ArtCraft outlines seven open-source creative apps built in Rust

Seven apps, one Rust foundation

The ArtCraft team is developing seven open-source applications for image editing, vector illustration, video, photography, PDF work, motion graphics and visual effects, and page layout and publishing. The apps are written from scratch in Rust and are free to use. Photo Craft and Print Craft are in early alpha, while Vector Craft, Film Craft, Light Craft, Effect Craft and Design Craft are in development.

The lineup lists support for macOS, Windows and Linux across all seven apps. Film Craft does not have a web version, while the other six compile to WebAssembly and can run in a browser tab.

Tools across the lineup

Photo Craft is an open-source image editor designed with familiar tools and layouts. Vector Craft focuses on vector illustration, while Film Craft is a video editor rebuilt from scratch in Rust. Light Craft combines a photo library with raw development and runs on the user's machine.

Print Craft is a PDF workbench for reading, organizing, combining, splitting and securing files. Effect Craft covers motion graphics and visual effects. Design Craft handles page layout and publishing. ArtCraft also invites users to suggest the next application to rebuild, test early builds and follow development in its Discord community.

Local-first and automation-ready

ArtCraft says every app runs locally on the user's files without cloud round-trips. The native applications are compiled for macOS, Windows and Linux rather than wrapped in Electron or web views. Their layouts, tools and shortcuts are intended to be familiar to working professionals.

Every app can be controlled through a command-line interface, a JSON control channel or an MCP server for automation and AI agents. The code is hosted on GitHub under permissive licenses, letting users read, fork and build on it. The project is open source and free.