Somebody on Bluesky summed up the PhotoCraft repo as "AI stole Photoshop and now it's open source?" That's a catchy line, and it's also not what the README says. So I went through the READMEs for storytold/artcraft and the apps around it to see what's actually there.
Caveat before anything else: GitHub blocks automated browsing of source trees, so this is a read of the READMEs and public write-ups, not of the Rust code. I'm flagging which claims are the team's own and which come from third-party coverage.
ArtCraft itself is not a Photoshop clone. The team describes it as an AI image and video studio "for artists who want real control." Third-party coverage describes a desktop app on a Rust foundation, split into advanced crafting for controlled production work and quick prompting for fast ideas. Several features (scene blocking, canvas editing, relighting, inpainting) are listed as "preview coming soon", so treat it as work in progress.
The Adobe-shaped part is the family around it, which the team calls the Crafting Apps. Each is written from scratch in Rust and meant to stand on its own.
| App | Does | Adobe workflow it targets | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| PhotoCraft | Layers, masks, type, real PSD files | Photoshop | Early alpha |
| VectorCraft | Vector illustration | Illustrator | In active development |
| DesignCraft | Page layout and publishing | InDesign | Runs on desktop and in the browser via WebAssembly |
| FilmCraft | Video editing, color, sound | Premiere Pro | See repo |
| LightCraft | Photo library and raw development | Lightroom | See repo |
| PdfCraft | Reading, organizing, protecting PDFs | Acrobat | See repo |
| EffectCraft | Motion graphics and effects | After Effects | See repo |
| DeckCraft | Presentations | PowerPoint (Microsoft, not Adobe) | See repo |
PhotoCraft, VectorCraft and DesignCraft say outright that they reimplement Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign. For the other four I matched them by description, using the Adobe product list in the shared trademark notice. Check each repo before you quote me.
Every README carries the same disclaimer: the apps are independent, "not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Adobe Inc.", and Adobe's names are used only to describe compatible workflows.
It's the most documented of the group, and the README is blunt about its own state. It says "early alpha" and, per coverage of the project, "not yet a Photoshop replacement for daily professional work."
What it reportedly ships today:
PhotoCraft and VectorCraft both expose an MCP server, so an AI agent can drive the editor. One write-up counts 500+ commands behind a JSON control channel, and the README shows a headless photocraft-cli for batch work. DesignCraft is also described as drivable over MCP.
This is the real thesis, I think. Photoshop is hard for an agent to script cleanly. An editor built with a command interface from day one is a different kind of target.
I looked for it and couldn't find much. As of mid-October 2026 I found:
photocraft-cli mcp as an alternative backend to Adobe's API. The team also had to put a long trademark disclaimer on every repo, which tells you they know where the sensitive line is.
The open question is legal, not technical. "Clean-room" is a claim about process, and I can't verify it from outside. Whether it holds up isn't something I can judge, and I'm not a lawyer. If you're thinking about using these apps in a company, ask someone who is.
My honest take on who should try it
git clone https://github.com/storytold/photocraft
cargo run --release -p photocraft -- image.psd
ArtCraft Launcher, also early alpha, checks each app's GitHub releases and updates the ones you have installed.
Which of these would you actually swap for the Adobe version, and what would have to be true first? File format fidelity? Plugin support? Leave it in the comments. I'm especially curious about video, since FilmCraft is the one I know least about.