VectorCraft (v0.9.0) review: the most usable Craft app so far, and its limits
VectorCraft is a free vector illustration app that copies the Illustrator workflow. By the team's own estimate it is about 65% ready for real work, the highest of the family, and it opens Affinity Designer files as well as .ai, SVG, PDF and EPS.
Last checked 11 Oct 2026. Independent site; not affiliated with ArtCraft or Adobe.
What works today
- Drawing and path tools, Pathfinder and Shape Builder, exact curve booleans, paint, gradients, appearance and transparency, unlimited undo.
- Type with styles and threading, including Hebrew and Arabic bidirectional layout.
- Files: SVG, PDF and PDF-compatible .ai (with PDF/X), EPS, DXF, EMF and WMF, raster formats, PSD out and PSD/PSB in as a merged image, Print and Package.
- Affinity documents (.afdesign, .afpub, .af from Affinity 3) open and place natively: layers, artboards, curves, fills, gradients, strokes, masks, text and images, with an import warning listing what did not come in.
- CLI and MCP server for agents; one codebase for desktop and browser.
What the project says is missing
From the README's Status section (10 Oct 2026): about 88% of Illustrator 2026's menu items, tools, effects and formats exist (92.5% of menu items do something), feature depth ~75%, ready for real work ~65% for a mainstream illustrator. Effects, adjustments, brushes and master pages from Affinity files do not import. Known platform issues in the README: on Wayland dropped files are not delivered (use File › Open), and on KDE Plasma 6.3 with Wayland a tablet pen moves the cursor but does not draw.
"Ready for real work" and "feature breadth" are the project's own published estimates from each repository's ROADMAP.md (last re-measured 10 Oct 2026). They are honest, but they are self-graded. We quote them; we did not measure them.
How to install VectorCraft
Option 1: the ArtCraft Launcher (recommended by the project)
The ArtCraft Launcher (v0.2.0) installs VectorCraft and every other Craft app, picks the right build for your computer and updates them. Get it from the official apps page or the launcher's GitHub releases.
Option 2: a standalone installer
Every release on GitHub ships these files (replace 0.9.0 with the current version):
| Platform | File | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| macOS | vectorcraft-0.9.0-macos-universal.dmg | One file for Apple silicon and Intel. Signed and notarized, so Gatekeeper opens it without a warning. |
| Windows 10/11 (64-bit) | vectorcraft-0.9.0-windows-x64.msi | Installer. A -portable.zip that runs without installing is next to it. ARM64 and 32-bit builds exist too. |
| Linux | vectorcraft-0.9.0-linux-x86_64.AppImage | Also .deb, .rpm, .flatpak and a plain tarball, for x86_64 and ARM64. |
We never host installers. Download from GitHub or getartcraft.com only, and check the file against SHA256SUMS.txt in the same release if you want to be sure.
Questions
Does VectorCraft open .ai files?
Yes, PDF-compatible .ai files (the default since Illustrator CS) open and save. Legacy non-PDF .ai files are not mentioned as supported.
Can VectorCraft open Affinity Designer files?
Yes. .afdesign, .afpub and Affinity 3 .af files open natively; effects, adjustments, brushes and master pages are listed as not imported.
Is VectorCraft free?
Yes, open source under MIT or Apache-2.0, offline, no account.