Free AI-Made Knockoff of Adobe Suite Hits GitHub
Could this free alternative save you hundreds on creative software?
A developer named Brandon Thomas used an AI coding assistant called Claude Opus 5.5 to build free versions of seven popular Adobe apps, including Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere. He posted them on GitHub as open-source software under names like Photocraft and Vectorcraft. The goal is to give people free alternatives to Adobe's expensive subscription software.
For anyone who's ever winced at Adobe's monthly fees, this is intriguing. Adobe charges around $20-$50 per month for its apps, and many people only need them occasionally. These free versions could save you hundreds of dollars a year. Early testers say the Photoshop clone feels like real Photoshop, though it's glitchy—some features don't work reliably.
The catch: these apps are in early alpha, meaning they're buggy and not ready for serious work. The developer himself says they're 'not anywhere close to ready' and is asking for help to fix bugs. So while it's a promising start, you shouldn't rely on them for professional projects just yet.
This also ties into a bigger trend: the idea that AI could let people build their own software instead of paying for subscriptions. If that takes off, it could disrupt companies like Adobe. But for now, it's more of a fun experiment than a real replacement.
- A developer used AI to create free clones of seven Adobe apps, including Photoshop and Illustrator.
- The apps are early and glitchy, but basic tasks work—potentially saving you monthly subscription fees.
- This is part of a larger trend of using AI to build software, which could threaten subscription-based companies like Adobe.
Why It Matters
Could save you money on creative software, but current versions are too buggy for professional use.