GenGrades
EN中文

LightCraft: free download and install guide

Published Updated

Replaces Adobe LightroomPhoto editing and organizingLicense: Apache-2.0
Source code on GitHubOfficial site: getartcraft.com

Download

Latest version 0.15.0, released 2026-10-28

Other downloads (22)Other processors, portable versions, Linux packages and the command-line tool.

Windows

macOS

Linux

FreeBSD

Web

  • Web version (.zip)72.6 MB

    lightcraft-web-0.15.0.zip

    SHA-256 fb46de80ad77814ea33efa3d2799edbaca3462c96da88347fb874f4d6fd15564

Every button downloads the official file from the project's GitHub release. GenGrades does not host or change it.

How to installAll versions and release notes on GitHubAll checksums (SHA256SUMS.txt)

What LightCraft is

In one or two sentences, before anything else.

LightCraft is a free, open-source photo library and raw developer from the ArtCraft team (storytold), written in pure Rust as a clean-room reimplementation of Adobe Lightroom. It organizes and edits photos non-destructively on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD and in the browser; the project says it is still in alpha.

Main features

What it can do, one sentence each, and whether we actually tested it.

  • Non-destructive raw development

    Light, Color, Effects and Tone Curve controls render through a scene-referred, wide-gamut, 32-bit float pipeline, and your original files are never touched.

  • Color grading and Color Mixer

    3-way Color Grading wheels, an 8-band Color Mixer for hue, saturation and luminance, Vibrance that protects skin tones, and white balance with an eyedropper, all computed in the OkLCh colour space.

  • Masking

    Brush, Linear and Radial Gradient, Luminance Range, Color Range, Sky, Subject and Background masks, combined with Add, Subtract and Intersect, with 15 local adjustments per mask.

    Per the README, Sky and Subject selection use classical heuristics, not AI models, for now.

  • Presets and profiles

    Eighteen built-in presets, each with an Amount slider from 0 to 200%, your own presets and favourites, six profiles, and copy, paste or sync of chosen settings across a selection.

  • Photo library and culling

    Albums in folders, smart albums, stacks, virtual copies, ratings, flags, colour labels and a field search such as rating:>3 iso:>800, plus Compare and Survey views for picking the best shots.

  • Its own raw decoders

    Pure-Rust decoders for DNG, Canon CR2 and CR3, Sony ARW, Nikon NEF, Fujifilm RAF (including X-Trans), Panasonic RW2, Leica RWL, Pentax PEF and Olympus ORF, plus JPEG, PNG, TIFF, WebP, PSD composites and JPEG XL.

    Per the README, some CR3 variants, compressed ORF and SRW, and Nikon High Efficiency NEF are not decoded yet and open from the embedded preview.

  • Export, HDR and Photo Merge

    Export to JPEG, PNG, TIFF, WebP, AVIF, DNG or the original, with sizing, output sharpening, naming templates, watermarks and batches. HDR edits export as gain-map JPEG, PQ AVIF or 32-bit float TIFF, and Photo Merge builds HDR and panorama images.

  • CLI and MCP server for AI agents

    Every menu item, slider and brush stroke is a command. lightcraft-cli runs chains of commands headless and serves them to Claude or any MCP client, and an agent's actions can be undone like yours.

Who it is for

The people it helps and the problems it solves, and where it ranks.

Built for

  • Photographers who shoot raw and want a free Lightroom-style library and editor without a subscription
  • Lightroom Classic users who want to take their ratings, keywords and collections to an open-source app
  • Linux and FreeBSD users who want a Lightroom-style raw workflow on their own system
  • People who want their photo library kept on their own computer, with no account, cloud or telemetry
  • Developers who want to script culling, developing and export through a CLI or an MCP server

Problems it solves

  • They want to develop raw files non-destructively without paying for a subscription or creating an account.
  • They have years of Lightroom Classic ratings, keywords and collections that they don't want to lose.
  • They need to cull a shoot quickly: flag, rate and compare photos before editing the keepers.
  • They need to export batches with the same size, naming and watermark every time.

What it is good at

What the project's documentation says you can do with it.

  1. Case 1

    Per the README: import a folder from a shoot, cull it with ratings and flags, then develop the picks.

    Input

    A folder of raw files from one day of shooting, imported into the default library at ~/Pictures/LightCraft Library.

    What the docs say

    The README says a raw first shows its embedded camera preview in about 0.1 s while the full render follows, ratings use the 0 to 5 keys and flags use P, X and U, and Compare and Survey views help you pick. Caveat: those timings are the project's own, not ours.

  2. Case 2

    Per the project's user guide: move over from Lightroom Classic by importing its catalog.

    Input

    File › Import Lightroom Catalog…, then your Lightroom Classic catalog file ending in .lrcat

    What the docs say

    The guide says ratings, picks, colour labels, keywords, collections (as albums), virtual copies and the develop settings LightCraft can map come across, and your catalog and originals are never changed. Caveat: develop settings are an approximation; camera profiles, Adobe's AI models and some masking and retouch fields are not reproduced.

  3. Case 3

    Per the README: darken a sky and warm the sun with two masks.

    Input

    A lake photo with a Linear Gradient mask named Sky and a Radial mask named Sun glow (Temp +40, Exposure +0.50).

    What the docs say

    Masks combine with Add, Subtract and Intersect, and each has 15 local adjustments plus an overall Amount. Caveat: the README's Sky and Subject masks use classical heuristics rather than AI.

  4. Case 4

    Per the README: make a printable contact sheet of a shoot.

    Input

    Select the photos, then File › Contact Sheet PDF… with A4 paper, 3 columns, 4 rows and filename captions.

    What the docs say

    LightCraft saves a paginated PDF with the current edits at 150 dpi in sRGB, which you print from your PDF viewer. Caveat: the README limits it to 1,000 photos, 100 pages and 256 MiB, and says it is not a printer driver.

Where it falls short

What it does badly, with the evidence, and what we could not settle.

Weak

Weak

  • Alpha software, not yet a full Lightroom replacement

    Evidence: The README calls LightCraft alpha and puts it nearer 61% as a day-to-day Lightroom replacement: about 51% for a typical working photographer and 65% for casual use. If you depend on Lightroom for paid jobs, don't switch yet.

  • Camera colour is estimated, not measured

    Evidence: Measured camera colour calibration is missing. Sony, Nikon, Panasonic, Fujifilm and Canon CR3 raws use estimates fitted to camera JPEGs, other raws keep a neutral matrix, and only DNG files use their own matrices.

  • Some raw files open only as previews

    Evidence: Some Canon CR3 variants, compressed Olympus ORF and Samsung SRW, and Nikon High Efficiency NEF are not decoded; LightCraft shows the camera's embedded JPEG instead, marked Preview only.

  • No AI masks or AI denoise yet

    Evidence: Subject and sky selection are classical heuristics, AI Denoise is in progress and needs model weights you install yourself, and Super Resolution has not started.

  • Missing modules, and printing goes through PDF

    Evidence: On-screen HDR display, video and Lightroom Classic's Print, Book and Map modules are listed as gaps. Contact sheets and print layouts save a PDF that you print from a PDF viewer; printer colour management and page overlays are not there yet.

  • Drag and drop needs X11 on Linux

    Evidence: On a Wayland desktop LightCraft runs through XWayland when it can, because only X11 gives it file drag and drop. Native Wayland (LIGHTCRAFT_WAYLAND=1) is sharper at fractional scaling but has no drop.

Uncertain

Uncertain

  • How close your raws look to your camera's own JPEGs

    Why unsure: The project says this varies by camera model and keeps a per-camera table. We have not compared any files.

  • Speed on ordinary computers

    Why unsure: The README's timings (about 4 ms per slider update on a 24 MP raw) were measured on an Apple M4 Pro. Without a GPU it renders on the CPU. We have not measured other machines.

  • Libraries on a network drive

    Why unsure: The README says previews read only part of each raw over the network, but a developed picture still needs the full sensor data. How that feels on your network is unmeasured.

  • The browser version in Safari and Firefox

    Why unsure: The README marks WebGPU and Safari and Firefox testing of the web build as in progress.

License, formats and platforms

The facts, each with its source and the date we checked it.

SpecValueNote and source
Price0 USD

Free and open source

Source: github.comchecked

LicenseMIT or Apache-2.0, at your choice

GitHub's license field shows Apache-2.0.

Source: github.comchecked

Written inRust

Its own raw decoders, colour science and pipeline, with no C code.

Source: github.comchecked

StatusAlpha

Source: github.comchecked

PlatformsWindows (x64, ARM64, 32-bit), macOS (universal), Linux (x86_64, aarch64, riscv64), FreeBSD (x86_64), web browser

Source: github.comchecked

Raw formatsDNG, CR2, CR3, ARW, NEF, RAF (incl. X-Trans), RW2, RWL, PEF, ORF, SRW

Some CR3 variants, compressed ORF and SRW, and Nikon HE NEF open from the embedded preview only.

Source: github.comchecked

Export formatsJPEG, PNG, TIFF, WebP, AVIF, DNG, original

Source: github.comchecked

Code signingWindows installers and executables code-signed; macOS app and CLI signed and notarized

Per the release docs, Linux and web builds are not code-signed; every release has SHA256SUMS.txt.

Source: github.comchecked

Account and telemetryNone

No account, no cloud, no telemetry, no subscription.

Source: github.comchecked

Interface languages12

Includes Simplified Chinese and Traditional Chinese (Taiwan); official builds include the CJK fonts.

Source: github.comchecked

Common questions

Answer first, then why, an example, the limits and what to do next.

Is LightCraft free?

LightCraft is free and open source under the MIT or Apache-2.0 licence, at your choice.

Why

The README says it needs no account, no cloud and no subscription, and sends no telemetry. Your catalog stays on your computer as a log of readable operations that you can back up.

Limits

The ArtCraft name and logos are trademarks and are not covered by the open-source licence.

Next step

Download it from the box at the top of this page.

Is LightCraft safe to download?

LightCraft's official builds are published on the project's own GitHub releases, and the README says the Windows installers are code-signed and the Mac app is signed and notarized.

Why

Every release includes SHA256SUMS.txt with a checksum for each file, so you can check that a download wasn't altered. The buttons on this page link straight to the official files.

Limits

The project's release notes for maintainers say the Linux and web builds are not code-signed, and that signing on the other platforms depends on the release setup.

Does LightCraft open my camera's raw files?

LightCraft handles DNG files and most Sony, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Nikon and older Canon raws, according to the project.

Why

It has its own decoders for DNG, CR2, CR3, ARW, NEF, RAF (including X-Trans), RW2, RWL, PEF and ORF.

Limits

Some Canon CR3 variants, compressed Olympus raws and Nikon High Efficiency NEF are not decoded yet; they open from the camera's embedded JPEG, marked Preview only. Camera colour is estimated, not measured.

Next step

Look up your camera in the project's raw support table, docs/raw-parity.md in the GitHub repository.

Can LightCraft replace Lightroom?

LightCraft is not a full Lightroom replacement yet, by the project's own estimate.

Why

The README puts it at about 81% of Lightroom by feature count (98% for core features), but nearer 61% as a day-to-day replacement: about 51% for a typical working photographer and 65% for casual use.

Limits

Missing pieces include AI masks and AI denoise, measured camera colour calibration, on-screen HDR display, video, and the Book and Map modules.

Can I import my Lightroom Classic catalog into LightCraft?

LightCraft imports Lightroom Classic catalogs straight from the .lrcat file, without Lightroom installed.

Why

Choose File › Import Lightroom Catalog…. Per the project's guide, ratings, picks, colour labels, keywords, collections, virtual copies and the develop settings LightCraft can map come across, and your catalog and original files are left unchanged.

Limits

Develop settings are an approximation: camera profiles, Adobe's AI models and some masking and retouch fields are not reproduced, smart collections become ordinary albums, and the browser version can't import a catalog.

How do I update LightCraft?

Download the newer version from this page and run its installer; on Windows, upgrades stay in the folder you chose.

Why

On Linux, the AppImage can update itself with AppImageUpdate, which fetches only the changed blocks using the .zsync file in each release. ArtCraft Launcher can also install LightCraft and update it for you.

Next step

The box at the top of this page always shows the latest release.

How to install LightCraft

Step by step for each system, plus the fixes the project documents for common problems.

Windows

  1. Click Download for Windows at the top of this page. You get the x64 installer, lightcraft-<version>-windows-x64.msi, which fits most 64-bit Intel and AMD PCs.
  2. Double-click the .msi. The installer asks where to install (C:\Program Files\LightCraft by default) and ends on a page with an option to start LightCraft. The README says the installers and executables are code-signed.
  3. On a Snapdragon or other ARM PC, pick lightcraft-<version>-windows-arm64.msi under Other downloads instead. On 32-bit Windows, pick lightcraft-<version>-windows-x86.msi.
  4. To run LightCraft without installing it, download the portable zip (lightcraft-<version>-windows-x64-portable.zip, also available for ARM64 and 32-bit) and unzip it. A file named portable.txt next to the program keeps its settings in a LightCraftData folder beside it.
  5. On first start LightCraft opens its library. A new library starts with demo photos, so you can try the controls before importing your own.
  6. To update, download the newer installer from this page and run it. Upgrades stay in the folder you chose.
  7. For unattended installs, the README gives: msiexec /i lightcraft-<version>-windows-x64.msi /qn INSTALLFOLDER="D:\Apps\LightCraft\".
  8. To install several Craft apps at once, use ArtCraft Launcher.

If something goes wrong

LightCraft crashes or misbehaves and you want to report it
Choose Help › Open Log Folder and attach lightcraft.log to an issue on GitHub. On Windows the log is in %APPDATA%\LightCraft\logs\, and the log of the previous run is kept as lightcraft.1.log, so a crash survives the next start.

macOS

  1. Click Download for macOS at the top of this page. You get lightcraft-<version>-macos-universal.dmg, which runs on Apple silicon and Intel Macs.
  2. Open the .dmg and drag LightCraft to your Applications folder. The README says the app is signed and notarized.
  3. Open LightCraft. It starts with your library at ~/Pictures/LightCraft Library; a new library comes with demo photos.
  4. The command-line tool, lightcraft-cli-<version>-macos-universal.zip (also signed and notarized), is under Other downloads if you want to script edits or connect an AI agent over MCP.
  5. To install several Craft apps at once, use ArtCraft Launcher.

If something goes wrong

LightCraft crashes or misbehaves and you want to report it
Choose Help › Open Log Folder and attach lightcraft.log to an issue on GitHub. On macOS the log is in ~/Library/Application Support/LightCraft/logs/.

Linux

  1. At the top of this page, download the AppImage: lightcraft-<version>-linux-x86_64.AppImage, or lightcraft-<version>-linux-aarch64.AppImage on an ARM computer. It runs without installing.
  2. Make it executable and start it: chmod +x lightcraft-<version>-linux-x86_64.AppImage, then ./lightcraft-<version>-linux-x86_64.AppImage.
  3. On Debian or Ubuntu you can install the .deb instead: sudo apt install ./lightcraft-<version>-linux-x86_64.deb.
  4. On Fedora or RHEL, install the .rpm: sudo dnf install ./lightcraft-<version>-linux-x86_64.rpm. The README lists the .rpm for openSUSE too.
  5. For a sandboxed install, download the Flatpak and run flatpak install --user lightcraft-<version>-linux-x86_64.flatpak.
  6. The tarball (.tar.gz) unpacks anywhere. RISC-V computers get a tarball only, which needs glibc 2.39 or newer (for example Ubuntu 24.04).
  7. The other Linux builds target glibc 2.35 or newer. The .deb and .rpm declare the system libraries they need; the AppImage and tarball may need windowing libraries from your system.
  8. With Nix, nix run github:storytold/lightcraft starts the desktop app, and the README shows how to add it to a NixOS or home-manager flake.
  9. To update the AppImage, use AppImageUpdate: each release ships a .zsync file so it downloads only what changed.
  10. To install several Craft apps at once, use ArtCraft Launcher.

If something goes wrong

Dropping files on the window does nothing, or the interface isn't sharp at fractional scaling
On a Wayland desktop LightCraft runs through XWayland when it is available, because only X11 gives it file drag and drop. Set LIGHTCRAFT_WAYLAND=1 to use native Wayland instead: sharper fractional scaling, but no drop.
LightCraft crashes or misbehaves and you want to report it
Choose Help › Open Log Folder and attach lightcraft.log to an issue on GitHub. On Linux the log is in ~/.config/lightcraft/logs/ (or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/lightcraft/logs/).

FreeBSD

  1. Under Other downloads, get lightcraft-<version>-freebsd-x86_64.tar.gz, a /usr/local-style tree built on FreeBSD 14.3 for x86_64.
  2. Unpack it into /usr/local: tar -xzf lightcraft-<version>-freebsd-x86_64.tar.gz --strip-components 1 -C /usr/local.
  3. Start it with lightcraft. Only the Windows and macOS builds are signed, so check the tarball against SHA256SUMS.txt from the same release.
  4. To install several Craft apps at once, use ArtCraft Launcher.

Web

  1. Under Other downloads, get lightcraft-web-<version>.zip, a static site that runs the same LightCraft interface in a modern browser.
  2. Unzip it and host it on any static web server, then open it in your browser. The web version keeps its library in the browser's own storage (OPFS and IndexedDB) and saves exports as downloads.
  3. The browser version can't import a Lightroom catalog, and WebGPU and Safari and Firefox testing are still in progress.

More about LightCraft

What works today

LightCraft combines a photo library with a raw developer. The library has albums in folders, smart albums, stacks, virtual copies, ratings, flags, colour labels and a search that understands fields such as rating:>3 iso:>800. Culling has Compare and Survey views, and opening a raw shows the camera's embedded preview first while the full render follows.

Editing is non-destructive. The README lists Light, Color, Effects and Tone Curve controls, an 8-band Color Mixer, Color Grading wheels, black and white, crop and geometry, lens corrections, spot removal, masking, HDR and panorama merges, and export to JPEG, PNG, TIFF, WebP, AVIF or DNG with watermarks and naming templates. It reads and writes XMP sidecars, and the project's user guide explains how to import a Lightroom Classic catalog. Contact sheets and print layouts are saved as PDF and printed from your PDF viewer.

The interface comes in 12 languages, Simplified and Traditional Chinese among them, and official builds include the Chinese and Japanese fonts.

How it compares with Lightroom

The project gives its own numbers. By feature count it puts LightCraft at about 81% of Lightroom (98% for core features), but as a day-to-day replacement nearer 61% overall, about 51% for a typical working photographer and 65% for casual use. It calls LightCraft a good fit for JPEG and DNG files and for most Sony, Panasonic, Fujifilm, Nikon and older Canon raws on one machine.

The gaps it lists are measured camera colour calibration, some compressed raw variants, AI masks and AI denoise (subject and sky selection are classical heuristics), developed previews over network libraries, on-screen HDR display, video, and the Print, Book and Map modules of Lightroom Classic.

What differs by design: LightCraft has no account, no cloud, no telemetry and no subscription. The catalog is an append-only log of readable operations that you can back up. Every action is a command, so a CLI and an MCP server can cull, develop and export the way the app does, and an agent's changes can be undone like yours.

About the Craft Apps

LightCraft is one of the Crafting Apps from the ArtCraft team (storytold on GitHub): free, open-source creative tools, each written from scratch in Rust and able to stand on its own. Its sibling PhotoCraft edits layered images and PSD files. The project calls its work clean-room: contributors work from public specs and black-box observation, without reading Adobe binaries or GPL raw-processing code. LightCraft is not affiliated with or endorsed by Adobe.

Sources

Sources

  1. LightCraft README (github.com), accessed
  2. LightCraft releases on GitHub (github.com), accessed
  3. LightCraft license (Apache-2.0) (github.com), accessed
  4. LightCraft on getartcraft.com (getartcraft.com), accessed
  5. LightCraft user guide: Install LightCraft (github.com), accessed
  6. LightCraft user guide: Move over from Lightroom (github.com), accessed
  7. LightCraft user FAQ: Which cameras and file types does LightCraft open? (github.com), accessed
  8. Releasing LightCraft: builds, artifacts and signing (github.com), accessed
  9. ArtCraft Launcher README (github.com), accessed

Changelog

Changelog

  1. Page created from the project's README and GitHub releases.

More open-source software

  • Vector graphics

    VectorCraft

    Replaces Adobe Illustrator

    VectorCraft is a free, open-source vector illustration app from the ArtCraft team that reimplements the Adobe Illustrator workflow from scratch in pure Rust. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and FreeBSD and in a web browser, and its README describes it as alpha software under active development.

    Latest version 0.18.0, released 2026-10-28Apache-2.0

  • Photo editor

    PhotoCraft

    Replaces Adobe Photoshop

    PhotoCraft is a free, open-source Photoshop clone from the ArtCraft team (storytold): a clean-room reimplementation of Adobe Photoshop, written from scratch in pure Rust with help from Anthropic's AI model Claude Opus 5.5. It opens and saves layered PSD files and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD and in the browser, but the project calls it early alpha.

    Latest version 0.17.0, released 2026-10-28Apache-2.0

  • Interface design

    FigCraft

    Replaces Figma

    FigCraft is a free, open-source interface design app from the ArtCraft team (storytold on GitHub) that rebuilds the Figma workflow in pure Rust: frames, auto layout, components, variables and prototypes in a native app that works offline. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD and in the browser, and is still in alpha.

    Latest version 0.12.1, released 2026-10-28Apache-2.0

  • Page layout

    DesignCraft

    Replaces Adobe InDesign

    DesignCraft is a free, open-source page layout and publishing app from the ArtCraft team that reimplements the Adobe InDesign workflow from scratch in Rust. It has builds for Windows, macOS, Linux and FreeBSD plus a web version, and the project gives its stage as pre-alpha.

    Latest version 0.14.0, released 2026-10-28Apache-2.0

  • Word processor

    WordCraft

    Replaces Microsoft Word

    WordCraft is a free, open-source word processor from the ArtCraft team that rebuilds the Microsoft Word workflow from scratch in pure Rust. It opens and saves .docx files and runs on Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD and in the browser.

    Latest version 0.12.0, released 2026-10-28Apache-2.0

  • Audio editor

    SoundCraft

    Replaces Avid Pro Tools

    SoundCraft is a free, open-source digital audio workstation (DAW) from the ArtCraft team: a clean-room rewrite of Avid Pro Tools in pure Rust for recording, editing and mixing audio. It runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and FreeBSD, and in a web browser.

    Latest version 0.14.0, released 2026-10-28Apache-2.0