How to Download PhotoCraft (and ArtCraft) Safely, and the Fake Repos to Avoid
Where the official PhotoCraft download really is, which installer to pick for Windows, macOS and Linux, how to verify it, and how to spot the keyword-stuffed fake ArtCraft repos on GitHub.
Published October 13, 2026 · Unofficial community guide
PhotoCraft went from zero to more than 50,000 GitHub stars in about two weeks. That kind of attention brings imitators. Search “download photocraft” or “download artcraft” today and you’ll find GitHub repos that are not the real project, offering “portable zips” of the app.
Here’s how to get the genuine PhotoCraft and the other Crafting Apps, and how to tell the difference.
The only two official sources
- GitHub releases under
github.com/storytold/. For PhotoCraft that’s github.com/storytold/photocraft/releases. Every app follows the same pattern:github.com/storytold/vectorcraft,…/filmcraft,…/lightcraftand so on. - getartcraft.com. The official site has a page per app, such as getartcraft.com/apps/photocraft.
Anything else is a third party. That includes this site: we link to those two sources and host only the unmodified browser build. Our download page lists the official link for all 13 apps.
Which PhotoCraft file should I download?
Every release has the same set of files. For PhotoCraft v0.8.2:
| You have | Download | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Windows 10/11, Intel or AMD | photocraft-0.8.2-windows-x64.msi |
Code-signed installer |
| Windows on ARM (Snapdragon) | photocraft-0.8.2-windows-arm64.msi |
Native ARM64, no emulation |
| Windows, no admin rights | photocraft-0.8.2-windows-x64-portable.zip |
Unzip and run |
| Mac (Apple Silicon or Intel) | photocraft-0.8.2-macos-universal.dmg |
Signed and notarized |
| Ubuntu / Debian | photocraft-0.8.2-linux-x86_64.deb |
aarch64 also available |
| Fedora / openSUSE | photocraft-0.8.2-linux-x86_64.rpm |
|
| Any Linux | …linux-x86_64.AppImage or .flatpak |
See Linux guide |
The same naming works for LightCraft (lightcraft-0.7.1-windows-x64.msi), VectorCraft and the rest. Step-by-step
instructions are in installing on Windows and macOS.
Don’t want to install anything? Use PhotoCraft online. It’s the same app compiled to WebAssembly, and it runs entirely in your browser.
How to verify your download
Each official release includes a SHA256SUMS.txt file. Compare it with the hash of the file you downloaded:
# macOS / Linux
shasum -a 256 photocraft-0.8.2-macos-universal.dmg
# Windows PowerShell
Get-FileHash .\photocraft-0.8.2-windows-x64.msi -Algorithm SHA256The output must match the line for that file in SHA256SUMS.txt. On macOS, the DMG is also notarized by Apple. Gatekeeper
opens it without any “unidentified developer” workaround. If you’re asked to disable Gatekeeper or Windows Defender to
run “PhotoCraft”, you have the wrong file.
How to spot a fake ArtCraft / PhotoCraft repo
Since the launch, several repos have appeared that copy the names and screenshots. Some we’ve seen, as of October 13, 2026:
ArtCraft-Corp/ArtCraftpresents “ArtCraft v0.41.0” as a “portable zip”, with a description stuffed with search phrases like “artcraft adobe, download artcraft, what is artcraft”.PhotocraftAdobe/PhotoCraft-Photoshopoffers “PhotoCraft v0.5.0”, with features the real app doesn’t advertise and a “Local zip” download.- Mirror repos with the real README copied verbatim, but under a different owner.
These were all created within days of the real launch. They have a handful of stars and point to downloads that don’t
come from storytold. We can’t vouch for what’s inside them, and you shouldn’t run them. Warning signs:
- The owner isn’t
storytold. This is the single most reliable check. - Keyword-stuffed descriptions: “download photocraft, photocraft github, photocraft open source photoshop clone…”.
- “Download” buttons in the README that link to a zip in the repo, a file host or a URL shortener, instead of the Releases tab.
- Password-protected archives, or instructions to turn off your antivirus.
- Only a Windows build. The real releases always include Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSD and Web.
- Version numbers that don’t match the official releases page.
Forks and community packaging can be legitimate. One example is the Nix flakes covered in our Linux guide. Those link back to the official source and build from it; they don’t hand you a mystery executable.
What about “ArtCraft download” for the AI studio?
The ArtCraft AI studio (the original product) is also distributed from getartcraft.com and github.com/storytold/artcraft. The same rules apply.
Quick checklist
- URL starts with
github.com/storytold/orgetartcraft.com - File comes from the Releases section, not a zip in the repo or a file-sharing site
- SHA-256 matches
SHA256SUMS.txt - macOS opens the DMG without warnings; the Windows installer shows a valid signature
Want to skip all of that? Every Crafting App runs in your browser, straight from the official web build.