ArtCraft open-source suite clones seven Adobe apps using AI

A four-person team has released ArtCraft, an open-source collection of tools that the developers say reproduces core functionality from seven top Adobe applications. The group says it used the AI model Claude 5.5 to reverse-engineer those products, and positions ArtCraft as a free alternative to Adobe’s subscription-based Creative Cloud, which the team and many users have criticized for limiting offline access and sharply raising monthly fees.

What ArtCraft offers and how it was built

ArtCraft includes named projects such as PhotoCraft, intended as a substitute for Photoshop, and LightCraft, intended to replace Lightroom. The developers emphasize that their releases do not require an account, a cloud subscription, telemetry, or ongoing monthly payments. According to the team, Claude 5.5 played a central role in reconstructing internal behaviors across seven leading Adobe tools, enabling them to reproduce feature sets and interfaces well enough to publish the results as open source.

Michael Kafri, a cofounder of the project, described the development process and their thinking: "We were surprised by how well these tools performed internally, and decided to release them as open source. Adobe has behaved poorly in the past, and as we used its software we found that this project is not only an alternative but a better version." That statement is presented by the developers as their rationale for making ArtCraft publicly available.

The software is still in early development and is being distributed in alpha form. The team warns that, despite positive user response, the tools may not yet offer the stability required for professional projects. The reliance on AI in reconstructing these applications has prompted questions about final quality and long-term reliability, a point the developers acknowledge while continuing active development.

Alongside technical caveats, many users have welcomed what they see as an end to Adobe’s practical monopoly over many creative workflows. The project’s backers frame ArtCraft as an effort to restore offline access and user control by offering open-source alternatives to widely used commercial tools.