About
Sabaki is a modern, elegant, cross-platform Go/Baduk/Weiqi board and SGF editor aimed at players and enthusiasts who want a polished desktop experience. Built on Electron and fully open source, it combines the aesthetics of a real goban with powerful digital tools. The SGF editor supports the full SGF 4 specification, including line and arrow markup, move annotations, hotspot markers, and Markdown-formatted game reviews. It also handles SGF game containers, letting you save and read multiple games within a single file — ideal for joseki dictionaries or game collections. The intelligent scoring tool supports both area and territory counting, and includes a mid-game score estimator where you can toggle the life-and-death status of groups for refined results. The game tree panel makes navigating variations and test-plays fast and fluid, even with enormous files like Kogo's Joseki Dictionary. Sabaki integrates with GTP-compatible AI engines such as GNU Go and Pachi, enabling play against bots or automated engine-vs-engine games. A fuzzy stone placement feature mimics organic stone placement on a real board for an authentic feel. The find-move feature lets you jump directly to any position on the board without replaying from the beginning. Sabaki is ideal for Go players who want to record, review, and analyze games; students studying joseki and fuseki patterns; and developers who want to build or test GTP-compatible engines.
Key Features
- Full SGF Editing: SGF 4-compliant editing with markup tools (lines, arrows, annotations), Markdown reviews, hotspot markers, and multi-game container support.
- GTP AI Engine Integration: Connect to any GTP-compatible engine like GNU Go or Pachi to play against AI or watch engine-vs-engine games.
- Intelligent Scoring Tool: Score games with area or territory counting and use the mid-game score estimator with toggleable life-and-death group status.
- Fast Game Tree Navigation: Fluid, high-performance game tree panel for navigating variations and test-plays, handling even massive files like Kogo's Joseki Dictionary.
- Find Move Instantly: Jump directly to any board position by activating find mode and clicking the spot, without replaying the game from move one.
Use Cases
- Recording and reviewing tournament or club games using rich SGF annotation and markup tools.
- Studying joseki and fuseki patterns by navigating large game tree files like Kogo's Joseki Dictionary.
- Playing practice games against GTP-compatible AI engines such as GNU Go or Pachi for skill improvement.
- Watching and analyzing engine-vs-engine games by connecting two GTP bots within Sabaki.
- Scoring finished games accurately using area or territory counting with the built-in intelligent scoring tool.
Pros
- Completely Free & Open Source: Sabaki is free to use and its source code is fully available on GitHub, allowing community contributions and full transparency.
- Cross-Platform Desktop Support: Runs natively on macOS, Windows, and Linux via Electron, providing a consistent experience across all major operating systems.
- AI Engine Ready: Seamless GTP integration lets you plug in popular AI engines for analysis, training games, or automated play out of the box.
- Rich SGF Toolset: Comprehensive SGF 4-compliant editing features make it suitable for professional game review, joseki study, and tournament record management.
Cons
- No Built-In AI Analysis: Sabaki does not include a bundled AI engine; users must separately install and configure GTP engines like GNU Go or Pachi.
- Desktop Only: There is no web or mobile version, so access is limited to desktop environments — no iOS or Android support.
- Niche Use Case: Purpose-built exclusively for Go/Baduk/Weiqi, making it irrelevant to users outside that specific board game community.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is Sabaki free to use?
Yes, Sabaki is completely free and open source. You can download it, use it, and even contribute to its development on GitHub at no cost.
What operating systems does Sabaki support?
Sabaki is cross-platform and supports macOS, Windows, and Linux, thanks to its Electron-based architecture.
Can I play against an AI in Sabaki?
Yes. Sabaki supports the Go Text Protocol (GTP), so you can connect compatible AI engines such as GNU Go or Pachi to play against or analyze your games.
What is SGF and does Sabaki fully support it?
SGF (Smart Game Format) is the standard file format for recording Go games. Sabaki supports SGF 4 fully, including multi-game containers, markup tools, annotations, and Markdown reviews.
How does the score estimator work?
Sabaki's score estimator analyzes the current board position mid-game using area or territory counting. You can manually toggle the life-and-death status of stone groups to refine the estimate.
