What these are
The ArtCraft team is rebuilding Adobe's apps, and now Microsoft's, from scratch. Each one is free, open source (Apache-2.0), runs on your own computer and comes with an MCP server, which is the plug that lets an AI like Claude drive the app for you.
They are clean-room rebuilds. That means the team wrote new code from public documentation and how the apps behave. It is not Adobe's or Microsoft's code.
Every app is early. Each one says so on its own page, and PhotoCraft's page says it is "not yet a Photoshop replacement for daily professional work." Treat them as free tools to try, and keep paying for the real thing if your work depends on it.
Star counts below are from GitHub on October 11, 2026.
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Start with these two
I installed both of these on my Mac and connected them to Claude.
- PhotoCraft (Photoshop). Claude built the slides for my post in it from a script: text, icons, shapes, brush strokes and film grain. Font weights didn't apply on my first try. They worked once I set them the way the app expects.
- EffectCraft (After Effects). Claude animated the post's cover from a script. The 4-second MP4 rendered in about a second.
All 12 apps
PhotoCraft = Photoshop
Layers, masks, text, filters, and it opens and saves real PSD files. github.com/storytold/photocraft · 46K stars · early alpha
EffectCraft = After Effects
Keyframes, 306 effects, 3D cameras, and it renders MP4 from one command. github.com/storytold/effectcraft · 5K stars · alpha
FilmCraft = Premiere Pro
Cut video and fix color and audio. github.com/storytold/filmcraft · 9.6K stars · young and moving fast
LightCraft = Lightroom
Organize photo libraries and edit RAW photos. github.com/storytold/lightcraft · 9.8K stars · young and moving fast
VectorCraft = Illustrator
Logos and vector art, with a version that runs in the browser. github.com/storytold/vectorcraft · 6.8K stars · in active development
DesignCraft = InDesign
Page layout for flyers, menus and magazines. github.com/storytold/designcraft · 2.8K stars · pre-alpha
PdfCraft = Acrobat
View, comment on and edit PDFs. github.com/storytold/pdfcraft · 9K stars · alpha
WordCraft = Word
Documents. github.com/storytold/wordcraft · 4.8K stars · alpha
GridCraft = Excel
Spreadsheets. github.com/storytold/gridcraft · 2.5K stars · alpha
DeckCraft = PowerPoint
Slide decks. github.com/storytold/deckcraft · 1.8K stars · early development
SoundCraft = Pro Tools
Record, edit and mix audio. github.com/storytold/soundcraft · 1.6K stars · pre-alpha
CADCraft = AutoCAD
Drafting and floor plans. github.com/storytold/cadcraft · 2.4K stars · early development
How I hooked Claude up to them
These are the steps I used on a Mac with Claude Code. Windows and Linux work the same way with that platform's download.
Step 1: Download the app and its command-line tool
On the app's GitHub page, open Releases and download two files: the app (.dmg on Mac) and the command-line tool (photocraft-cli-...-macos-universal.zip). Drag the app into Applications. Unzip the command-line tool and move it somewhere permanent, like ~/.local/bin.
Step 2: Give it one folder to work in
Make a folder for the files you want Claude to touch, for example ~/Desktop/craft. The MCP server can only read and write inside the folders you name, which keeps it away from everything else on your computer.
Step 3: Connect it to Claude Code
Run this in Terminal, with your own paths:
claude mcp add photocraft -- ~/.local/bin/photocraft-cli mcp --automation-read-root ~/Desktop/craft --automation-write-root ~/Desktop/craft
claude mcp add effectcraft -- ~/.local/bin/effectcraft-cli mcp --autosave --automation-read-root ~/Desktop/craft --automation-write-root ~/Desktop/craft
Then run claude mcp list. Both should say Connected. Start a new Claude Code session so it picks them up.
Step 4: Give Claude a real job
Use PhotoCraft to make a 1080x1440 Instagram slide in ~/Desktop/craft. Dark background, my headline in big white letters, and the image at ~/Desktop/craft/photo.jpg on the right. Save it as a layered .pcraft file and a PNG, then show me the PNG.
Use EffectCraft to animate ~/Desktop/craft/slide.png: start zoomed in at 112% and settle to 100% over 1.2 seconds while it fades in. Render a 4-second 1080x1440 MP4 into ~/Desktop/craft.
Open the .pcraft file in PhotoCraft afterward. Every text layer and shape stays editable, so you can fix anything by hand.
