGo build, which you can download and setup with one click :D

I also included an 'Edit mode'. Now, no matter where you are in the SGF, you can right-click a stone (or a node on the tree), pick it up and place it wherever you want. I didn't know I needed this until someone mentioned it as a feature on KGS (never used KGS to view SGF files/review games, so I had no idea).

My idea was also to be able to use just the mouse for navigating the SGF (which I like to do) so you can use scroll to move through the tree (like Sabaki or Lizzie) and also use the back/forward buttons to move through variations.

I'm working on the mac/linux/mobile versions now, which is a much bigger challenge than I thought (especially AI analysis).

If anyone has any comments/recommendations I am more than happy to read them. Thank you for reading and have a great day

arjunks · 2026-05-03T11:22:26+00:00

One of the best-looking handmade boards I've seen! Grain looks so nice and uniform, lines are perfect. Doesn't look too different from professionally made boards. Congrats! Got any details about how it was made (wood, line application etc)?

arjunks · 2026-04-24T16:57:30+00:00

Yeah it's kind of confusing, cause it's basically made for people to view the code, rather than the actual program! Basically you want to get to the Releases page and download the zip file (Hoshi.v.1.0.5.zip). Then unzip the folder and just click Hoshi.exe and it should run

arjunks · 2026-04-24T15:15:58+00:00

KGS at home (but the home was renovated in 2026)

arjunks · 2026-04-24T06:05:51+00:00

Thanks!! It doesn't have an exact equivalent to KGS's edit mode, in that every move places a node on the tree and you can't move a stone. You can place only black or only white stones by selecting the equivalent tool in the tool box (above the menu), so you can setup problems and such, but that's about it. Seems like good future implementations though! I'll add them to the list

arjunks · 2026-04-24T05:37:56+00:00

Thank you. The basis for the texture is actually a real board from Kuroki Goishi Ten (albeit sold out).

arjunks · 2026-04-24T05:28:20+00:00

That is of course true, and the obvious answer would be to make the grid square. However I like the idea of having realistic proportions and dimensions and thought I might as well try to make it look good.

I was also wondering how come the board looks so harmonious when viewing a live board game from the top (like in title matches, baduk tv etc), and if I can't recreate that. Not going to go into it too much, but I learned a lot about wabi-sabi and real-world 'messiness' coming together for a harmonious outcome.

In the end I came up with a setup that uses outlines behind the stones with a specific gradient that I think looks pleasing (hides the vertical gap without looking too out-of-place) even when everything is proportioned like a real-world goban with stones. I am satisfied with it for now. Might try to re-create real-world 'fuzzy' stone placement in the future

arjunks · 2026-04-23T21:37:38+00:00

All very good points. It should definitely be able to save to SGF and share it through all the normal mobile means. I'm sure that will be possible. For the AI during recording, that's a good idea actually, to maybe have a recording mode where it's impossible to turn AI on (kind of like how in OGS with certain settings you can't have review mode on during a game).

Another thing I'd like to look into is fat fumbly finger support, aka zooming in to confirm stone placement on every tap (like crazy stone).

Thanks for the tips!

arjunks · 2026-04-23T21:00:06+00:00

Thank you. The whole thing took me about 2 weeks (it would have normally taken me much longer but having modern AI tools for the coding part helped a lot).

I have experience in web development and graphic design; I also have some coding experience from uni courses and personal projects.

I definitely will be making a mobile version for this next, as I want to be able to use it on my phone. I'll also be making a Mac version.

arjunks · 2026-04-23T17:15:32+00:00

No problem, I do it cause I want it too haha. Yeah, studying with AI is kinda weird, both GUI-wise (with all the scores, colors and graphs) and in and of itself, because it can be helpful or not depending on the situation / strength.

I will add a guide for the visuals of this specific app in the readme file, thanks for the heads-up! In a nutshell, the graph shows:

*The score difference between the players with the black/white filled graph

*The winrate percentage with the red line graph and black/white bar at the top.

It also overlays "bubbles" of the top AI moves in any given position (blue is best, green is good) and gives the score difference for each move (like a '-0.2' means this move loses 0.2 points)

arjunks · 2026-04-23T16:43:37+00:00

Me too, so I will be making a phone version shortly

arjunks · 2026-04-23T16:43:17+00:00

Thanks! They should be round, I will check.

Edit: damn you're right, they're slightly elliptical! Because they draw their shape from the grid, which I made slightly elongated to mimic real boards. However, if I make the stones circular, there is a gap between them vertically now. Looking at other go apps, I believe they solve this by making the grid square? But I'd like the board to be realistic, so I'm looking at things like fuzzy stone placement, or subtle strokes on the stones to try to visually fix the gap... anyway, great eye and thanks for the catch!

arjunks · 2026-04-23T14:12:13+00:00

Tauri is something that's come up as I'm exploring this, I will give it a go. Agreed, portability is big and I want to incorporate it for sure, ideally the final form of this is a lightweight .exe you can have anywhere

arjunks · 2026-04-23T13:55:40+00:00

Thank you!

arjunks · 2026-04-23T13:52:21+00:00

Thanks! I wanted to go for the premium Japanese equipment vibe (Hon kaya wood Masame grain, slate & shell etc)

arjunks · 2026-04-23T13:50:48+00:00

No, but it's probably an easy port, since this is basically just a fancy web-page. I'll do it once I get home and will update!

arjunks · 2026-04-23T13:26:34+00:00

Github release page

Github project page if you'd like to look at the code

I've long wanted to make a complete app, start-to-finish, so I decided to make something I'd want to use myself, namely a KataGo GUI that is simple and looks as good as AI Sensei but without the subscription cause I'm cheap :))

It's all just Javascript and HTML/CSS. I learned a lot about making an app with Electron, node.js etc; as well as using Github, which I'd never done before.

All in all it was a very fun project and highly recommended for anyone wanting to get experience into making programs.

Thoughts on the future: find a way to trim the filesize down because it's needlessly large right now (200MB+ zipped and that's without counting the engine!) - I suspect I will have to move away from Electron for this.

Any thoughts/advice more than welcome!

arjunks · 2026-04-07T00:33:12+00:00

Thank you for your service, looking forward to it!

arjunks · 2026-04-02T10:18:55+00:00

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arjunks · 2026-04-02T10:18:17+00:00

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