Developer uses AI to clone Photoshop as free open-source Photocraft
The clones show how a single developer with AI help can now produce software that once needed a full team, putting pressure on subscription vendors.
A developer frustrated with Adobe's subscription terms used an AI model to reverse-engineer Creative Cloud apps and released free, open-source replacements under the name Artcraft, starting with a Photoshop substitute called Photocraft that mimics Photoshop's interface closely. Early testers praised its familiar layout, but reported serious bugs such as images being deleted and layers merging unexpectedly, and found it cannot open native PSD files. A separate tool called REA, which automates the same kind of deconstruction and rebuilding, has reached 346,000 GitHub stars as of October 20. Critics dispute the code quality and argue the clones infringe Adobe's trademarks and copyrights, and Adobe's terms explicitly prohibit reverse engineering. The episode suggests that a single skilled developer aided by AI can now do work that once required a full engineering team, which could pressure subscription-based software vendors.
Why it matters
For people who follow software pricing, the episode suggests subscription products built around proprietary interfaces may be easier to imitate than before. Early testers found Photocraft's layout familiar but also found serious faults, so it does not yet replace the original. Critics argue the work infringes Adobe's trademarks and copyrights and breaks its terms, which leaves open how far such clones can go.
Matters or hype?
Does this story matter, or is it hype? Vote before you see what everyone else said.