Photo editing is synonymous with 'Photoshop,' while video editing relies on 'Premiere Pro,' and publishing books or magazines requires 'InDesign.' For professionals in the media and design industries, the Adobe ecosystem is indispensable. The software has become the industry standard, making it nearly impossible to work without it. However, high subscription fees and steep cancellation charges have led users to have a love-hate relationship with Adobe.
Recently, a development team called 'ArtCraft' released a collection of free software mimicking Adobe's offerings, known as 'ArtCraft Crafting Apps.' This suite includes 'PhotoCraft,' which imitates Photoshop, as well as 'VectorCraft' (Illustrator), 'FilmCraft' (Premiere Pro), 'LightCraft' (Lightroom), 'EffectCraft' (After Effects), 'DesignCraft' (InDesign), and 'PDFCraft' (Acrobat Pro). The release of these seven core Adobe software alternatives for free has generated an explosive response from the global community.
One of the most notable features of ArtCraft is its replication of Adobe software's functionality, including interface, shortcuts, and workflows. Users familiar with Adobe software can continue their work without needing to undergo a separate learning process or adjustment period.
This project has also drawn attention for being developed in a short time frame using Anthropic's latest AI model, 'Claude Opus 5.5.' Lead developer Brandon Thomas combined AI with the Rust programming language to recreate Adobe's core ecosystem in just a few weeks. ArtCraft adopts an 'agent-native' approach, allowing AI to directly execute program functions, envisioning a future creative environment where users can command AI to produce results without manually operating the software. This rapid advancement of AI raises concerns about the potential threat to existing software ecosystems.
Despite the buzz, ArtCraft still has a long way to go. Since the initial release of the PhotoCraft draft on GitHub on September 30, updates have been made almost daily over the past two weeks, but it is still deemed difficult to replace Photoshop.
The primary criticism is the lack of completeness in detailed features. While the appearance closely resembles Photoshop, essential functions are not fully implemented, and frequent errors occur during the workflow. Concerns have also been raised by professionals regarding compatibility issues with existing Photoshop file formats and errors when outputting in CMYK print standards.
Given that the software was created rapidly through AI-driven coding, there are also worries about the need for thorough validation and potential security issues. Code that has not been meticulously verified by humans may contain unforeseen vulnerabilities. Furthermore, the open-source nature of the project allows anyone to modify and distribute the source code, raising the risk of malicious third-party versions being circulated.
Copyright infringement is another unavoidable hurdle. The ArtCraft team strongly asserts that not a single line of actual source code from Adobe programs was used in the app development process, employing a so-called 'clean room design' approach. In simple terms, they claim to have analyzed the functions and operations from an external user perspective and rewritten the code from scratch with AI, without peeking at Adobe's internal code.
However, concerns remain. Even if they did not copy the source code, the fact that they retained the visual layout, tool arrangement, icons, and unique shortcut systems developed by Adobe over decades could pose significant legal issues. If Adobe decides to pursue legal action, the project's viability could be jeopardized.
Despite various controversies and concerns, the ArtCraft development team has set a clear goal to increase the functional similarity between Photoshop and PhotoCraft to 99% within the next few months, continuously rolling out updates. According to their own announcements, PhotoCraft currently implements about 76% of Photoshop's total functionality and has reached approximately 45% in terms of completeness compared to the original. Positive feedback is growing within the community, particularly among beginners who do not require complex features and find the free software sufficient.
The essence of the ArtCraft situation lies in the structural changes in the software industry driven by AI. As the development of autonomous coding platforms utilizing AI and the integration between traditional apps and AI agents accelerates, the competitiveness of traditional software companies, which have maintained a large bubble, is likely to weaken.
Warnings are also emerging that as AI agent services become more widespread, the phenomenon known as 'SaaSpocalypse'—the end of software as a service—may reemerge. Is the era of reluctantly using software with high subscription fees and unfair contracts coming to an end? It is an intriguing time to observe how far the destructive power of AI will extend.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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