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VectorCraft is an open-source vector illustration app from the ArtCraft team (GitHub: storytold/vectorcraft). It is written in Rust, ships native builds for macOS, Windows, Linux, and FreeBSD, and also runs in the browser via WebAssembly. Product home: getartcraft.com/apps/vectorcraft. Live GitHub API at write time: about 10,887 stars; license on GitHub SPDX Apache-2.0, with the README stating a dual choice of MIT or Apache-2.0. Latest GitHub release checked: v0.17.0 (published October 25, 2026 UTC).

If you landed here looking for VectorCraft download, install, web/online use, public facts next to Illustrator, or VectorCraft MCP/agent hooks, the paths below follow the product page, README, and release assets.

Download and install paths

The VectorCraft product page lists three practical routes:

  1. ArtCraft Launcher (recommended on the product page). One installer for VectorCraft and the other Crafting Apps, with updates from the same place. The page showed Launcher v0.5.1 when checked.
  2. Standalone installers for VectorCraft alone (macOS disk image, Windows MSI/portable, Linux Flatpak/AppImage/deb/rpm/tarball, and related variants). Standalone pages can lag the GitHub tag strings, prefer the latest GitHub release when you need an exact build, and verify SHA256SUMS.txt.
  3. From source. Clone the repo and build with Cargo (desktop app, CLI, web bundle, MCP). README quick start includes cargo run --release -p vectorcraft and cargo run --release -p vectorcraft-cli -- mcp.

Release v0.17.0 assets on GitHub include signed Windows installers/portables, a notarized macOS universal .dmg, Linux AppImage/Flatpak/deb/rpm/tarball for x86_64 and aarch64 (plus more), FreeBSD tarball, and a vectorcraft-web-<ver>.zip WebAssembly static site. README notes Windows installers/executables are code-signed; macOS app and CLI are signed and notarized.

Browser and vectorcraft.app

VectorCraft’s UI also runs as WebAssembly. Host the vectorcraft-web zip yourself, or use the hosted editor at vectorcraft.app. That site describes an official web build that downloads once to the browser cache (about 21 MB on first visit), keeps drawings on-device, and needs no account. The page showed web build v0.11.0 at check time, desktop GitHub tags and the hosted web build are not always the same number.

Public facts next to Illustrator

No ranking of “which is better” without our own timed tests. Public positioning only:

  • README and product copy say VectorCraft mirrors a familiar illustrator-style layout: Pen, Direct Selection, Pathfinder, Smart Guides, Appearance, Swatches, Layers, and similar shortcuts.
  • Formats called out publicly include native .vectorcraft (JSON), first-class SVG, PDF and PDF-compatible .ai import/export, raster exports (PNG/JPEG/WebP), and more openers listed in the README.
  • Self-assessed status in the README (dated 2026-10-10): alpha; everyday drawing/path tools, Pathfinder/Shape Builder, paint, type, and core file formats are described as close to usable, while reliable real-world .ai exchange, some 3D/materials depth, and other gaps remain listed in docs/gaps.md / roadmap text.
  • vectorcraft.app markets itself as a free, open-source Illustrator-workflow alternative in the browser. That is vendor framing, not an AI Rank score.

For related Crafting Apps already covered here, see Get ArtCraft, PhotoCraft, EffectCraft and PhotoCraft.

VectorCraft MCP and agent control

README badges and docs state an MCP server so agents can drive menus, tools, panels, and dialogs the way a person would, plus a JSON control channel (--control). CLI entry shown:

cargo run --release -p vectorcraft-cli -- mcp

Claude Code registration example from the README:

claude mcp add vectorcraft -- /path/to/vectorcraft-cli mcp

Optional --automation-read-root / --automation-write-root flags limit file access to a project folder. Details live in docs/mcp.md and docs/control-protocol.md in the repo. > → Project ranking: watch related ArtCraft repos on the open-source rankings on AI Rank

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Place in ArtCraft and Crafting Apps

VectorCraft is one of the Crafting Apps, free, open-source creative tools from ArtCraft, each written in Rust and able to stand alone. Sibling apps named on the VectorCraft README include PhotoCraft, FilmCraft, LightCraft, PdfCraft, EffectCraft, and DesignCraft, with ArtCraft itself described as the AI image/video studio. Suite overview: ArtCraft AI Studio and Crafting Apps. Older name note on vectorcraft.app: the project was called DrawCraft until October 2026.

License and status

  • Dual license per README: MIT or Apache-2.0 (your choice). GitHub’s license API field reported Apache-2.0 SPDX at check time.
  • Active development / alpha self-assessment as above; treat release notes and unsigned-or-early-build warnings on download pages seriously.

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Cover image: official Neon Drive screenshot from storytold/vectorcraft; editorial crop by AI Rank.

Prepared with automated editorial assistance and checked against getartcraft.com/apps/vectorcraft, vectorcraft.app, github.com/storytold/vectorcraft (README, license text, releases/latest API), on October 28, 2026 (America/Los_Angeles). We did not install or benchmark the software for this article.