{
  "id": 17072845,
  "title": "The free vibe-coded Photoshop and Lightroom clones impressed me, but Adobe is safe for now",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/10/29/the-free-vibe-coded-photoshop-and-lightroom-clones-impressed-me-but",
  "topic": "tech",
  "section": "Tech",
  "published": "2026-10-29T14:30:22.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "XDA Developers",
    "slug": "xda-developers",
    "url": "https://www.xda-developers.com/free-vibe-coded-photoshop-lightroom-clones-impressed-me-adobe-safe-now/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "The ArtCraft suite has recently gained attention for its vibe-coded alternatives to Adobe's Creative Cloud apps, including PhotoCraft, LightCraft, and FilmCraft. I decided to put these tools to the test to see if they could hold their own against Adobe's popular software.\n\nStarting with PhotoCraft, the Photoshop alternative, I found it held up better than anticipated. While the initial selection for object manipulation was less accurate than Photoshop's, the overall experience was smooth and functional. The app supported familiar features like tabs for multiple documents and cropping tools, though it lacked Adobe's AI integration for automatic generation of images or backgrounds. PhotoCraft also struggled with AI-assisted adjustments, often exaggerating contrast and shadows, though manual fixes were still relatively simple. Interestingly, the app appeared to have a fish-eye effect in certain photos due to a lack of embedded lens data from photos, requiring manual correction.\n\nNext, I tested LightCraft, the Lightroom alternative. I was pleasantly surprised by its ease of use, particularly its ability to browse local folders directly for photo editing. While the automatic adjustments often resulted in over-exaggerated contrast, they still provided a starting point for further refinement. LightCraft's denoising feature, though not as polished as Lightroom's, still offered an improvement over manual methods. The app also lacked automatic lens corrections, which made manual adjustments necessary for correcting fish-eye effects in photos.\n\nLastly, I examined FilmCraft, the Premiere alternative. While I generally use DaVinci Resolve for video editing, FilmCraft's core features were mostly present, allowing for importing and editing media. The workflow differed from Resolve, but still proved functional. Overall, the ArtCraft suite offered impressive alternatives to Adobe's software, though they still had notable limitations, particularly in AI-driven features and automatic corrections.",
  "summary": "Someone nused AI to clone Adobe's biggest apps, and the result is impressive, but can they actually replace the real deal? I'd say not quite yet.",
  "key_points": [
    "PhotoCraft, Photoshop alternative, performed better than expected",
    "LightCraft, Lightroom alternative, struggled with AI adjustments",
    "FilmCraft, Premiere alternative, lacked automatic lens corrections"
  ],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}