Design & creative / released

Photon Studio.

A free desktop image editor for layered PSD editing and retouching.

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A new take on the workflow.

Photon Studio documents layered image editing, masks, retouching and opening and saving PSD/PSB files on desktop. The maker’s original launch explains an AI-led implementation and subsequent human testing and iteration. It is distributed as a free application; no public source repository is established.

What you can switch today.

Replace Photoshop for local layered image edits and retouching, opening PSD files and saving an editable result or finished export.

Download the desktop edition for the supported operating system.
Open a copy of a representative PSD, edit layers or retouch the image and save a separate file.
Reopen the saved PSD in the existing workflow and compare layers, text and output before migrating additional projects.

Switching caveat. PSD support is documented by the maker; complex effects, text and round-trip fidelity require checking with your own files. Workflow evidence

Where it falls short.

No public source code or independent feature-parity verification is established. Test PSD/PSB round trips with representative layers, fonts, effects and exports; complex documents can differ. The original maker describes a buggy first version followed by iteration. Current capabilities are maker-documented, not independently runtime-tested.

Documented capabilities.

Listed in project documentation; not independently functionally tested by VibeAlt.

Editable layers and masksSource
PSD and PSB opening and savingSource
Retouching and image adjustmentsSource
Offline desktop editingSource

Maker claims AI build. The original maker launch explicitly describes planning and implementation with GPT-6 Astra, subsequent iterations with Fable/GPT-6 and a Codex fix. Treat this as a first-person origin claim, not verified feature parity or independent code attribution. Inspect the evidence

Original build attribution.

The maker describes AI-assisted development of this project. This is a first-party claim, separate from any code contribution evidence. Read the original attribution

What it can stand in for.

Adobe Photoshop alternatives

Preserving PSD layers, masks, text and color settings matters more than a familiar toolbar. Start with a copy of a real document and check the exported result.

Open the comparison

Sources & freshness.

Source review: 2026-10-28. First added: 2026-10-28. Repository metrics are fetched separately through the GitHub API. Last metrics retrieval: Not fetched.

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