Duncan Rogoff's ArtCraft review asks a useful question behind its dramatic opening: can a rapidly built, open-source creative suite replace any part of a working Adobe setup today? He tours seven apps across image editing, photography, video, motion, vectors, publishing, and PDFs. ArtCraft's current directory now lists twelve. An installer exists for each of the original seven, but the team labels several “in development” and PhotoCraft and PdfCraft “early alpha.” Those status labels matter more than the resemblance of the interfaces.
Try ArtCraft on duplicate, low-risk projects before canceling a paid tool. Duncan's most approachable starting points are routine PDF work, simpler vector pieces, and photo workflows whose camera files you have tested. Keep the existing app for deadline-critical layered PSDs, large video edits, old motion projects, or complex publishing until your own import-export-reopen tests pass. “Free” describes the software license and downloads, not zero migration or support cost.
Watch Duncan Rogoff's App-by-App Review
Credit: The comparison and switch recommendations are Duncan Rogoff's. Feature and parity numbers in the video come from ArtCraft's own materials and are not independent benchmarks. Product links below go to ArtCraft and the team's source repositories.
The Seven Apps, With the Real Decision Point
PhotoCraft
Image editorWhat Duncan shows
Layers, masks, adjustments, blend modes, and layered PSD support. The repository reports that 307 of 309 files in one psd-tools corpus retained their render after re-saving. Duncan points to missing tools, plugins, and overall parity far below Photoshop.
Test before switching
Copy three real PSDs with type, masks, smart objects, and color profiles. Edit, export, reopen in both apps, and compare visible output and editable structure. A corpus result is not your client-file guarantee.
LightCraft
Photo library and RAW editorWhat Duncan shows
Albums, ratings, side-by-side comparison, and adjustments. Duncan flags weak or preview-only rendering for some RAW formats, especially newer Canon examples in his source material.
Test before switching
Import a duplicate sample from your cameras, compare detail and color, then export full-resolution images. Keep your existing catalog until RAW handling and metadata survive a round trip.
FilmCraft
Video editorWhat Duncan shows
A familiar timeline with trims, multicam, color, titles, and captions. Duncan reports slowdown on large footage and limited export and plugin options in the version he reviewed.
Test before switching
Try one short, non-client edit first. Check codec import, audio sync, playback on your hardware, captions, export settings, and the ability to reopen the project before risking a deadline.
EffectCraft
Motion graphics and VFXWhat Duncan shows
The team claims broad effect coverage despite the app's young age. Duncan's key qualification: old After Effects projects and plugins do not transfer.
Test before switching
Build a new ten-second animation, render it, and compare timing and fidelity. Treat existing AE project compatibility as absent unless you verify a supported conversion path.
VectorCraft
Vector illustrationWhat Duncan shows
Pen and shape tools, gradients, editable effects, text, and several import/export formats. Duncan sees simple logos and posters as plausible tests; the feature-completeness percentage he cites is self-assessed.
Test before switching
Open and export one complex SVG or AI-derived file, checking type substitution, effects, clipping, colors, and editability. Do not hand off a final logo before reopening the export.
DesignCraft
Page layoutWhat Duncan shows
The project reports high checklist coverage of InDesign-like features, but Duncan notes unfinished EPS placement and some Asian-language layout. A checklist is not proof of prepress readiness.
Test before switching
Make a short brochure with linked images, fonts, bleed, and multilingual text; export a press PDF and inspect it with your printer's requirements. Keep InDesign for complex shared documents until handoff passes.
PdfCraft
PDF workbenchWhat Duncan shows
Viewing, search, combine, split, forms, comments, signatures, and redaction are the everyday tasks Duncan would test first. He warns that editing existing PDF text remains unreliable and malformed files can crash.
Test before switching
Use dummy PDFs to verify merge order, form values, signature appearance, and extraction after redaction. A black rectangle is not sufficient proof sensitive text was removed.
ArtCraft's pages and repos change quickly. Each row describes Duncan's video and the project's available documentation around this post's date, not a promise about the newest release. The official directory is the place to check current installer availability and status for your operating system.
The Five More Apps Are Earlier Bets
At 07:29, Duncan mentions five additional tools. ArtCraft now lists them as WordCraft (word processing), GridCraft (spreadsheets), DeckCraft (presentations), CADCraft (drafting), and SoundCraft (audio). The official directory labels all five in development. They are part of the twelve-app lineup, not five more tools Duncan tested in depth.
What the Percentages and “Clean Room” Claim Mean
Several percentages in the video come from ArtCraft's own feature inventories. PhotoCraft's 307-of-309 PSD result, for instance, concerns a specified test corpus and render preservation after re-saving; it does not establish complete Photoshop compatibility, intact editability, or a successful handoff for every client file. The same caution applies to quoted feature-parity scores for the other apps: inventory coverage and dependable daily use are different tests. Duncan explicitly says the developers assessed many of these scores themselves.
The team describes its work as written from scratch in Rust and “clean-room” in the official apps directory and PhotoCraft repo. That is a project claim about its method, not a legal ruling. Copyright, trademark, patents, and interoperability questions vary by jurisdiction and implementation. Familiar interfaces can help users, but they do not by themselves establish that every aspect of a competing app may be copied.
Likewise, “mostly written with Claude” is Duncan's reading of commit co-author lines in one repository, not a measured share of all code across twelve apps. AI-assisted implementation says little about reliability until the apps survive real workflows, regression tests, and independent review.
A Safer One-Week Switch Test
- Pick one task. Merge two routine PDFs, edit a simple poster, or process a small photo set. Avoid a live client deadline.
- Duplicate the inputs. Preserve the originals and record which version of each app you tested.
- Time both workflows. Note import failures, crashes, manual repairs, exports, and the time needed to get an approved result.
- Reopen the output. Check layers, fonts, color, metadata, links, and signatures or redactions in the receiving app, not just in ArtCraft's preview.
- Decide by risk. Keep the established tool for any step with an unfixable compatibility or compliance gap. Re-test after releases rather than assuming a feature-count percentage has solved your case.
For sensitive PDFs, validate that redacted text cannot be selected or extracted. For client-owned source files, also check your agreement before using unapproved tools or services. The local Crafting Apps and ArtCraft's broader cloud AI studio are separate products; read each product's terms before uploading material.
Jump to a Segment
| Time | Topic | Time | Topic |
|---|---|---|---|
| 00:00 | The seven-app claim | 01:15 | PhotoCraft |
| 02:17 | Clean-room discussion | 03:06 | LightCraft |
| 03:57 | FilmCraft | 04:38 | EffectCraft |
| 05:18 | VectorCraft | 05:55 | DesignCraft |
| 06:49 | PdfCraft | 07:29 | Five more apps |
| 07:43 | Who should switch? | Current | Official app statuses |
Turn the Comparison Into a Buyer-Ready Service
A small compatibility audit is more credible than promising to replace a creative team's whole stack. This prompt works in any general AI assistant and does not require an ArtCraft install to plan the pilot.
Audit one creative workflow
Measure the real handoff before recommending a switch.
Sources and Limits
Creator: Duncan Rogoff's full review and supplied transcript. Project: ArtCraft's official directory, individual app pages and the seven storytold GitHub repositories linked above. The video and project materials change quickly and were not independently benchmarked for this post. Test your own files and read the current release notes before changing production work.