PhotoCraft opened and drew. That is not a replacement verdict.

The first look

Our offline test of PhotoCraft v0.12.0 ran in a throwaway Linux ARM container without a GPU. The application displayed a CPU-rendering notice, then let us create a 1920 × 1080 document. We drew brush strokes and added a text layer; the layers panel showed the two kinds of content.

The familiar menus are only a starting point

The interface included recognisable image-editing menus. The Filter menu listed names including Liquify and Camera Raw Filter. Seeing a menu item is not the same as applying the feature successfully. We did not test those filters, judge their output or compare them against another editor.

A save dialog is not a saved file

After a file-chooser helper was installed in the test box, Save As opened a chooser with a PSD filename and document type. Nothing was saved and reopened. We therefore cannot use this run to claim PSD compatibility, a dependable round trip or a safe move for existing work.

What remains untested

Our notes leave opening PSD files, applying filters and adjustments, export formats and performance on large files unresolved. We did not test the web, Windows or macOS versions. The test notes recorded the project as early alpha at the time of the run. That dated observation should not be treated as a complete review of every current build.

The useful conclusion

The application launched and accepted a few basic actions in that environment. That is a useful first checkpoint. It is not enough to tell someone to replace an established editing workflow, cancel a subscription or entrust important files to it. A next test should use a disposable copy of a real document, save it, reopen it and inspect what survived.

About the evidence

The lab notes and recording behind this first look are retained internally. This report covers the actions described above; it is not a public demo or a full replacement test.