LightCraft

1. What is LightCraft?

LightCraft is a free photo manager and editor for your computer (Windows, macOS, Linux) modelled on Adobe Lightroom. You bring in a folder of photos, browse them in a grid, rate them with stars, flag the keepers and rejects, then adjust brightness, colour and cropping and export JPG, PNG and other files. Its special strength is that it can develop RAW photos (the unprocessed files from a camera, such as .DNG, .ARW, .NEF, .CR2). Every edit is "non-destructive": your original files are never changed. The project describes itself as a from-scratch rebuild of Lightroom in the Rust language, open source, with no account, no cloud, no telemetry and no subscription. It is licensed MIT or Apache-2.0 (your choice).

Good for you if:

• You have lots of photos (trips, a camera roll) and want one place to browse, pick the best and make quick edits without paying a monthly subscription.
• You shoot RAW on a camera and want a free tool to develop your pictures.
• You already know Lightroom and want a free alternative with a similar layout.

Not for you yet if:

• You need to replace Lightroom for daily professional work. The project is honest about this: by its own count LightCraft covers about 79% of Lightroom's features, but as a day-to-day replacement it says it is nearer 60–70%. The official site also labels it "In development".
• You need AI features. Sky and subject masks currently use classical algorithms rather than AI; AI denoise and AI upscaling are not built yet.
• You shoot with certain cameras. The docs say a few RAW formats (for example compressed Olympus, some Canon CR3 variants) only use the preview image embedded in the file, and colour for several brands is an estimate.
• You want a Vietnamese interface. The available languages are English, Simplified and Traditional Chinese, Japanese, Brazilian Portuguese, Spanish, German, Russian and French. Vietnamese is not included; the default is English.
• You need video editing. The docs list video as not started.

2. What do I need?

• A Windows, macOS or Linux computer. This guide focuses on Windows with a short note for macOS and Linux. Windows has three builds: x64 (most Intel and AMD PCs; choose this if unsure), arm64 (Snapdragon and other ARM laptops) and x86 (old 32-bit Windows).
• A graphics card (GPU) or a reasonably capable PC. The app uses the GPU (through DirectX 12, Vulkan or Metal) to edit quickly; without a suitable GPU it falls back to the CPU. The documentation does not give minimum specs, so a very old machine may feel slow.
• Disk space: the Windows installer is about 75 MB (measured 10 October 2026), plus room for your photos and the thumbnail cache. The documentation does not state the space needed after installing.
• Internet only to download the installer.
• No account, no API key, no cost.
• You do not need Git, Rust or any developer tool if you use the ready-made installer below.

3. Step-by-step install

There are two official places to download, both pointing to the same project release:

• The product page: https://getartcraft.com/apps/lightcraft (the README calls this the easiest route for newcomers)
• The GitHub releases page: https://github.com/storytold/lightcraft/releases

The latest version at the time of writing is 0.5.0 (published 10 October 2026). File names include the version, for example lightcraft-0.5.0-windows-x64.msi.

Note: Only download from these two pages. Many look-alike sites imitate well-known software to spread malware. The release page also has a SHA256SUMS.txt file if you want to compare checksums.

On Windows

Step 1: Download the installer

Open the releases page and scroll to Assets for the newest release. For a normal Windows PC pick the file ending windows-x64.msi. If your PC has an ARM chip (some Snapdragon laptops) pick windows-arm64.msi; for old 32-bit Windows pick windows-x86.msi. If unsure, use the x64 build.

If you do not want to install anything, there is a portable build (windows-x64-portable.zip): unzip it into a folder and run the program inside.

Step 2: Run the installer

Double-click the .msi file. According to the docs, the installer and executables are code-signed, so Windows usually does not block them. The installer asks which folder to use (default C:\Program Files\LightCraft); follow the screens to the end. If Windows asks for administrator permission, click Yes. If a blue "Windows protected your PC" box still appears, click More info then Run anyway, but only when the file came from the two official pages above.

At the end, the installer shows a page confirming LightCraft is installed, with an option to start it.

Step 3: Open LightCraft

Find LightCraft in the Start menu and open it. On first launch, the docs say it creates a new photo library with a few demo photos to play with. You know it worked when you see a window with a left sidebar listing items such as All Photos, Recently Added and Picks, and a photo grid in the middle.

On macOS

Download the macos-universal.dmg file (one build for both Apple-chip and Intel Macs). Double-click the .dmg and drag LightCraft into Applications. According to the docs it is signed and notarized by Apple, so it normally opens without a fuss.

On Linux

The simplest option is the AppImage (runs directly, no install). Download lightcraft-0.5.0-linux-x86_64.AppImage (or the aarch64 file for ARM chips) and allow it to run as a program:

chmod +x lightcraft-*.AppImage
./lightcraft-0.5.0-linux-x86_64.AppImage

.deb, .rpm, Flatpak and .tar.gz packages are on the same releases page. For Flatpak the project gives the command flatpak install --user <file name>.

Another way: in a browser

Each release includes lightcraft-web-0.5.0.zip, a version that runs in the browser. To use it you have to host it on a web server yourself, so beginners should choose an installer above.

4. First use

1. Try it on the demo photos. On the first launch, click a photo in the grid to view it large. Main shortcuts according to the docs: G grid view, D single-photo detail, E edit panel, C crop, Y before/after, \ show the original.
2. Import your photos. Open the File menu and choose the photo import item (Import Photos), or drag and drop a photo folder onto the window (the docs list import by drag and drop). A review window lets you tick the photos to bring in; duplicates are skipped. You can import as Add (leave photos where they are), Copy or Move. Beginners should choose to leave the files in place or copy them, so the originals are not touched.
3. Pick your best shots. Select a photo and press 1 to 5 to give stars, P to flag it as a pick, X to flag it as rejected. A rejected flag is only for filtering; it does not delete the original.
4. Edit. Press E (or switch to edit mode) and drag the sliders in Light (exposure, contrast, highlights, shadows) and Color (white balance, vibrance). Press Y to compare before and after. Every change can be undone (the docs list ⌘Z on Mac; on Windows it is normally Ctrl+Z).
5. Export. Use the Export command and choose a format such as JPEG, PNG or WebP, a size and a save location. The finished photo lands in the folder you choose and your original stays intact.

If you have an existing Lightroom Classic catalog (.lrcat), the File menu has Import Lightroom Catalog…. According to the docs your original files stay where they are, and the project says edits carry over only approximately, not identically.

5. Common problems and fixes

Symptom	Likely cause	Fix
Windows shows "Windows protected your PC" when opening the installer	SmartScreen does not know the app	Only if you downloaded from getartcraft.com or the official GitHub page: click More info, then Run anyway.
Installed but won't open, or graphics glitch or black screen	Old graphics card or driver	Update your graphics driver. The docs say the app uses the CPU when no suitable GPU exists; if it still fails, check the log folder (see below) and report it on GitHub.
A RAW file opens but colours look odd	Colour for some brands is an estimate, not a measured calibration	Press \ to compare with the original, or use the camera's JPEG. The supported cameras are listed under "Feature status" in the README.
A RAW file lacks detail (for example compressed Olympus, some CR3)	Format not fully decoded; only the embedded preview is used	Shoot RAW+JPEG, or convert to DNG with your camera maker's tool.
iPhone HEIC photos won't import	The README says HEIC/HEIF support needs a special build option (--features heif), so the ready-made installer may not read them	Switch the phone camera to the most compatible format (JPEG) or convert the photos before importing. This is inferred from the docs, not tested.
No Vietnamese in the menu	The language isn't available	Edit has a Language item listing the available languages.
A strange error you need to send to the authors	You need the log file	Open Help and choose Open Log Folder. On Windows the log is in %APPDATA%\LightCraft\logs\.

6. Uninstall and update

Uninstall (Windows, .msi build): open Settings, go to Apps, find LightCraft and click Uninstall. For the portable build, just delete the unzipped folder.

Your original photos are not deleted when you uninstall. LightCraft's own library (catalog, edit history, thumbnails) lives by default in Pictures\LightCraft Library inside your user folder; delete that folder to clear it completely, but only after checking, because your edits are stored there.

Update: the project does not describe an automatic updater for the Windows build. The safe route is to download the newer .msi from the releases page and run it over the old version; according to the docs, an upgrade stays in the folder you chose at install time.

7. Frequently asked questions

Does it cost money? No. It is free and open source. The docs say there is no account and no subscription.

Are my photos sent anywhere? According to the project, LightCraft works on your own machine and has no telemetry. That is the project's own statement and has not been independently checked.

Do I need internet? Only to download the installer. Editing happens on your computer.

Can it replace Lightroom or Photoshop? Not completely. The project calls itself young and fast-moving. LightCraft is the Lightroom-style app (photo management and editing); if you want Photoshop-style layered editing, the same team makes a separate app called PhotoCraft.

Will it run on a weak PC? The documentation gives no minimum specs. There is a CPU mode when no suitable GPU is found, but the speeds the project quotes (for example about 4 ms for a slider update on a 24 MP RAW) were measured on an Apple M4 Pro, so weaker machines will be slower.