Open Source Rust Graphic Design Software

PhotoCraft is an open-source image editor written entirely in Rust as a clean-room reimplementation of familiar Photoshop workflows. It supports layers, masks, adjustment layers, layer styles, text, vectors, brushes, and real PSD files. A GPU compositor built on wgpu targets Metal, Vulkan, DirectX 12, and WebGPU. Copy-on-write tiles and multithreaded filters help keep editing responsive. Its engine can be controlled through the desktop UI, CLI, JSON control channel, or MCP server for agent automation. Builds are available for macOS, Windows, Linux, and the web. The project is still in early alpha and is actively working toward broader Photoshop parity.

VectorCraft is an open-source vector illustration editor built in pure Rust as a clean-room reimplementation of familiar Adobe Illustrator workflows. It provides tools such as Pen, Direct Selection, Pathfinder, Smart Guides, layers, swatches, blends, gradient meshes, repeats, and envelope distortion. Exact curve booleans and structural-sharing undo are designed for reliable editing. Its native format is JSON-based, while SVG, PDF-compatible AI, PNG, JPEG, WebP, and other formats are supported for interchange. The same codebase runs on macOS, Windows, Linux, FreeBSD, and WebAssembly. A JSON control channel and MCP server expose editing commands to AI agents for automated drawing and export workflows.

LightCraft is an open-source photo library and raw-development application written in pure Rust as a clean-room alternative to Lightroom-style workflows. It combines image organization with nondestructive photo editing in one native application. Adjustments include exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows, whites, blacks, and local tone processing. Rendering uses a scene-referred, wide-gamut, 32-bit floating-point pipeline designed to preserve color and highlight detail. Original files remain untouched while edits are applied as reversible development settings. The application runs natively on macOS, Windows, and Linux and can also operate in the browser through WebAssembly. Its engine is designed so AI agents can drive workflows end to end through MCP.

Graphite is a modern, open-source, prototyping and design tool built for vector graphics, motion, and state-driven UIs. It combines traditional vector drawing capabilities with features like animation timelines, state machines, and interactive prototyping—all in one toolchain rather than separate apps. The interface supports layering, boolean operations, masks, and full node-based parametric controls for shapes and effects. Because it’s built to be extendable, plugin support allows importing/exporting formats, custom tools, or integrations with code frameworks. It also focuses on performance and scalability—handling complex vector scenes with many nested elements fluidly. For designers and developers looking to prototype UI transitions, interactive states, and motion-driven interfaces without separate design/code handoffs, Graphite positions itself as an all-in-one creative engine.

You list files hundreds of times a day. Why spend your time squinting at black and white text? exa is an improved file lister with more features and better defaults. It uses colours to distinguish file types and metadata. It knows about symlinks, extended attributes, and Git. And it’s small, fast, and just one single binary. Different types of file and data will be coloured differently, and the user and group columns will be highlighted for the current user. exa can display a file’s extended attributes, as well as standard filesystem information such as the inode, the number of blocks, and a file’s various dates and times. exa queries files in parallel, giving you performance on par with ls. Not only is the standard tree tool built-in, but it’ll show you your files’ information alongside the hierarchy. View the staged and unstaged status of every file, right there in the standard view. Also works in tree view for a high-level overview of your repository.