PhotoCraft: the ArtCraft image editor
PhotoCraft is the image editor in the ArtCraft suite and the app most people will install first. The official site lists it as early alpha with installers for macOS, Windows and Linux, plus a web build. Here is what that means in practice.
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Official status, without the marketing
ArtCraft labels its apps with a development stage. PhotoCraft is marked early alpha, which sits above prototype and below stable: it installs, it opens, and it will change under you.
The site also lists installers as ready for macOS, Windows and Linux, and a browser build alongside them. That breadth is unusual for an alpha and is one reason the project gets attention.
What the label does not tell you is how much of a real Photoshop workflow it covers. No project publishes that number, so you have to measure it yourself on your own files.
What it replaces, and what that comparison hides
PhotoCraft targets Photoshop: layers, a canvas, an adjustment-and-filter workflow, image editing rather than painting or page layout.
The comparison hides two things. First, Photoshop is not one feature, it is a vocabulary: smart objects, layer comps, non-destructive camera raw, actions and scripting. Second, that vocabulary is what most tutorials and plugins assume, so a missing piece can cost you a whole workflow rather than one button.
For a clean pass this matters less. For inherited projects it usually decides the question.
A 20-minute test before you trust it
1. Open a layered PSD you actually work with. Note whether groups, text layers and adjustment layers survive as editable objects or flatten.
2. Make one non-destructive edit: a mask or an adjustment. Then save, close and reopen. Anything that does not come back is a limit you must know about.
3. Export at the settings you normally deliver at, then compare the file with what your current tool produced from the same source.
4. Try the operation you run most often. If it is batch export or a particular retouch, test that one, not a demo image.
If any step fails, keep your current editor for that job and re-test after the next release. Alpha software is expected to change; that is not a defect, it is the stage.
How to install it
Two routes: the ArtCraft launcher, which installs every app in the suite and keeps them updated, or the PhotoCraft installer from its own page.
If you only want image editing, take the single installer. Installing sixteen alpha apps to edit one photo gives you sixteen things that can break before you learn whether the editor fits.
Download only from the official site or the GitHub release it links to. Unofficial mirrors of a brand-new alpha are a bad bet.
Tested on 0.20.2
We ran the headless CLI build of PhotoCraft 0.20.2 (build 7c12f6471, 2026-11-05) on macOS arm64, after verifying the download against the release SHA256SUMS.txt.
A layered PSD written by a different tool opened with all five layer names, their order, visibility, per-layer opacity and a Multiply blend mode intact. PSD to PSD conversion reopened correctly in both PhotoCraft and an independent PSD library, but the output was not byte-identical to the input.
We did not test the interface, text layers, masks, smart objects or CMYK. The full method and every result, including the failure, are on the how we test page.
Who should install it now
People who want to follow the project early, who edit occasionally, or who have a specific simple job and a copy of every original file.
Not people with a delivery date this week, client files they cannot recreate, or a plugin chain they depend on. For those, the honest advice is to wait for a release with a compatibility statement.
This page vs the review
This page answers what PhotoCraft is, what stage it is at and how to install it. It is the reference page.
If you want a verdict instead of a description, the PhotoCraft review covers strengths, limits and who should install it — that page is the opinion, this one is the facts.
Questions
Is PhotoCraft free?
Yes. The ArtCraft apps are published as open source and the project states no subscription is required.
What stage is PhotoCraft at?
Early alpha, per the official site. Expect missing tools and behaviour changes between releases.
Which platforms does it run on?
The official site lists macOS, Windows and Linux installers, plus a web build.
Is it a full Photoshop replacement?
Not yet. It targets the same job, but feature depth and file compatibility have to be tested against your own work.
Should I uninstall Photoshop?
Only after your real projects open, edit and export correctly in PhotoCraft.