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PhotoCraft

PhotoCraft

A free Rust image editor with real PSD files and MCP automation

Image Editing & EnhancementImage EditingOpen SourcePSD SupportFree

PhotoCraft is a free, open-source image editor that clean-room reimplements Photoshop in pure Rust for macOS, Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, and the browser. It ships layers, masks, adjustment layers, layer styles, pickable selections, ICC colour management, and real PSD/PSB editing, with 500+ commands scripts and agents can drive over CLI and MCP.

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Updated

2026-10-25

Platforms

Windows / macOS / Linux / FreeBSD / Web

Free

Free and open source: every desktop platform, the CLI, and the WebAssembly build are released under MIT or Apache-2.0, cost nothing, and need no subscription; core editing runs offline on your own machine.

* Pricing is for reference only; see the official site for current pricing.

PhotoCraft
getartcraft.com

PhotoCraft Key Features

  • Non-destructive Edit

    Stack, mask, and reorder Levels, Curves, and filter previews while original pixels stay untouched, so a grade can be re-tuned days later.

  • Real PSD Files

    Open and re-save layered Photoshop documents with styles and smart filters intact, and keep blocks the app has not modelled instead of dropping them.

  • Native GPU Canvas

    Composite on Metal, Vulkan, DX12, or WebGPU at 8 to 32 bits with ICC profiles and soft proofing, so heavy files stay responsive before print.

  • Agent Control

    Run the same command registry from the UI, a script, or an AI agent, turning folder-wide sharpen and curves passes into repeatable batches.

PhotoCraft Best For

Designers leaving Photoshop subscriptions

Keep familiar menus, shortcuts, and panels while opening and re-saving layered PSD and PSB files locally, without a recurring license.

Retouchers judging colour-critical output

Work in 8, 16, or 32-bit RGB, CMYK, Lab, and grayscale with ICC profiles and soft proofing, so print checks happen before export.

Developers automating image batches

Call the same 500+ command registry the UI uses through the CLI, JSON channel, or MCP server instead of scripting mouse clicks.

Pros

  • Free and open source under MIT or Apache-2.0
  • 67 tools with real PSD and PSB round trips
  • Native GPU canvas with no Electron or web view
  • Scripts and agents reuse the UI's 500+ commands

Considerations

  • Early alpha with 15 tools still missing
  • No AI or generative features, unlike Adobe's
  • No Photoshop plug-in compatibility

PhotoCraft Quick Start and Practical Tips

Quick start

  1. 1

    Install the 0.10.0 build or run it from source, then open an existing PSD to check layer styles first.

  2. 2

    Re-save under a new name and compare at full size; round trips render consistently but are not byte-identical.

  3. 3

    Move repeat edits into an actions JSON and run photocraft-cli batch over the whole folder.

Pro tip

Core tip: wiring is not parity. All 67 tools exist, yet the README still calls 0.10.0 an early alpha with 15 missing tools and no AI generation, so keep Photoshop for the steps those gaps block and test Affinity files before relying on them.

Frequently asked questions

01Can I drop Photoshop today and rely on PhotoCraft for client files?

Not yet. The README calls version 0.10.0 an early alpha with 15 missing tools, shallow typography and pro workflows, and no plug-in support. Pilot it on non-critical work and keep Photoshop for the specific steps those gaps block.

02If an agent edits a PSD, is the saved file identical to the original?

No. Re-saving rewrites image resources, layer records and the composite: renders match for 307 of 309 psd-tools files, but bytes do not. Only the standalone photocraft-psd crate round-trips byte for byte, so keep originals before batch overwrites.

03Does it work on Linux, ARM, or in a browser without installing anything?

Yes on all three: Linux ships AppImage, deb, rpm, Flatpak and tarballs for x86_64 and ARM64, plus FreeBSD and a WebAssembly build you host yourself. Verify the Web build on your browser for large files before committing a team to it.

04How complete is the agent integration compared with the desktop app?

Commands match the menus, but the authenticated loopback control channel for inspecting UI state and taking offscreen screenshots ships only with the desktop app. Headless CLI and MCP still run commands, so automation works without that channel.

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