In October 2026 ArtCraft put seven open-source creative apps on public download at once: PhotoCraft, VectorCraft, FilmCraft, LightCraft, PdfCraft, EffectCraft and DesignCraft. The menus resemble Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, Lightroom, Acrobat, After Effects and InDesign, and the installers do not require an Adobe subscription. The decision is not whether a free build exists. It is whether a PSD, a Premiere sequence and a delivery date can move onto software that still calls itself alpha. This article checks the repository READMEs and getartcraft.com/apps as of 12 October 2026. FilmCraft's own status section says it was re-measured on 10 October 2026.
Why a free installer is the wrong 2026 question
The subscription price, the friction of cancelling, and the lack of a native Linux build are real reasons to look. Ars Technica reported that developer Brandon Thomas used Anthropic's Claude Opus 5.5 to produce clean-room Rust replacements for seven Adobe apps, and described the suite as super early alpha. Digital Trends quoted a Reddit comment promising 100 percent parity within a month. That comment and the status files in the repositories are not the same document.
PhotoCraft's README is direct: early alpha, and not yet a Photoshop replacement for daily professional work. Every Photoshop menu item is wired to a command, and the README says that measurement is wiring, not behaviour. FilmCraft's README, re-measured on 10 October 2026 against Premiere Pro 26.5.2, publishes two numbers: feature breadth about 86 percent (menus about 92 percent, effects measured as 100 percent present) and readiness for real work about 56 percent. A one-month comment does not match a status page that says 56 percent.
A second split gets collapsed into one bill. ArtCraft itself is a paid AI image and video studio that sells generation credits. The seven Crafting Apps are free, standalone, open-source editors. Thomas has said the paid studio is how the free apps stay funded, and that using an editor does not require buying credits. A free editor plus an optional generator is a stack, not a license you must pay.
A familiar menu is not the dividing line. Whether the project file round-trips, and whether the export meets the deadline, is.
Split the seven apps by the job, not by the suite
An Adobe alternative is not one product. The official apps page describes seven native tools written from scratch in Rust, each able to run alone, and each able to compile to WebAssembly. Sort them by the file you actually have to deliver.
Stills and raw. PhotoCraft is the retouching and layered-PSD tool. LightCraft's own line is an on-device photo library and raw developer. Press coverage compares it with Lightroom's cloud app rather than Lightroom Classic. The repository promises a library plus raw development, not the Classic catalog workflow.
Vector, layout and PDF. VectorCraft is vector illustration, DesignCraft is page layout, PdfCraft is reading, organising, combining, splitting and securing PDFs. None of the three currently publishes a dated coverage number of the kind PhotoCraft and FilmCraft do. Without that number, do not write them up as replacements for Illustrator, InDesign or Acrobat.
Time. FilmCraft is the editorial, colour and sound tool. EffectCraft is motion graphics and visual effects. A finished cut and a motion-graphics comp are different deliveries. Failing to finish a film in FilmCraft does not mean a lower-third must stay in After Effects, and failing a comp in EffectCraft does not mean the rough cut must stay in Premiere.
PhotoCraft, FilmCraft, and the other five
The tables below keep only sentences you can point at on the official pages and in the READMEs. A cell without a published figure says so. It is not filled with a percentage from a review.
| App | Adobe counterpart | Status you can cite | Can it deliver in October 2026 |
|---|---|---|---|
| PhotoCraft | Photoshop | Early alpha. The download page said 0.7.0 when checked. PSD re-save render match 307 of 309. Gaps include generative features, about twenty tools, typography depth, pro workflows and plug-ins | Try it on a copy. Not a daily professional replacement |
| VectorCraft | Illustrator | Open-source vector illustration in Rust. No coverage percentage at PhotoCraft's level | Try a vector copy. Deliver with a tool you already trust |
| FilmCraft | Premiere Pro | Alpha. On 2026-10-10 versus 26.5.2: breadth about 86 percent, real work about 56 percent. Cannot open .prproj | Short pieces and common codecs are worth a trial. Long-form and large media are not a swap |
| LightCraft | Lightroom as a library and raw developer, not a Classic promise | On-device library and raw development. No published coverage percentage | Import a copied album. Leave the master catalog where it is |
| PdfCraft | Acrobat | Read, organise, combine, split, secure. No published score for forms or signatures | Try housekeeping on a copy. Do not migrate contracts or signing |
| EffectCraft | After Effects | Motion graphics and visual effects. No published score for plug-in hosting | Try simple titles. Do not migrate expression and plug-in comps |
| DesignCraft | InDesign | Page layout and publishing. No published IDML round-trip number | Try a single-page copy. Do not migrate books or print workflows |
| Dimension | Adobe subscription | Crafting Apps |
|---|---|---|
| Entry | Creative Cloud desktop apps, no native Linux | Native installers for macOS, Windows and Linux, plus a browser build. macOS installers are signed and notarized |
| Files | PSD, PRPROJ, plug-ins and team libraries are the existing path | PhotoCraft reads and writes PSD and PSB. FilmCraft does not read PRPROJ. It takes FCP7 XML, AAF and OTIO |
| Execution | Plug-ins, generative fill and hardware encode paths are mature | PhotoCraft and FilmCraft ship a CLI, a JSON control channel and MCP. On large footage, FilmCraft's Lumetri, keys and export render still run on the CPU |
| Cost | Suite subscription. Cancellation terms are a separate sum | The editors are free. Generation credits are separate, and you can skip them |
| Risk | The project sits on a version you have already delivered with | Alpha builds write to disk. The only original, client masters and notarization certificates do not belong on the trial machine |
What 86 percent and 56 percent actually measure
FilmCraft separates the two numbers because "the menu contains this item" and "this film can ship" are different measurements. Breadth counts Premiere menu items, effects, transitions, panels and formats that exist in FilmCraft. Effects were measured as 100 percent present, menus at about 92 percent, and the combined breadth at about 86 percent. That is why the application feels familiar when you open it.
The 56 percent figure is the team's own estimate of how close FilmCraft is to replacing Premiere on real projects. It is not a third-party benchmark and it is not a pass rate on client films. The README names the largest holes: speed, Premiere project files, plug-ins, delivery codecs, real camera files, and less testing on Windows and Linux than on macOS. H.264 is the only software delivery-codec export. H.265 export is hardware-only. There is no AV1 export yet. Those sentences decide this week's swap more than 86 percent does.
Read PhotoCraft's 307 of 309 the same way. It is the count of psd-tools files whose composite matches after an open and a re-save. It is not a guarantee about your client PSD, and the re-saved file is not byte-identical. The README says a re-save rewrites image resources, layer records and the composite, while blocks the program does not model yet are carried through instead of dropped. The two files that do not match, plus generative features, about twenty missing tools, typography depth, pro workflows and plug-ins, are why the project refuses to call itself a daily replacement.
When you re-check next month, write down four things before you trust a new percentage. Which document you opened, which date that document prints, which Premiere or Photoshop version it claims to measure against, and which of your own files you ran. A coverage number that moved, with no change in .prproj import or in CPU-bound export, has not changed your delivery.
Which job can move, and which job cannot
| If you are | Use today | Try on a copy |
|---|---|---|
| Delivering a layered PSD that uses plug-ins or generative fill | The Photoshop or Affinity build you already ship with | Save a second file and see which layers PhotoCraft can read |
| Cutting a short piece in ordinary H.264, with no third-party plug-ins | The editorial tool that has already exported for you | Give FilmCraft a disposable timeline and compare the export |
| Required to open a Premiere project unchanged | Premiere, or an export to FCP7 XML, AAF or OTIO first | Do not expect FilmCraft to read .prproj |
| Sitting on a raw catalog built over years | The Lightroom or darktable library you already trust | Import one copied album into LightCraft |
| Handling contract PDFs, signatures or print books | The Acrobat or layout path you already use | Let PdfCraft or DesignCraft touch copies only |
| Wanting an agent to drive retouching or a cut | Do not enable MCP on the daily production machine | Open the control channel on an isolated Mac and wipe the workspace when the session ends |
The asymmetry is in the file, not in the model. PhotoCraft and FilmCraft turn every action into a command, so the UI, the CLI and MCP call one engine. That does nothing for a manual retouch. It does matter if an agent is about to edit a folder of images, and it moves the risk from "the menu looks right" to "this process can write the disk."
A delivery stack and a trial stack
Stills that have to ship. Keep Affinity or GIMP on the final file. Feed PhotoCraft a copy, and see whether the PSD layers, adjustment layers and type are still editable. Write down the layers that do not match. Do not repair them on the original.
Cuts that have to ship. Keep DaVinci Resolve or Kdenlive on the master. Feed FilmCraft one short copy with no plug-ins. If the timeline must leave Premiere, export FCP7 XML, AAF or OTIO from Premiere and let FilmCraft read the interchange file. Do not hand it a .prproj.
Libraries. Leave the master catalog in darktable or in the Lightroom you already use. Give LightCraft a copy of one active album.
Agents. If you want to try photocraft-cli or FilmCraft's MCP, put the workspace on an isolated machine. Do not mount the client drive or the notarization identity. For a remote machine treated as a disposable environment, see the M4 cloud node compile-and-package note. Check pricing before you order, and the help center for access and account questions.
Five ways a free download becomes a missed delivery
- Treating wiring as completeness. PhotoCraft says every Photoshop menu item is wired to a command, and says that this measures wiring rather than behaviour. Finding the menu item does not mean the result matches Photoshop.
- Opening the only client file in an alpha build. Early builds rewrite PSDs and can fail halfway through an export. Open a copy.
- Scheduling around "100 percent in a month." That sentence is a comment quoted in coverage. Schedule against the README's alpha label and the 56 percent figure, and write down the date you checked.
- Treating generation credits as the editor's license. If you are not generating, you do not need ArtCraft credits. Buying credits does not add plug-ins or .prproj import.
- Enabling MCP on the production machine. The control channel drives the same commands as the interface, including writes. On a daily Mac that holds client masters and a signing identity, that is a permission problem, not a convenience.
Seven steps before you uninstall Adobe
- Write down the one application you want to leave. Do not migrate retouching, editorial, a catalog and layout in one move.
- Duplicate the project. Leave the original in the application that opens it today, and check that the copy has the same size and layer count.
- Install the official signed build on a Mac that does not hold the client drive or notarization certificates. FilmCraft says macOS is tested more than Windows and Linux, so the first check belongs on macOS, closer to the surface they actually test. When you need a machine you can wipe, use a remote Mac instead of installing the alpha on the daily production machine.
- Run one check only. For stills: open the PSD, change one adjustment layer, save, and reopen the composite in Photoshop. For editorial: a clip under a minute, no plug-ins, H.264, then compare the export beside the tool you already use.
- Record failures as holes the project has already named: plug-ins, .prproj, CPU export on large media, generative features. Do not file those failures as a settings mistake.
- Ship the master from Affinity, GIMP, Resolve, Kdenlive or darktable. The trial result does not change this week's delivery path.
- Write one of three verdicts: try, run beside, or not a replacement. Attach the check date, the version (PhotoCraft's download page said 0.7.0 on 12 October 2026) and the check that failed. If the status page changes its number next week, rerun the same check. Do not change the verdict because the percentage moved.
FAQ
Are the seven apps actually free?
You can download and use them without a subscription. ArtCraft separately sells AI generation credits and says that revenue keeps the free editors going. Opening PhotoCraft or FilmCraft does not require a credit purchase. The license is each repository's LICENSE file. FilmCraft's README offers MIT or Apache-2.0. PhotoCraft's GitHub license field is Apache-2.0.
Can PhotoCraft open PSD files?
The README says it opens, edits and saves layered PSD and PSB files. On the psd-tools set, a re-save renders the same for 307 of 309 files. That is a render check, not a byte-identical file, and it does not make your client file safe. The same README calls the app early alpha.
Can FilmCraft open Premiere projects?
No. The 10 October 2026 status says .prproj files cannot be opened yet. Interchange is FCP7 XML, AAF or OTIO. Timeline editing, trimming, multicam, effects, captions and mixing work. On large footage, Lumetri, keys and export rendering still run on the CPU, and the team estimates readiness for real work at about 56 percent.
How should I choose against GIMP, Affinity and DaVinci Resolve?
If the file has to ship today, use a tool you have already delivered with. Affinity or GIMP for stills, DaVinci Resolve or Kdenlive for editorial, darktable for a raw library. Use the Crafting Apps on copies to test menus and round trips. A similar menu is not the replacement test.
Do I have to buy ArtCraft AI credits?
No. The seven editors are separate open-source apps. Credits belong to the AI studio. Generation can be connected and it can be left out. Credits do not buy a plug-in host or .prproj import.
Can I try them in the browser and skip the install?
You can look at the interface. The apps compile to WebAssembly, and FilmCraft's releases include a web bundle. A browser session does not accept a PSD, a camera original or long-GOP video on disk. Writes, export speed and crash recovery have to be measured on a native build.
Conclusion
The seven apps are real, free and open source, and the menus are deliberately familiar. PhotoCraft says it cannot yet replace daily professional work. FilmCraft puts readiness for real work at about 56 percent and cannot open a Premiere project. What you can drop is the need to pay a subscription before you look. What you cannot drop is the client file that has to ship this week. Run one check on a copy, on an isolated Mac, and leave the delivery path where it is.
Adobe, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, Lightroom, Acrobat, After Effects and InDesign are trademarks of Adobe. The Crafting Apps are independent implementations and are not affiliated with Adobe.
Further reading
- Using an M4 cloud node for compile and packaging →
- What a cloud server is for: five practical uses →
Do not put an alpha editor on the Mac that holds client media and signing certificates
PhotoCraft and FilmCraft write files, export, and expose a local control channel plus MCP. Client footage and notarization keys should not share that trial. A remote Mac isolates the workspace per session so you can run a disposable PSD round trip or a short export first.