How to Get Started with darktable
No matter your experience with raw photo editing, darktable can be intimidating and has a number of unique features which can be hard to understand at first. So just jumping in and flailing around is not a good strategy for learning. With that in mind, here are my recommendations for getting started properly.
For help and discussion, join the discuss.pixls.us forum, which is the “official” darktable forum and were you'll find the power users and developers. The Play Raw section, in particular, can be a great way to learn. If you don't get the activation email, you can ask in one of the IRC or Matrix channels to have your account activated manually.
The Basics
It's important to understand that the workflow and many tools are nothing like in Lightroom or most other raw editors, and trying to fit your old ways of working into darktable is almost certainly going to be frustrating. Therefore it's important that you spend a bit of time learning the basics first. If you have experience color grading video in programs such as Final Cut Pro or DaVinci Resolve, you should find the editing workflow fairly familiar, though.
The FAQ
Read the New Users section before anything else, since that will probably answer some of your questions. – darktable FAQ
Beginner Tutorials
There are a few ways to get your photos into darktable. They are of course explained in the manual, but Bruce Williams also has a video where he covers all the details. – darktable manual: Import module – Bruce Williams: Getting images into darktable
There aren't many good beginner video tutorials (but several not so good ones). I currently recommend the one by Kevin Ajili, since it covers everything you need to know and doesn't contain any bad advice. It also shows you how to use Sigmoid, which is simpler than Filmic RGB and AgX. – Kevin Ajili: SIMPLIFIED darktable workflow!
The manual has a full beginner tutorial, that takes you from importing, through editing and to exporting your photos. Since it was written, the default tone mapper has been changed from Filmic RGB to Sigmoid, though, so if you haven't changed it back, you instead set white and black relative exposure implicitly by changing the contrast in Sigmoid. – An introduction to darktable's workflow
Between these two tutorials, you'll already understand more than some YouTubers making darktable videos... Do not skip them, no matter your previous experience.
If you're coming from Lightroom or a similar editor, this video will show you the rough equivalents to the tools you already know: From Lightroom to Darktable – the Ultimate Guide
By the way, there's a shadows and highlights module. Don't use it. It's old and has some serious quality issues. It's only there because removing it would cause too much complaining from some users. The modern way is to use Tone Equalizer.
The Manual
Keep it handy and don't be afraid to read it. It's excellent, and there's a good chance that what you want to know is in there. I strongly recommend at a minimum reading the Overview, Lighttable and Darkroom sections. – darktable manual
Next Steps
There are other YouTube channels and tutorials, of course, but they vary greatly in quality, so these are the only ones I can recommend, without reservations, to new users.
Also be aware that starting with version 3.0 and until 3.6, but not really finishing until 4.0, darktable underwent some big changes in the workflow and tools, that mean tutorials made before 3.6 came out (in July 2021) are likely going to contain outdated or even wrong information. Those dealing with specific modules are probably fine, but anything more general should be avoided.
Bruce Williams
Has done a very good job of explaining most features in darktable. His YouTube channel is like an annotated manual. – https://www.youtube.com/@audio2u
Boris Hajdukovic
The darktable wizard. He's the one to watch to take your editing to the next level and learn all the little tricks. – https://www.youtube.com/@s7habo
Darktable Landscapes
This is a solid channel for general editing. There are even some videos for users coming from Lightroom. – https://www.youtube.com/@DarktableLandscapes
Nicolas Winspeare/A Dabble in Photography
Also solid. Often a bit more technical. – https://www.youtube.com/@adabbleinphotography8721