單人開發者以 AI 仿製 7 款 Adobe 應用：初探 ArtCraft

A few weeks ago, a piece of news hit the tech world that astonished everyone. A developer revealed that they had replicated 7 Adobe applications using Opus 5.5—without writing a single line of code. These apps largely mimicked Adobe's UI and features.

When I first read this news, I was quite surprised because replicating a software so closely using AI felt surreal to me.

In this article, we will test ArtCraft, an open-source project that mimics applications from Adobe as well as Microsoft Office.

Cancellation Fees

As you know, to download and use Adobe apps, you pay a monthly or yearly subscription fee. However, Adobe doesn't want you to cancel your subscription once you've signed up, and they hit you with a cancellation fee if you try.

Brandon Thomas, the creator of ArtCraft, noted that Adobe's cancellation fees were the exact reason he started building this project.

Thomas explained that he created ArtCraft using Anthropic Claude Opus 5.5, utilizing AI assistance for reverse engineering without writing any manual code. ArtCraft is written in the Rust programming language, and a WebAssembly version is also available for web usage. However, I should note that I couldn't locate the web version during my research.

<em>"We are going to replace 'Google Search', manufacture our own smartphones, and build a better infrastructure. We will get rid of all the ads and put an end to that terrible mess that has overtaken the entire tech world."

<strong>- Thomas</strong></em>

The ArtCraft Ecosystem

Artcraft currently provides open-source alternatives for 7 Adobe apps, several MS Office applications, and other tools:

PhotoCraft - Adobe Photoshop
VectorCraft - Adobe Illustrator
FilmCraft - Adobe Premiere Pro
LightCraft - Adobe Lightroom
EffectCraft - Adobe After Effects
DesignCraft - Adobe InDesign
PdfCraft - Adobe Acrobat
FigCraft - Figma
WordCraft - Microsoft Word
GridCraft - Microsoft Excel
DeckCraft - Microsoft PowerPoint
SoundCraft - Adobe Audition
CADCraft - Autodesk AutoCAD

These look very similar to the original apps, and many functions are genuinely identical. I won't be testing every single program in this article; instead, I'll select the most widely used ones and try to compare their similarities.

PhotoCraft

Let's first take a look at the general UI. Looking at the overall user interface, we can see it bears a strong resemblance to Adobe Photoshop.

Since I am not a professional graphic designer, I couldn't test the advanced features, but as a normal user, all the functions I needed worked smoothly.

When checking the available export formats, we see the .psd format, which allows us to open our designs directly in Adobe Photoshop.

As for performance, it uses about 150MB of RAM while idle, and around 300MB when working on an image. The file size of PhotoCraft is around 67 MB.

FilmCraft

The Adobe alternative that surprised me the most was FilmCraft. I've previously tried Premiere Pro alternatives like Davinci Resolve and CapCut. However, the UIs of those programs differed from Premiere Pro, which is one of the barriers preventing professional Premiere Pro editors from transitioning. With FilmCraft, I think transitioning from Premiere will be much easier for many people.

There are plenty of parameters you can choose from in the export options. I'd even like to share a sample video I edited using FilmCraft:

WordCraft

This program is an alternative to Microsoft Word. Although I've tried Word alternatives like LibreOffice Writer and Google Docs in the past, WordCraft was the one I picked up and learned to use the fastest.

FigCraft

Figma is one of the programs that imposes the most restrictions on free accounts. The free version has critical limitations, such as project creation limits. FigCraft gives us infinite possibilities alongside its similarity to Figma.

After designing a sample demo, I tried exporting it as a .fig file and opening it in Figma. And indeed, all elements opened seamlessly inside Figma.

Feedback and Project Goals

No matter how much headlines in the design world claim "ArtCraft will replace Adobe," the reality is a bit different. Yes, Vibe Coding has replicated all these apps with high precision. But that doesn't mean the apps are 100% identical yet. In some tests conducted, PhotoCraft passed very few out of 30 effect tests. Likewise, users noticed many flaws during professional use. For example, here is a piece of feedback left for PhotoCraft on October 12, 2026:

“1. Tried to select text; it feels like the selection tool doesn't align with the cursor, it stays off to the side.

2. Tried to edit text; moving the size slider takes about 3 seconds, but nothing happens (the text size doesn't change).

3. Everything feels sluggish: making selections, transitioning, etc.

4. Cannot expand or collapse folders.

5. Keyboard shortcuts are displayed everywhere, but pressing those shortcuts doesn't trigger any action.

6. Tried to move an object elsewhere, the app froze for a moment.

7. Clicked somewhere, and the app automatically selected one of the side panels and hid the other. Now I can't resize, collapse, or reset the panels back..."

Of course, many of these bugs no longer exist. The project is actively developed day by day, and bugs are being fixed. But keep in mind that the project is not a finished product yet and is continuously evolving. While these apps are sufficient for simple daily tasks, you need to evaluate the risks for professional use. Ultimately, the project is open-source, completely free, and an unfinished product open to updates.

Although the project's creators initially claimed it would be 100% identical to Adobe apps within a month, they later walked back that statement, saying, "reaching 99% will take months, if not years." Whether the project will face legal troubles remains a mystery.

Vibe Coding

The primary reason this project was able to come to life is the concept of Vibe Coding. Unlike traditional programming, in Vibe Coding, a developer doesn't write code line by line. Instead, we explain the idea and application functionality to LLMs, and the LLMs execute those tasks on our behalf.

The reality brought to light by ArtCraft reveals two major truths:

Previously, building prototypes for 7 different Adobe apps required years and a team of dozens of engineers. Now, via Vibe Coding, a single programmer can write this entire ecosystem from scratch in just a few weeks. This is a first sign of how small teams and freelancers will challenge giant corporations in the future.
Vibe Coding can build 80% of a visible app—its user interface (UI) and core functions—in seconds. However, the remaining 20%, such as performance optimization and edge cases, still require deep engineering knowledge.

Final Word

ArtCraft isn't fully ready to wipe apps like Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, etc., which have spent years specializing in this sector, completely off our workflow today. Potential legal risks are just one of the major hurdles facing the project.

However, this project shows us a very crucial truth. A single individual can now shake the throne of a monopoly. It shows that the future of programming is changing completely and that we are stepping into a freer, open-source technology era.

Thank you for your attention.