Published 27 October 2026 · 5 min read · By Federico Geniale

Open-source alternatives to Adobe apps: the Craft apps

The Craft apps are a family of open-source creative tools from the ArtCraft Team, each one a counterpart to a well-known Adobe or Figma application. This is a plain map of who corresponds to whom, which files each one handles on its own, and where you still need a converter.

Who is who

"Alternative" here means "the app that does the same kind of job", not "a drop-in clone". The pairing below follows the Craft Converter catalog.

These are independent open-source projects by the ArtCraft Team. Craft Converter is a separate site that is not affiliated with Adobe, Figma or ArtCraft; it only builds converters and explains what each app can read.

What opens by itself, and what needs a converter

This is the part that saves time. According to the catalog, there are two situations.

The Craft app already opens the file

• PhotoCraft opens layered PSD and PSB files directly, with type and layer styles. It also saves real layered PSD files, so Photoshop opens them as they are.
• VectorCraft opens Illustrator .ai and .ait files, with layers and artboards, reading the PDF copy stored inside the file and the structure of its editing data, as well as older PostScript-based .ai (versions 3 to 8). It saves .ai (PDF-compatible by default, or a Legacy version 7 option that keeps layers) and exports PDF and SVG.
• DesignCraft opens InDesign .indd and .indt files without InDesign, by converting them to IDML in memory, and imports IDML. It exports IDML, which InDesign opens.
• LightCraft imports Lightroom Classic catalogs (.lrcat) with ratings, flags, labels, keywords, collections, virtual copies and develop settings mapped to its own controls. In the other direction it writes standard XMP sidecars for ratings, labels, keywords and captions; its develop settings do not travel to Lightroom yet.
• PdfCraft reads, edits and signs PDFs, which are an open format to begin with.
• FigCraft opens .fig files on a best-effort basis, plus Figma's REST API exports.
• FilmCraft exports Final Cut Pro XML and AAF, which Premiere Pro imports, so an edit can move that way. Its own importer reads Final Cut Pro 7 XML.

A converter is needed

Two routes have no shared file format in between, so Craft Converter rebuilds the project:

• After Effects to EffectCraft: reads .aep and .aepx and produces an EffectCraft .ecproj with comps, layers, keyframes, effects, text and layer styles.
• Premiere Pro to FilmCraft: reads .prproj and produces an .fcproj with bins, sequences, cuts, transitions, speed, audio levels, markers, captions and titles.

There is also a route back for motion work: EffectCraft to After Effects turns an .ecproj into a .jsx script that rebuilds the project inside After Effects, where you save it as an ordinary .aep. FilmCraft cannot write a Premiere project (.prproj); the XML or AAF route is the supported one.

Reading the table of routes honestly

"Opens directly" does not mean "looks identical". Each page in the catalog says what to check:

• VectorCraft: brushes, symbols and pattern fills arrive as their drawn look, and live effects and appearance stacks are flattened. If a modern .ai refuses to open, saving it again from Illustrator with the PDF-compatible option turned on is the suggested fix. The .ai that VectorCraft writes holds no Illustrator editing data, so Illustrator sees plain artwork.
• DesignCraft: opening .indd is described as new and still being measured on real documents. Look for overflowing text, substituted fonts and linked images that need relinking. An IDML export from InDesign is the more reliable path when you have it.
• LightCraft: edits are approximate. Camera profiles, Adobe's AI models, some masking and retouching fields and older process versions are not reproduced, and the import lists what it could not map.
• FigCraft: "best effort" is the app's own wording in this context, so treat complex files as something to review.
• FilmCraft to Premiere: the list of things that travel is cuts, nested sequences, transitions, generators, Motion and Opacity, time remapping and audio levels. Many effects and titles may not come across.

An honest note on maturity

These apps are young. The repository itself pins versions that show it: EffectCraft 0.9.2, FilmCraft 0.8, and statements such as "still being measured on real documents" in the catalog for DesignCraft. Adobe's applications have decades of development behind them, including plug-in ecosystems, hardware integrations and format support that a new project cannot match quickly. That is a fact about age, not a judgement of quality, and it cuts both ways: young open-source software can also change quickly and be inspected, modified and run without a subscription.

Practical advice: before you commit a real project to any of them, check the app's own repository and release notes for its current state and known gaps, try it on a copy of a finished project, and keep your original files. The catalog's remarks reflect what the Craft Converter authors tested; they are not a guarantee about the apps themselves.

Choosing where to start

• If your work is mostly files (PSD, AI, INDD, LRCAT, PDF), the question is simply whether the matching Craft app opens a few of your real files acceptably. No conversion step is involved.
• If your work is projects (compositions, sequences), you will need the converters, and the result is a starting point to review rather than a finished port.
• If you collaborate with Adobe users, remember the way back: PSD, IDML, AAF, PDF and SVG are all routes the Craft apps already write.

For the details of each route see supported formats, the guide for preparing a project, and the FAQ for the common questions.

Try the converters