Skip to main content
VectorCraft 0.7.0 now runs in your browser

VectorCraft: The free, open-source Illustrator alternative

The Pen tool, Pathfinder, Shape Builder, live effects and real type, with the menus and shortcuts your hands already know. Open VectorCraft in your browser in seconds, or install it on any desktop.

Open VectorCraft online
Download for desktop
…No accountFiles stay on your deviceMIT / Apache-2.0
VectorCraft editing the Neon Drive synthwave poster: the title is selected, the Appearance panel shows its live Outer Glow and the Properties panel shows its character settings
Plate 0Neon Drive, made in VectorCraft: a Pathfinder-cut sun, a live Outer Glow on the type and grid, and clipping masks.

Opens your files

SVGSVGZPDFAI (PDF-compatible)EPSDXFEMFWMFPSDPNGJPEGWebPTIFFGIF.vectorcraft

What is VectorCraft

What is VectorCraft?

VectorCraft is an open-source vector editor that rebuilds the Adobe Illustrator workflow from scratch in Rust: the Pen and Direct Selection tools, Pathfinder, Shape Builder, Smart Guides, Appearance, Swatches and Layers. The tools, panels and shortcuts sit where Illustrator users expect them, so your hands already know VectorCraft.

It is free, with no account and no subscription. It opens and saves SVG, PDF and PDF-compatible AI files, and the same engine compiles to WebAssembly, so the VectorCraft editor on this site is the full app running in your browser. Your artwork never leaves your computer.

Try the VectorCraft editor
  1. 1.

    Illustrator’s layout

    Tools, panels, menus and shortcuts where you expect them.

  2. 2.

    Exact Pathfinder

    Curve booleans that never fail with "cannot perform".

  3. 3.

    Your files

    SVG, PDF, AI, EPS and DXF in; SVG, PDF and PNG out.

  4. 4.

    Open source

    Free forever under MIT or Apache-2.0.

VectorCraft features

Draw, shape and color the way you do in Illustrator

VectorCraft covers the work designers open Illustrator for: logos, icons, posters, illustration and print files.

VectorCraft Direct Selection tool showing anchor points and Bezier handles on a crescent built with Pathfinder, with the contextual task bar below itExact curve booleans
Plate IA crescent cut with Pathfinder, its anchors and Bezier handles open for editing.

Paths

A Pen tool and Pathfinder you can trust

Draw with the Pen, reshape with Direct Selection and cut shapes with Pathfinder or Shape Builder. Booleans are computed on exact curves, so they never refuse an operation.

  • Smart Guides that every drawing tool snaps to
  • Live Corners on stars, polygons and pen paths
  • Unlimited undo for every edit
Three live blend ribbons clipped to the artboard in VectorCraft, one selected with its key paths showing, and the Layers panel listing the clip group and blendsLive Blends
Plate IILive blends between key paths, clipped to the artboard. Edit a key path and the blend follows.

Live effects

Blends, glows and masks that stay editable

Live Blends follow their key paths, Appearance stacks fills, strokes and effects on one object, and clipping masks keep the artwork underneath intact.

  • Outer Glow and transparency in the Appearance panel
  • Gradient Mesh, Envelope Distort and radial Repeat
  • Image Trace turns a bitmap into paths
Two lit building facades drawn on the left and right planes of a two-point perspective grid in VectorCraft, with the Perspective Selection toolTwo-point perspective
Plate IIIFacades drawn straight onto the planes of a two-point perspective grid.

Perspective

Draw straight onto a perspective grid

Set up a perspective grid and draw facades, signs and type directly on its planes with the Perspective Selection tool and the Plane Switching Widget.

  • Move artwork between planes with the widget
  • Type with styles, threading and right-to-left layout
  • Many artboards in one document
Four artboards in the VectorCraft light theme: Pathfinder, Gradient Mesh, radial Repeat and Envelope DistortSVG, PDF, AI
Plate IVFour artboards in the light theme: Pathfinder, Gradient Mesh, radial Repeat and Envelope Distort.

Files and export

Open the files you already have

Open SVG, PDF, PDF-compatible AI, EPS, DXF and EMF files, and export SVG, PDF (including PDF/X for print), PNG, JPEG and WebP. Export for Screens writes every artboard at every size in one go.

  • A documented native format (.vectorcraft, JSON)
  • Print and Package for handing files to a printer
  • Interface in English, Japanese, Chinese, Spanish, French, Italian and Russian
Stars on GitHub
4.3k
Desktop downloads
153k+
To render 20,000 shapes
27 ms
Interface while it draws
120 fps

Toolbox

The full VectorCraft toolbox

The tools and panels of a professional vector editor, ready from the first launch.

  1. 01

    Drawing tools

    The Pen, shapes, stars and polygons, with anchor tools that convert corners and smooth points.

  2. 02

    Shape building

    Pathfinder and Shape Builder on exact curves, plus clipping masks.

  3. 03

    Paint and color

    Swatches, gradients, Gradient Mesh, transparency and Appearance.

  4. 04

    Real type

    Type with styles, threaded text and Hebrew and Arabic layout.

  5. 05

    Fast rendering

    Multithreaded SIMD rendering off the interface thread, so big documents stay smooth.

  6. 06

    Built for automation

    Every menu, tool and dialog is a command that scripts and AI agents drive over MCP.

Compare

VectorCraft vs Illustrator

You get the core Illustrator workflow for free. Here is where the two match and where Illustrator still leads.

FeatureVectorCraftFreeAdobe Illustrator
PriceFree foreverMonthly subscription
Source codeOpen source, MIT or Apache-2.0Closed
Account requiredNoAdobe ID
Runs onBrowser, Windows, macOS, Linux, FreeBSDWindows, macOS and iPad, no Linux
Pen, Pathfinder, Shape BuilderYesYes
SVG, PDF and AI filesOpen and saveNative
3D and MaterialsNot yetYes
Variables and scriptingCommands over MCP; no Variables panel yetYes
Generative AINoFirefly
MaturityYoung; the team counts 69 to 75% of Illustrator’s featuresMature, since 1987

Get VectorCraft

Use VectorCraft online or on any desktop

One editor, wherever you draw. Every desktop build links to the official release on GitHub.

How to use VectorCraft

How to use VectorCraft online

  1. 01

    Open the editor

    Press Open VectorCraft online. The app loads once, then your browser keeps it ready for your next visit.

  2. 02

    Open or start a file

    Open an SVG, PDF or AI file, or start a new document with File › New and pick an artboard size.

  3. 03

    Draw and shape

    Draw with the Pen, combine shapes with Pathfinder and style them in Appearance. Every step can be undone.

  4. 04

    Save or export

    Save a .vectorcraft file to keep editing, or export SVG, PDF or PNG. The browser saves it like any download.

VectorCraft download for Windows, Mac and Linux

Every VectorCraft download below is the official 0.7.0 build from GitHub, with its size next to the link.

VectorCraft for Windows

Your PCInstallerPortable (no install)
64-bit Intel or AMD (most PCs)vectorcraft-0.7.0-windows-x64.msi · 61.5 MBportable ZIP · 77.9 MB
ARM (Snapdragon, Surface Pro X)vectorcraft-0.7.0-windows-arm64.msi · 56.8 MBportable ZIP · 73.5 MB
32-bitvectorcraft-0.7.0-windows-x86.msi · 59.7 MBportable ZIP · 74.6 MB

How to install VectorCraft on Windows: run the MSI and follow the setup steps, then open VectorCraft from the Start menu. With the portable ZIP, unzip the folder anywhere and start VectorCraft from inside it.

VectorCraft for Mac

BuildFile
App, universal (Apple silicon and Intel)vectorcraft-0.7.0-macos-universal.dmg · 85.3 MB
Command-line tool, universalvectorcraft-cli-0.7.0-macos-universal.zip · 64.8 MB

How to install VectorCraft on a Mac: open the DMG and drag VectorCraft into your Applications folder. The app is signed and notarized by Apple, so it opens with a normal double-click.

VectorCraft for Linux

Formatx86_64ARM64 (aarch64)
AppImage (runs anywhere)AppImage · 72.5 MBAppImage · 69.0 MB
Flatpak (sandboxed).flatpak · 52.9 MB.flatpak · 49.1 MB
Debian, Ubuntu, Mint.deb · 78.1 MB.deb · 75.1 MB
Fedora, RHEL, openSUSE.rpm · 77.6 MB.rpm · 74.5 MB
Tarball.tar.gz · 76.9 MB.tar.gz · 73.0 MB

How to install VectorCraft on Linux:

# AppImage: make it executable and run it
chmod +x vectorcraft-0.7.0-linux-x86_64.AppImage
./vectorcraft-0.7.0-linux-x86_64.AppImage

# Debian or Ubuntu
sudo apt install ./vectorcraft-0.7.0-linux-x86_64.deb

FreeBSD 14 on x86_64 gets a tarball too: vectorcraft-0.7.0-freebsd-x86_64.tar.gz · 76.8 MB.

VectorCraft system requirements

What VectorCraft needs
Windows64-bit, ARM64 or 32-bit Windows; renders through DirectX 12 or Vulkan
macOSAny Mac with Apple silicon or an Intel processor
Linuxx86_64 or ARM64, Wayland or X11, with a Vulkan driver
BrowserA current Chrome, Edge, Safari or Firefox; WebGPU is used when available, with WebGL2 as the fallback

What's new in VectorCraft 0.7.0

Highlights from the official release notes:

  • Floating panels: panels, panel groups and the Tools panel undock.
  • The Pen tool edits the path you are drawing with Cmd and reshapes segments with Alt.
  • Live Corners on any path’s corners, including stars, polygons and pen paths.
  • PDF and AI import keeps type strokes, wrapped lines and layer order.
  • Image Trace makes traces with the Default preset, and the interface speaks Italian.

Check your VectorCraft download

Each release includes SHA256SUMS.txt. Compare it with the checksum of your file:

shasum -a 256 vectorcraft-0.7.0-macos-universal.dmg       # macOS
sha256sum vectorcraft-0.7.0-linux-x86_64.AppImage         # Linux
certutil -hashfile vectorcraft-0.7.0-windows-x64.msi SHA256  # Windows

Every earlier VectorCraft download is on the GitHub releases page.

FAQ

VectorCraft FAQ

Price, AI files, safety and what is still missing.

Ask us something else

Start drawing with VectorCraft

The full vector editor, free in your browser. Open an SVG or start a new artboard.

Open VectorCraft onlineDownload VectorCraft

Colophon

The screenshots are from the VectorCraft repository (MIT or Apache-2.0). Every artwork in them was made in VectorCraft.

PhotoCraft Editor is an independent site. It is not affiliated with ArtCraft or Adobe. Adobe and Illustrator are trademarks of Adobe Inc.