PhotoCraft 0.17: 17 Versions in 4 Weeks - How Close Is It to Photoshop Now?

PhotoCraft, the free AI-built copy of Photoshop, has gone from version 0.1 to 0.17 in four weeks.

That makes it one of the fastest-moving apps we have ever listed.

Yet by its makers' own count, it is still only about 45 percent ready to replace Photoshop for real work.

Here is what version 0.17 adds, how far PhotoCraft has come since our first look, and who should try it now.

What Is New in PhotoCraft 0.17

The 28 October release bundles about 150 changes from 58 contributors, more than 40 of them first-timers. These are the ones you will notice:

• Its first AI selection tools. Optional AI models that run on your own computer can now pick out a subject and cut it from its background.
• Better Photoshop files. PSD files save faster, and more smart filters and special colour channels survive the round trip.
• A tidier workspace. Panels dock the way Photoshop users expect, and the app now offers to update itself when it starts.
• More file types. Layered TIFF files and camera RAW and DNG photos are handled better.

Four Weeks in Numbers

The file test is the hard evidence. In under three weeks, the share of Photoshop-made files that PhotoCraft shows the way Photoshop does jumped from about half to three quarters.

The 45 percent figure has simply not been re-scored since 10 October - each update to the project's own scorecard notes it as unchanged. And the bug count grows partly because far more people now use it and report problems.

What Is Still Missing

The project keeps an honest list of its gaps, and these are the ones most people will run into:

• No generative AI. There is no Generative Fill or Generative Expand, only classic tools such as Content-Aware Fill and the Remove tool.
• No Photoshop plug-ins. It has its own plug-in system but cannot load Photoshop's filter plug-ins.
• Basic pen support on Windows. Drawing tablets get pressure, but not tilt or rotation yet.
• An unsigned Windows app. The Windows version is not code-signed yet, so Windows may show a warning the first time you run it.

The makers estimate that reaching beta, about 75 percent ready with reliable PSD files, will take another 1,100 to 1,800 hours of AI agent work.

Should You Try It Now?

• For everyday edits, yes. Cropping, layers, retouching and resizing already work well, and our readers rate it 4.86 out of 5 from seven reviews.
• For professional work, not yet. If you swap PSD files with Photoshop users every day, keep Photoshop or try Affinity, which is free and mature.
• For a proven free editor today, GIMP has decades of fixes behind it, even if its layout is less Photoshop-like.

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