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ArtCraft AI Guide

VectorCraft · Alternative to Illustrator

VectorCraft: Free, Open-Source Illustrator Alternative

VectorCraft is an open-source, clean-room vector illustration app in pure Rust that follows Adobe Illustrator's workflow, for desktop and the browser.

Windows 64 MBmacOS 88 MBLinux 74 MBGitHub
  • Early alpha
  • v0.9.0 · October 11, 2026
  • GitHub ★ 6.7k
  • MIT / Apache-2.0
A “Mountain Dawn” illustration in VectorCraft made of a gradient sky, sun, stars, mountain paths and text, with the Layers panel

What VectorCraft does

Familiar Illustrator layout

Illustrator-style tools, menus, panels and shortcuts: Pen, Direct Selection, Pathfinder, Smart Guides, Appearance, Swatches and Layers.

Exact booleans, unlimited undo

Exact curve booleans with no "cannot perform operation" errors, unlimited undo via structural sharing, and property-tested file round trips.

Live effects and distortions

Live Blends, Gradient Mesh, radial Repeat, Envelope Distort, Outer Glow, clipping masks and a Perspective Grid whose art stays editable.

Fast multithreaded rendering

SIMD rendering runs off the UI thread; the README cites 20,000 shapes in about 27 ms at retina resolution with the interface at 120 fps.

Type and world scripts

Type with styles and threading, Hebrew/Arabic bidirectional layout, and initial vertical type support.

Affinity files open natively

Affinity documents open with layers, artboards, curves, fills, masks, text and images; anything not imported is listed in a warning.

File formats

  • VECTORCRAFT (native JSON, read/write)
  • SVG (read/write)
  • SVGZ (read)
  • PDF (read/write, PDF/X)
  • AI, PDF-compatible (read/write; no Illustrator editing data)
  • EPS
  • DXF
  • EMF/WMF
  • PNG/JPEG/WebP (export)
  • PSD (write); PSD/PSB (read as merged image)
  • GIF/TIFF/BMP (read)
  • Affinity .af/.afdesign/.afpub/.afphoto (read)
Drawing a cloud with VectorCraft’s Pen tool: click-and-drag smooth anchors, then close the path
Direct Selection tool with one anchor of a mountain path selected and its Bézier handles visible
Direct Selection tool with one anchor of a mountain path selected and its Bézier handles visible
Gradient tool and Gradient panel editing a three-stop linear gradient
Gradient tool and Gradient panel editing a three-stop linear gradient
Type tool editing a title with the Character panel showing Source Sans 3 at 84 pt
Type tool editing a title with the Character panel showing Source Sans 3 at 84 pt
An SVG compass badge opened in VectorCraft with its paths and groups in the Layers panel
An SVG compass badge opened in VectorCraft with its paths and groups in the Layers panel
VectorCraft’s Export As dialog with PNG format and a Use Artboards option
VectorCraft’s Export As dialog with PNG format and a Use Artboards option

How mature is it?

Alpha (2026-10-10): about 88% of Illustrator 2026 exists and the team estimates ~62% "ready for real work" (~65% for a mainstream illustrator); everyday vector illustration is close to usable.

Project’s own estimate: ready for real work~62%

Biggest gaps

  • Reliable exchange of Illustrator's own .ai files: layer structure in real files, and Illustrator's editing data isn't written.
  • An interaction-fidelity pass covering every tool's modifiers and small behaviours.
  • 3D and Materials beyond the initial live Revolve, and 29 of 57 Photoshop-style raster effects plus the Effect Gallery.
  • Scripting, the rest of Variables, and generative AI features.
The project’s assessment

Automation and AI agents

Every menu item, tool gesture, panel and dialog can be driven over a JSON control channel (--control) and an MCP server (vectorcraft-cli mcp); vectorcraft-cli also runs headless batch exports.

More from the suite

PhotoCraftFilmCraftLightCraftPdfCraftEffectCraftDesignCraft
The whole suite vs Adobe

VectorCraft questions

How is VectorCraft related to PhotoCraft?
Both are Crafting Apps from the ArtCraft team and share conventions, such as the same MCP folder-restriction flags. They are separate apps: PhotoCraft edits images, VectorCraft does vector illustration, and each stands on its own.
Can VectorCraft open Illustrator .ai files?
It imports and exports PDF-compatible .ai files, but the project lists reliable .ai exchange as its top gap: real files can open with the wrong layer structure, and Illustrator's editing data isn't written.
How do I connect VectorCraft to Claude Code?
Register the MCP server with "claude mcp add vectorcraft -- /path/to/vectorcraft-cli mcp". Add --automation-read-root and --automation-write-root to keep the agent inside one project folder.
Which platforms does it run on?
macOS, Windows, Linux and FreeBSD natively, and the browser via WebAssembly. There is also an experimental, unsupported 64-bit Windows 7 build.