❯ A developer uses Claude Opus 5.5 to build seven open-source apps modeled on Adobe’s, and says they are far from professional use

Seven repositories in two daysA project called ArtCraft published seven open-source repositories under the GitHub account storytold between September 30 and October 1, each modeled on an Adobe application. According to GIGAZINE, they are PhotoCraft for Photoshop, VectorCraft for Illustrator, FilmCraft for Premiere, and four more corresponding to Lightroom, Acrobat, After Effects and InDesign, all written from scratch in Rust, processing files locally with no subscription.

The developer credits Opus 5.5According to an analysis by OrcaRouter, the project credits Claude Opus 5.5 for its pace, saying about 70 menu items and several major subsystems were completed in a handful of hours using 8 parallel agents. By the morning of October 7, PhotoCraft had 6,691 stars on GitHub.

Claims and realityThe project says all 625 of Photoshop’s menu items are wired to commands, but OrcaRouter points out that a command existing does not mean its output matches Photoshop: of 170 test files, 115 were pixel-matched, and readiness for billable work is estimated at only 25% to 35%. Only PhotoCraft and PrintCraft are in early alpha, with the other five still in development. The project itself states that it is “not yet a Photoshop replacement for daily professional work.”

What it means for AdobeSeven single-app Adobe subscriptions cost about $147 a month in total. One project producing look-alike alternatives in days shows the cost of getting features built is falling fast, while the file compatibility, plugin ecosystem and stability professionals depend on still take long refinement. In the near term, those affected are more likely to be light users who need only basic functions.

▮ SIGNALAI has made it cheap to replicate a program’s interface and menus but has not yet made it cheap to reach professional grade, and that gap is the moat established software companies have for now.