{
  "id": 19371723,
  "title": "Someone recreated Photoshop with Claude, so I built a version that only does what I need",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/10/someone-recreated-photoshop-with-claude-so-i-built-a-version-that",
  "topic": "ai",
  "section": "AI",
  "published": "2026-11-10T17:30:21.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "XDA Developers",
    "slug": "xda-developers",
    "url": "https://www.xda-developers.com/someone-recreated-photoshop-with-claude-built-a-version-only-does-what-i-need/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "A developer, frustrated by Adobe's subscription model, used his engineering expertise and a Claude Code subscription to recreate seven popular Creative Cloud applications. These included Photoshop, Premiere Pro, and Lightroom, all free and open-source. Intrigued by this achievement, the narrator decided to build their own editing app, PhotoMahnoor, with a focus on meeting their specific needs.\n\nUnlike the original Photoshop alternative, PhotoMahnoor's interface and functionality closely resemble Photoshop's. The narrator, who uses Photoshop and Express for work but requires only basic editing, aimed to create a tool that simplifies their workflow. PhotoMahnoor includes essential features like cropping, resizing, rotating, flipping, adjusting brightness, contrast, saturation, sharpness, and layers for design elements.\n\nNotably, the app caters to the narrator's frequent need for screenshot editing and annotation. It offers various tools, including arrows, highlights, callouts, blur, pixelation, and redaction. Additionally, it allows for batch processing, enabling users to resize, compress, or convert multiple images simultaneously.\n\nPhotoMahnoor also boasts advanced features, such as blending modes, filters, non-destructive editing, and a range of selection tools. While the AI-powered features, initially requested for background removal, object removal, and smart subject selection, were not as effective as expected, they still delivered satisfactory results for basic edits. For instance, the \"Remove Object\" tool excelled in eliminating small insects from images without leaving noticeable traces.\n\nThe app's design tools offer extensive options, including gradients, shadows, outlines, fonts, and presets for canvas sizes and editing styles. Overall, PhotoMahnoor consolidates various editing tasks into a single, user-friendly application, streamlining the narrator's workflow and eliminating the need to switch between multiple tools.",
  "summary": "Who needs 100 features when you only use 10?",
  "key_points": [],
  "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."
}