01 / 13 · Vector illustration

VectorCraft

VectorCraft is the suite's answer to Illustrator: a native vector drawing and page-layout app whose editor is built from scratch in Rust rather than forked from an existing codebase. The workflow is aimed at people who already know the pen, the layers panel and the keyboard shortcuts.

Replaces: Adobe Illustrator
Licence: Apache-2.0
Latest release: v0.13.1
Released: 2026-10-18
Source: storytold

In the maintainer's words

“VectorCraft: An open-source, vector art tool written by scratch in pure Rust”— repository description, github.com/storytold/vectorcraft

What VectorCraft is built to do

Bezier pen, anchor and node editing
Layer, path and object panels
Live fills, strokes, gradients and outlines
Artboards and multi-page documents
SVG and PDF round-tripping
Keyboard-driven workflow with custom shortcuts

These are the workflow areas the project targets. Implementation status changes release to release — confirm against the repository before relying on a specific behaviour.

What changed in VectorCraft v0.13.1

Four more interface languages: Dutch, Danish, Hindi and Indonesian.
36 additional tool states ship their own cursors, listed in the repo's cursors.toml.
Export hygiene: PNGs now carry an sRGB chunk, and art too large for the export buffer no longer produces a broken effect image.
A .ai written by another app opens with its top-level layers kept as closed groups.

Summarised from the release notes upstream published on 2026-10-18. Read the full list on the VectorCraft v0.13.1 release page ↗.

Download VectorCraft

VectorCraft is distributed by its own maintainers through GitHub releases. Nothing here is re-hosted, mirrored or repackaged, which is exactly why these links stay current when a new build lands.

VectorCraft v0.13.1 · upstream GitHub releases

All release assets ↗

macOS UniversalDMGGet
Windows x64MSIGet
Windows ARM64MSIGet
Windows x86 (32-bit)MSIGet
Windows x64 portableZIPGet
Linux x86_64 AppImageAppImageGet
Linux x86_64 debdebGet
Linux x86_64 rpmrpmGet
Linux x86_64 flatpakflatpakGet
Linux aarch64 debdebGet
Linux riscv64 debdebGet
FreeBSD x86_64TAR.GZGet
Command-line build (macOS)ZIPGet
Browser buildZIPGet
SHA-256 sumsTXTGet

Files are served by GitHub from the upstream repository — this project is not distributed through this site. Verify the download against SHA256SUMS.txt in the same release.

Platforms: macOS Universal · Windows x64 / ARM64 / x86 · Linux x86_64 / aarch64 / riscv64 · FreeBSD x86_64

VectorCraft vs Adobe Illustrator

Aspect	VectorCraft	Adobe Illustrator
Price	Free, Apache-2.0	Creative Cloud subscription
Runtime	Native Rust app	Native app + cloud services
Files	Local-first, your disk	Cloud documents by default
Depth of tooling	Core illustration	25+ years of features
Automation	Open repo, scriptable builds	ExtendScript / UXP plugins

Source, licence and building

The repository carries the licence text, issue tracker and release notes. Apache-2.0 permits commercial use, modification and redistribution with attribution notices preserved. If you prefer to compile it yourself, clone the repo and follow its README for the pinned Rust toolchain.

Open repository ↗Official project page ↗Suite-wide comparison

VectorCraft FAQ

Can VectorCraft open .ai files?

Treat proprietary Illustrator files as best-effort imports. The reliable path is SVG or PDF, and VectorCraft's own document format for continued editing. Check the upstream issue tracker for current import fidelity.

Is there a web version?

The installable desktop app is the release, and it is what this directory indexes. Upstream does ship extra artefacts in the same release: a vectorcraft-web archive, and a macOS command-line build (wasm32 is a compile target upstream keeps green). Neither is a hosted editor you can just open in a browser tab.

Who maintains it?

The storytold organisation on GitHub, the same team behind the rest of the Craft suite.

Job	Vector illustration
Targets	Adobe Illustrator
Cluster	Design & CAD
Licence	Apache-2.0
Version	v0.13.1 (2026-10-18)
Verified	2026-10-19
Languages	Rust
Installer types	DMG · MSI · portable ZIP · AppImage / deb / rpm / flatpak
App icon	upstream artwork · MIT OR Apache-2.0

File formats in scope

SVG
PDF
PNG / JPEG export
Native project format

Why people switch

Fully native renderer — no Electron shell and no per-seat licence
Actively released (multiple minor versions per quarter)
Source is readable: one repo, Apache-2.0

Where it falls short

Advanced Illustrator tooling (symbol systems, 3D, scripting) is not at parity
No cloud libraries or shared asset pipelines
AI file import fidelity varies — keep your originals

Also open source, more mature

Inkscape ↗
GPL, decades of vector tooling, SVG-native
LibreOffice Draw ↗
Simple diagrams inside an office suite

Continue

Nearby tools in the suite

All 13 apps →

PhotoCraft

Raster photo editing

02/13

The image editor you already know how to use, in Rust.

Replaces: Adobe Photoshop
Licence: Apache-2.0
Release: v0.10.0 · 2026-10-18

Details

DesignCraft

Desktop publishing

07/13

Multi-page layout, threaded text and print-ready export.

Replaces: Adobe InDesign
Licence: Apache-2.0
Release: v0.9.0 · 2026-10-18

Details

FigCraft

Interface design and prototyping

11/13

Auto layout, variants and prototypes without per-seat billing.

Replaces: Figma
Licence: Apache-2.0
Release: v0.7.0 · 2026-10-18

Details