ArtCraft Guide
A designer working at a creative studio desk, sketching on a large monitor with art tools around, warmly lit

Open-source · pure Rust · no subscription

ArtCraft — the free, open-source Adobe alternative family

PhotoCraft → Photoshop. VectorCraft → Illustrator. EffectCraft → After Effects. PdfCraft → Acrobat — and five more, all rebuilt in pure Rust, all free. Download guides, hands-on tutorials, honest vs-Adobe comparisons and preset packs for the whole family.

Quick answer: ArtCraft is a family of free, open-source apps that reimplement the Adobe workflow in pure Rust — PhotoCraft (Photoshop), VectorCraft (Illustrator), EffectCraft (After Effects), PdfCraft (Acrobat), FilmCraft, LightCraft, WordCraft, GridCraft and CADCraft. Same panels and shortcuts, real PSD/.ai/Lottie file compatibility, offline, agent-native, and no subscription. Honest caveat: early alpha — the family covers ordinary work today, with generative features, some tools and professional pipelines still on the roadmap.

Core facts
Apps9 (Photoshop → CAD)
LicenseMIT / Apache-2.0
PriceFree, no subscription
PlatformsmacOS · Windows · Linux · Web
AutomationCLI + JSON channel + MCP

The nine apps, one family

PhotoCraft → Adobe Photoshop

Open-source Photoshop replacement in pure Rust: layers, masks, adjustment layers, layer styles, text, vectors, brushes and real PSD files — free, no subscription.

VectorCraft → Adobe Illustrator

Open-source Illustrator replacement in pure Rust: Pen, Pathfinder, smart guides, appearance, layers — fast, scriptable, free.

EffectCraft → Adobe After Effects

Open-source After Effects alternative in pure Rust: compositions, keyframes, 306 effects, expressions, 3D cameras, Lottie import/export — no FFmpeg dependency.

FilmCraft → Adobe Premiere Pro (nonlinear editing workflow)

Open-source nonlinear video editor in pure Rust — a free, clean-room take on the Premiere Pro workflow, scriptable and agent-native.

PdfCraft → Adobe Acrobat

Open-source PDF reader and editor in pure Rust — a clean-room Acrobat replacement with beautiful rendering, page organization, merge/split and document protection.

LightCraft → Adobe Lightroom (non-destructive photo workflow)

Open-source non-destructive photo editor in pure Rust — a free Lightroom-style workflow: edit without destroying the original, agent-native.

WordCraft → Microsoft Word (document processing workflow)

Open-source Word in pure Rust — a clean-room reimplementation of the Word processing workflow, free, scriptable, agent-native.

GridCraft → Microsoft Excel (spreadsheet workflow)

Open-source spreadsheet in pure Rust — a clean-room Excel reimplementation, free, scriptable, agent-native.

CADCraft → Professional commercial CAD (e.g. AutoCAD-style drafting)

Open-source CAD in pure Rust — a free, clean-room take on professional CAD drafting, scriptable and agent-native.

Start here

  • Free tutorial: install & first-launch PhotoCraft in five minutes
  • Honest comparison: ArtCraft vs Adobe — what covers what today
  • Platform-by-platform download guides for all 9 apps
  • Paid catalog: deep tutorials and preset packs, unlock once with credits

More guides & tutorials

PhotoCraft install & first launch

Download, install and first-launch PhotoCraft on Windows, macOS or in the browser — with the exact official sources.

PhotoCraft layers & masks basics

The layered editing core of PhotoCraft: layers, masks, adjustment layers and layer styles — with real PSD behavior.

PhotoCraft adjustments & export

Grade with the 16 adjustment layer types, then export to PSD, PNG, JPEG, WebP or TIFF — with round-trip verification.

VectorCraft quickstart

VectorCraft in ten minutes: Pen, Pathfinder, smart guides, and SVG/PDF/.ai import-export — the Illustrator workflow free.

PdfCraft quickstart

PdfCraft in ten minutes: read anything beautifully, organize pages like cards, merge/split safely, open protected PDFs.

EffectCraft quickstart

EffectCraft in ten minutes: compositions, keyframes, 306 effects, expressions, 3D cameras and Lottie export — the AE workflow free.

More comparisons

ArtCraft vs Adobe

ArtCraft is the open-source Adobe-alternative family: free, pure-Rust, no subscription, agent-native. Honest comparison — what it covers today and where it still lags.

PhotoCraft vs Photoshop

PhotoCraft vs Adobe Photoshop, honestly compared: real PSD support and the familiar layer workflow for free — with the early-alpha gaps spelled out.

More preset packs

PhotoCraft actions pack

10 ready-to-run batch scripts for the PhotoCraft CLI and JSON control channel: resize, convert, flatten, grade and export folders in one command.

VectorCraft template pack

5 real SVG templates — logo mark, badge, chart, icon set, divider — ready to open in VectorCraft, edit and export.

GridCraft template pack

10 spreadsheet templates — budget, invoice, tracker, planner, inventory — in CSV/JSON, openable in GridCraft and every spreadsheet app.

WordCraft template pack

5 document templates — letter, report, proposal, invoice letter, meeting notes — in open HTML/MD formats, ready to adapt.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is ArtCraft?
ArtCraft is a family of free, open-source apps that reimplement the Adobe workflow in pure Rust: PhotoCraft → Photoshop, VectorCraft → Illustrator, EffectCraft → After Effects, PdfCraft → Acrobat, plus FilmCraft, LightCraft, WordCraft, GridCraft and CADCraft. All free, all no-subscription, all offline-capable and agent-native.
Is ArtCraft really free?
Yes — the apps are open source (MIT/Apache-2.0) with no subscription and no paid tier. This guide site is independent of the project; it charges only for its own tutorials and preset packs, never for the tools.
Can ArtCraft replace Adobe Creative Cloud?
Not yet, fully — the family is early alpha and the READMEs say so plainly. It replaces the Adobe workflow (same panels, tools and shortcuts, real file compatibility like PSD and .ai) for ordinary work today; generative/AI features, some tools, professional pipelines and plugin ecosystems remain documented gaps.
Where do I download ArtCraft apps?
From the official source only: getartcraft.com for desktop and web builds, and GitHub Releases under storytold for the same builds plus Linux/FreeBSD packages. Each app page on this site has a platform-by-platform download guide.
Why do you sell tutorials and preset packs?
The tools are free, so this site earns nothing from them — tutorials and packs charge only for curation, runbook labor and hand-built template files. Free tutorials exist too: the PhotoCraft install guide is free, and every paid item can be unlocked once with credits that never expire.