Open-Source Suite Recreated Seven Adobe Apps

Developer Brandon Thomas launched Artcraft, an alpha-stage open-source collection aiming to replace Adobe's subscription model.

Updated on Oct. 8, 2026 in Software

Industrial server rack hardware in a clean, brightly lit modern server room with a cool blue palette. — Developer Brandon Thomas has released Artcraft, an open-source suite designed to replicate seven Adobe creative applications using memory-safe programming. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Would you prefer to code your own software tools rather than pay for monthly subscriptions?

Software developer Brandon Thomas has released Artcraft, an open-source suite that replicates seven key Adobe applications. The project is currently in an early alpha state and is hosted on GitHub.

Why it matters

The release offers a potential alternative to Adobe's subscription-based software model following federal scrutiny into the company's business practices. The project signals a growing interest in using AI-assisted development to challenge established proprietary software ecosystems.

The suite recreates seven distinct Adobe applications, including Photoshop and Illustrator. The software was built using the Rust programming language and Claude Opus 5.5.

The players

Brandon Thomas

A developer with 15 years of industry experience who created the Artcraft open-source project.

Adobe

A major software company providing creative, marketing, and document management applications through a subscription-based model.

The details

Artcraft utilizes Rust, a systems programming language known for memory safety, to build functional versions of creative tools. The creator leveraged Claude Opus 5.5, a large language model, to assist in the architectural development of these applications. The software is currently in an alpha state, a phase where the core functionality is present but significant bugs and stability issues are expected.

The federal government sued Adobe regarding subscription practices in 2024.
The Artcraft suite was released on GitHub in October 2026.

The Tech Race

The emergence of Artcraft highlights the trend of utilizing generative AI to accelerate the development of complex, professional-grade software suites. It follows the 2024 federal lawsuit against Adobe, marking a move toward decentralized competition in the creative software market.

The software is currently available on GitHub for those interested in early alpha testing or contributing to the codebase. Users should note that because the project is in a very early stage of development, it is not yet suitable for professional production environments.

The takeaway

The project serves as a technical experiment in how LLMs can assist in replicating massive, legacy software stacks. Observers should track the GitHub repository for updates on the stability of these applications and the addition of new features from the developer community.