Open-Source Photoshop in Pure Rust
A clean-room, native desktop image editor built from scratch in Rust. Real layered PSD and PSB files, GPU-accelerated wgpu composition, 500+ structured commands, and zero recurring subscription fees.
Why PhotoCraft in 100% Rust?
Not an Electron wrapper, not a web canvas mockup. A real native compiled graphics workstation.
100% Native Rust Architecture
Zero Electron bloat, zero garbage-collection freezes. Launches in under 200ms with a tiny 40MB base memory footprint.
Hardware-Accelerated wgpu Pipeline
Direct compute on Vulkan, Metal, DX12, and WebGPU. Silky 60+ FPS brush strokes and real-time blending on 8K multi-layer artboards.
Exacting PSD/PSB Format Parity
Renders 307 of 309 benchmark Photoshop test files with pixel parity. Preserves adjustment layers, blend modes, and smart objects.
Air-Gapped & Zero Telemetry
No mandatory cloud login, no AI telemetry scans, no sudden licensing lockouts. True deterministic software that belongs to you.
Engineered from the Silicon Up
Three decoupled architectural pillars powering non-destructive composition, precision color science, and agentic automation.
Non-Destructive Tile Compositor
Every pixel transformation is calculated in real time using copy-on-write 512x512 memory tiles, ensuring instantaneous response even on gigapixel multi-layer PSD files.
16 Adjustment Layers
Curves with per-channel RGB control, Levels with live histogram, Selective Color, LUT color lookups (.cube, .3dl), and Gradient Maps.
27 Standard Blend Modes
Full mathematical parity with Multiply, Screen, Overlay, Soft Light, Color Dodge, and Blend If sliders with independent fill and opacity.
Dual Bitmap & Vector Masks
Resolution-independent Bezier vector paths alongside grayscale raster masks, feathering, and nested clipping groups.
Smart Objects & Live Filters
Embedded non-destructive transforms, perspective warps, and reorderable Gaussian blur, unsharp mask, and distortion filters.
Independent, Auditable, and Panic-Free
Why PhotoCraft delivers higher reliability, zero cloud vulnerability, and true software ownership.
Clean-Room Implementation
Built exclusively from publicly published file specifications and observed behavior. Zero Adobe code, zero proprietary shaders.
24 Decoupled Rust Crates
Strict architecture boundaries enforced at compile time. UI, decoders, compositor, and CLI can all build and test independently.
1,700+ Oracle Regression Tests
Verified against public oracle corpora (psd-tools, ag-psd, PngSuite) with SHA-256 locked checksums ensuring exact pixel parity.
Panic-Free Stability Initiative
Systematic elimination of runtime panics, bound-checking flaws, and memory leaks. Software that will not crash in the middle of a project.
100% Offline & Zero Telemetry
Requires no user account, transmits no diagnostic analytics, and requires no periodic cloud license checks. True air-gapped security.
Universal WebGPU & Native wgpu
Compiles directly to Metal on macOS, Vulkan on Linux, DX12 on Windows, and WebAssembly in browsers with no Electron middleman.
34 Native Tools & Non-Destructive Power
Everything you expect from an industry-standard raster workstation, designed without compromises in pure Rust.
Selection & Advanced Masking
Precision Marquee, Lasso, Polygonal, Magnetic, Magic Wand, Quick Select, and local Object/Subject selection. Features 'Select and Mask' workspace for refined hair extraction alongside resolution-independent vector bezier paths.
Painting & Retouching Dynamics
Photoshop .abr brush file import, 36 bundled presets, stylus pressure, tilt, and rotation dynamics. Spot Healing Brush, Clone Stamp, Mixer Brush, and v0.2.0 Background & Magic Eraser tools.
16 Adjustment Layers & Color Grading
Non-destructive Curves with per-channel RGB control, Levels with real-time histogram, Selective Color, 3D LUT lookups (.cube, .3dl), and 27 blend modes with independent Fill and Opacity sliders.
70+ Real-Time GPU Filters & Typography
Multi-core parallel Gaussian, Motion, and Surface blurs alongside Sharpen and Distortion filters. Directly editable on-canvas text layers, layer styles (Drop Shadow, Stroke, Bevel), and Smart Filter stacks.
PhotoCraft vs Adobe Photoshop vs GIMP
An objective architectural breakdown comparing licensing, startup latency, memory footprint, PSD fidelity, and automation readiness.
Official Downloads for Every Platform
Direct links to official untampered GitHub Releases binaries. Never re-hosted.
macOS
DMG & Universal CLI. Apple Silicon (M1~M4) & Intel. Apple Notarized.
Windows 10 / 11
64-bit installer & Portable ZIP (bypasses Windows installer freeze bug #866).
Linux (All Distros)
Flatpak, AppImage, .deb, .rpm. x86_64 & aarch64 architectures.
FreeBSD 14
Native x86_64 tarball bundle with Wayland / X11 runtime package list.
WebAssembly (WASM)
Run PhotoCraft directly in any modern WebGPU-capable browser without installing.
Build from Source
Compile locally with cargo using Rust 1.90+. Dual MIT / Apache-2.0 licensed.
flatpak run ai.storyteller.photocraftCompatibility Matrix Overview
Verified feature support against real-world Photoshop project files:
15-Minute Beginner Guide
Tour the interface, configure shortcuts, open your first layered PSD, and master non-destructive curves.
Photoshop Switchers
What transfers over, alpha gaps to watch out for, and tips for safe multi-editor workflows.
PhotoCraft vs Photoshop
Honest scorecard: startup speed, memory usage, typography, plugin architecture, and price.
Looking for an AI Photo Website or iOS App instead?
"PhotoCraft" is also the name of a commercial generative AI face-swap website, an iOS portrait app, and other tools. Check our disambiguation directory to make sure you find the exact software you need.
Everything You Need to Know
Transparent facts about compatibility, architecture, performance, and current early-alpha status.
Yes, 100% free and open-source under permissive MIT and Apache-2.0 dual licenses. There are no subscriptions, no accounts, no feature paywalls, and no telemetry tracking. You can inspect, compile, and run the code forever on your own terms.
Hit a Crash, Install Freeze or Black Canvas?
Verified fixes for real-world issues reported in early alpha releases:
Windows Installer Hangs / Freezes
Symptom: Stalls on "Please wait while Windows configures PhotoCraft"
Black Canvas or GPU Device Loss
Symptom: Canvas renders black or app crashes with wgpu::DeviceLost
Linux Missing Wayland / X11 Libraries
Symptom: Error: cannot open shared object file: libxkbcommon.so
macOS Gatekeeper Blocked Launch
Symptom: App blocked because Apple cannot verify developer
MCP Automation File Path Denied
Symptom: image.applyDataSet uses ambient filesystem paths and is disabled