Is ArtCraft Safe to Use?

ArtCraft is really two things

Most “is it safe” answers treat ArtCraft as a single app. It isn’t, and the answer differs for each half:

• The Craft App Suite — 13 desktop apps from PhotoCraft (image editing) to GridCraft (spreadsheets). Each is a separate open-source project on GitHub under storytold, free to use, and installed either individually or through the ArtCraft Launcher. See what each of the 13 Craft apps does.
• The ArtCraft AI app — a desktop and browser studio (app.getartcraft.com) for AI images, video and 3D. It is open source too, but the generation itself runs on remote models and is paid for with credits.

So separate two questions. Is it safe to download? depends on where the file comes from and whether it is signed. Is it safe to use? depends on where your data goes. The rest of this page answers each in turn.

Is ArtCraft safe to download? Check the source first

There are only two official places to get ArtCraft installers: getartcraft.com and GitHub Releases under github.com/storytold. Third-party download portals — Uptodown, for example, lists both ArtCraft and the ArtCraft Launcher — repackage files you cannot easily trace back to the publisher. Even when the file is unchanged, you lose the ability to tell. Skip them.

We downloaded the current installers and checked their signatures ourselves:

Learning Machines is the company behind Storyteller and ArtCraft, so a signature in that name is what you want to see. The unsigned Windows installer for the AI app doesn’t mean the file is bad — it means Windows can’t vouch for it, which makes checking the source and checksum more important.

A four-step check before you install

1. Start from an official page. Use getartcraft.com or our official ArtCraft download links, which point only to github.com/storytold and getartcraft.com.
2. Check the release belongs to storytold. The address should read github.com/storytold/<app>/releases/… — not a fork or a personal account.
3. Compare the SHA-256 checksum. GitHub shows a digest for every release file, and the Craft apps also publish a SHA256SUMS.txt. Run shasum -a 256 <file> on macOS or Linux, or certutil -hashfile <file> SHA256 on Windows.
4. Read the OS prompt. On macOS, Gatekeeper should open the app without “unidentified developer” warnings. On Windows, signed installers show “Learning Machines” as the publisher; the AI app’s unsigned installer shows “Unknown publisher” — only continue if steps 1–3 passed.

What the code tells you — and what it doesn’t

ArtCraft states three principles for every Craft app on its official apps page :

“Every line is on GitHub under permissive licenses.”

“Pure Rust compiled to real desktop apps for macOS, Windows and Linux. No Electron, no web views.”

“Everything runs locally on your own files. No cloud round-trips between you and your work.”

In practical terms: no embedded browser engine means a smaller attack surface than the Electron apps many tools ship as; running locally means your files are not uploaded to edit them; and public source means anyone can inspect what the app does. PdfCraft goes further and says it has no account, no telemetry and no cloud processing.

Be honest about the limits, though. Open source is not the same as audited. We found no independent security audit for any of these apps, and these projects are only weeks old, moving fast. A couple of details are also worth knowing: PhotoCraft checks for updates once per launch (you can switch this off), and the ArtCraft AI app loads usage analytics (Google Analytics and PostHog) in its code.

Three checks anyone can do in five minutes:

• Look at the repository’s activity. Recent commits, open issues and answered bug reports suggest a maintained project.
• Look at where release files come from. Assets should be attached to a release under storytold, with checksums.
• Try the browser version first. The official apps page lists a WebAssembly version for twelve of the 13 Craft apps (all except FilmCraft), so you can test one inside the browser sandbox before installing anything.

Where your files go

This is the part most reviews skip, and the one that matters most if you handle other people’s work:

For the AI side, the operator’s privacy statement (Storyteller privacy statement , last updated November 2022) says it may share data with service providers and keeps payment data with Stripe. It predates ArtCraft, and getartcraft.com does not link a separate privacy policy — a gap worth knowing about.

Our rule of thumb: keep unreleased client assets, contracts (PdfCraft) and CAD drawings in the local apps. Use the AI app for concept art, moodboards and anything you would be comfortable sharing with a cloud service.

Accounts and payments

On the official pricing page :

• Checkout runs through Stripe (“Secure checkout via Stripe”), so ArtCraft does not handle your card number directly, and plans say “Cancel anytime”.
• “Credits refunded if a generation fails” — you are not charged for failed jobs.
• Subscriptions are optional: ArtCraft “can be used without paying for a subscription. You can bring your own compute and third-party subscriptions.” One-time credit packs “never expire”.
• Prices on 2026-10-26, during a “limited-time” 20%-off offer: Basic $8, Pro $28 and Max $48 per month billed yearly (regularly $10, $35 and $60), or $10, $35 and $60 billed monthly (regularly $13, $44 and $75). The offer is marked “ends soon” — check the pricing page before you buy.

The real risk: it’s alpha software

ArtCraft labels its own apps. On the apps page, PhotoCraft, PdfCraft and FigCraft are Early alpha and the other ten are In development — all thirteen have installers ready. Their own parity reports estimate readiness for professional work at roughly 45% (PhotoCraft), 56% (FilmCraft) and 62% (VectorCraft). PhotoCraft’s README says plainly that it “is not yet a Photoshop replacement for daily professional work”.

What that means in practice:

• File compatibility. PSD, .ai and project files open and save, but not every feature round-trips. PhotoCraft says PSD exchange is not yet reliable enough for beta.
• Crashes and lost work. Alpha apps freeze and crash more than mature ones. Some save atomically and keep recovery data; don’t rely on it.
• Changes between versions. New releases arrive almost daily, and behaviour can change between them.

How to use them safely: save to a new file instead of overwriting your original, keep dated versions, never make an alpha app the only copy of a project, and keep the original Adobe file for anything you deliver. Our comparison of the Craft apps with Photoshop, Illustrator and Premiere Pro shows what each app is still missing.

When is it reasonable to switch? When the app you need is out of alpha, when it reliably opens and re-saves your real files, and when you have finished one complete project in it without needing the original tool.

Client work and commercial use: a checklist

• License. MIT and Apache-2.0 allow commercial use, modification and redistribution, provided you keep copyright and license notices. Each repository’s LICENSE-MIT, LICENSE-APACHE and NOTICE files are the authority — check them for the app you use.
• Trademarks. The ArtCraft name and logos are not covered by the license.
• Your output. Files you create with the local apps are yours; the license covers the software, not your work. For AI generations, also check the terms of the model you used.
• Delivery. Export to standard formats (PNG, PDF, SVG, MP4) and open them in a second tool before sending them to a client.
• Data. Don’t upload a client’s confidential material to the AI app without their permission.

How it compares with Adobe on safety

• Source: ArtCraft is open and inspectable; Adobe is closed-source, but mature and consistently signed.
• Data: the Craft apps stay local with no account; Adobe apps require an Adobe account, and Firefly features run in Adobe’s cloud.
• Maturity: Adobe is production-proven; most Craft apps are alpha.

For a feature-by-feature view, see Artcraft vs Adobe: PhotoCraft, VectorCraft, FilmCraft and EffectCraft compared.