One dev is recreating 7 Adobe apps in Rust for free — so I tested it out
Someone actually made versions of Adobe Creative Suite’s biggest apps, and offered them for free. But is it really like using Photoshop without paying for it?
A Rust programmer has taken on Adobe, the creative software giant, by recreating seven of Adobe's flagship apps using the Rust programming language. The developer, a 15-year industry veteran, announced the free, multi-platform apps on Reddit and stated that the apps are 100% pure native Rust. The seven apps being recreated are Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Lightroom, Illustrator, Acrobat Pro, After Effects, and InDesign.
The programmer tested the apps, comparing them to their Adobe counterparts on a 16" Intel-based MacBook Pro. PhotoCraft, the image editing app, failed to read the HEIC format, which is default on iPhone photos. The software also lacked a file format option for saving projects, only allowing JPG, which destroys the ability to continue working on the project.
FilmCraft, the filmmaking app, had a familiar interface and worked well with basic tasks like importing clips and working with layers, but the overall experience felt clunky and unoptimized for Mac users.
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