PhotoCraft is the open-source image editor in the ArtCraft Crafting Apps line: a clean-room reimplementation aimed at Photoshop-style workflows, written in pure Rust. The public repository is storytold/photocraft. Product pages sit at getartcraft.com/apps/photocraft and photocraft.space.
Focus: the editor binary and install paths. For the broader Crafting Apps lineup and star-growth context, see Get ArtCraft: PhotoCraft vs Photoshop, EffectCraft….
What Ships in the Repo
From the README (checked October 24, 2026, America/Los_Angeles):
- Native desktop targets listed on the badge and downloads: macOS, Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, plus a web build.
- GPU compositor on wgpu (Metal, Vulkan, DX12, WebGPU); README stresses no Electron / no web view for the desktop app.
- Layered editing: adjustment layers, layer styles, masks, type, vectors, brushes, history, and a large Photoshop-like tool list (README quotes 67 tools).
- PSD / PSB open, edit, and save; README cites re-saving that keeps the render of 307 of 309 files in the psd-tools test set.
- Extra formats called out for interchange with other editors include OpenRaster (read/write), GIMP XCF (read), Krita
.kra(read), Paint.NET PDN3 (read), Affinity documents (read-only), plus common flat formats and a native.pcraftfile. - Agent surface: every action is a command; the same engine can be driven from the UI, CLI, a JSON control channel, or an MCP server.
- License: dual MIT OR Apache-2.0 (at your option). GitHub’s license API currently surfaces Apache-2.0 as the detected SPDX. Brand assets under
docs/brand/have a separate brand license and must be removed from forks. - Status badge: early alpha. README’s Important note: much of Photoshop’s feature surface exists in some form, but it is not yet a Photoshop replacement for daily professional work. Gaps called out include AI/generative features, missing tools, typography/pro-workflow depth, and plug-in compatibility.
GitHub API at write time: about 72,447 stars, 12,817 forks, language Rust, created 2026-09-30. Latest GitHub release tag checked: v0.15.1 (published 2026-10-23 UTC), with multi-platform installers attached.
Install and Run
Easiest path (official): download from the PhotoCraft page on getartcraft.com, which the README names as the simplest install route. photocraft.space/download also points at downloads for macOS, Windows, Linux, and the web.
Specific builds: every format listed below is attached to GitHub Releases (latest and historical). Release assets include a SHA256SUMS.txt. Examples from the README matrix:
- Windows: MSI and portable ZIP for x64, arm64, and x86 (code-signed).
- macOS: universal DMG (signed and notarized); separate
photocraft-cliZIP (signed and notarized). - Linux: AppImage, Flatpak,
.deb,.rpm, and tarball for x86_64 and aarch64; RISC-V tarball noted separately (glibc 2.39+). - FreeBSD 14 x86_64: tarball laid out like
/usr/local, after installing listed runtime packages.
Flatpak example from the README:
flatpak install --user photocraft-<version>-linux-x86_64.flatpak
flatpak run ai.storyteller.photocraft
Build from source (Rust toolchain required):
git clone https://github.com/storytold/photocraft
cd photocraft
cargo run --release -p photocraft -- image.psd
Optional Japanese UI/Type fonts come from the sibling storytold/craft-fonts repo via CRAFT_FONTS_DIR. Without it, PhotoCraft uses system CJK fonts.
Known desktop caveat (README): on Wayland, drag-and-drop onto the window is not available yet (winit issue referenced as #386); File › Open or paste works. XWayland workarounds are documented.
Community packages (Gentoo overlay, etc.) are explicitly not maintained by the PhotoCraft team.
Open-Source Editor Comparison (Checkable Facts)
Only facts you can verify on the named pages—no hands-on bake-off:
| Project | What the public materials state | License / access (high level) | Overlap with PhotoCraft docs |
|---|---|---|---|
| PhotoCraft | Rust native + web; Photoshop-oriented layers/PSD; early alpha | MIT OR Apache-2.0; free downloads | Self |
| GIMP | Long-running open raster editor (gimp.org) | Free / open source | PhotoCraft documents XCF read |
| Krita | Open painting-focused app (krita.org) | Free / open source | PhotoCraft documents .kra read |
| Photopea | Browser editor (photopea.com) | Web service (not the same OSS desktop stack) | Different distribution model |
PhotoCraft’s README also lists OpenRaster read/write as a bridge toward Krita / MyPaint / GIMP workflows. That is format compatibility marketing from the project, not an independent parity score.
Do not treat PhotoCraft’s alpha status or Photoshop menu wiring checklist as proof of production parity; the project’s own Important note and docs/target-app-parity.md / ROADMAP.md are the authoritative caveats.
Official Links
- Repository: github.com/storytold/photocraft
- Marketing / download: photocraft.space, getartcraft.com/apps/photocraft
- ArtCraft home: getartcraft.com
- Discord (linked from README): discord.gg/artcraft
- AI Rank parent-suite ranking page: storytold/artcraft (dedicated
storytold/photocraftrepo page was not live at publish time)
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Prepared with automated editorial assistance and checked against the PhotoCraft GitHub repository, getartcraft.com/apps/photocraft, photocraft.space, and named third-party project homes on October 24, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles). We did not install or benchmark the software for this article.