{"id":20727,"date":"2026-10-08T12:06:13","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T12:06:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/news.theck1.no\/?p=20727"},"modified":"2026-10-08T12:06:13","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T12:06:13","slug":"software-is-over-bold-ai-developer-takes-aim-at-adobe-with-open-source-clones","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.theck1.no\/?p=20727","title":{"rendered":"\u201cSoftware is over\u201d: Bold AI developer takes aim at Adobe with open source clones"},"content":{"rendered":"

AI-rewritten:<\/strong> This is a summary of an article from Ars Technica, rewritten by AI (Qwen, running locally) to make it easier to read. The facts come from the original article – read it for the full story.<\/p>\n

Ars Technica •
\n Kyle Orland
\n • October 7, 2026<\/strong><\/div>\n\n

Brandon Thomas, a software developer with ten years of experience in large-scale Rust projects, has launched seven open-source applications designed to mimic Adobe’s Creative Suite. Using Anthropic’s Claude Opus 5.5 for AI-powered reverse engineering, Thomas created "clean-room replacements" written in Rust and available via WebAssembly for browsers. These tools aim to replicate the functionality of Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, Lightroom, After Effects, InDesign, and Acrobat Pro without directly copying Adobe’s original code.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Thomas announced these apps on Reddit earlier this week as a "super early alpha." He initially promised 100% feature parity within a month but later clarified on Hacker News that achieving 99% parity would take months rather than years. The project is funded by selling token-based access to the pre-existing Artcraft visual AI model, which serves as an imagery-generation option inside the new apps alongside third-party models. Thomas stated this revenue stream ensures the project will not become an orphaned small-team effort.<\/p>\n

Thomas noted he was inspired to create these alternatives after being frustrated by Adobe’s "cancellation fee" dark patterns. While reverse engineering is generally considered legally acceptable, the ArtCraft apps could face legal trouble if their trade dress too closely mimics Adobe’s familiar appearance. Thomas foresees a future where developers can easily recreate open-source versions of popular paid software to remove ads and de-enshittify the tech world. He claimed in an earlier comment to have "one-shotted Photoshop," though he acknowledged current shortcomings exist.<\/p>\n

\n

Source:<\/strong> Ars Technica •
\n Kyle Orland
\n • October 7, 2026<\/p>\n

Read the original article at Ars Technica →<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

AI-rewritten: This is a summary of an article from Ars Technica, rewritten by AI (Qwen, running locally) to make it easier to read. The facts come from the original article – read it for the full story. Ars Technica • Kyle Orland • October 7, 2026 Brandon Thomas, a software developer with ten years of<\/p>\n

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