Craft Anything: ArtCraft's free app that studies any software and helps you build your own

On 1 November 2026, ArtCraft, the company behind PhotoCraft and the other free Crafting Apps, released something different. Craft Anything doesn't copy one paid program. It's a free, open source app that studies how a website, app, game or file works, then has an AI coding agent build you a new version of it. Its tagline is "Understand how software works, then craft your own." Within three days the code had more than 5,000 stars on GitHub. Here's what it does, how it works, why its launch was aimed at Anthropic, and what to keep in mind before you try it.

The short version

You point Craft Anything at something, say a website you like the look of, tell it what you want, and press Start. It studies the original, hands the job to a coding agent such as Claude Code, then checks the result against the original and lists what doesn't match yet. You can ask for changes until you're happy.

It's free, open source under the MIT or Apache 2.0 licence, and runs on Mac, Windows, Linux and FreeBSD. It's also very new: version 0.1.0, labelled early alpha, and the team says plainly that it can't rebuild every program automatically.

How it works

Craft Anything follows four steps:

1. Study. It looks at the original from every angle: how a website's pages look at different screen widths, how an app behaves when it runs, and, if you allow it, the code and files inside.
2. Build. A coding agent creates a new project in the language, framework or game engine you ask for, such as a website framework, or Unity, Unreal or Godot for games.
3. Check. It compares the new build with the original. For websites it compares the pages at three screen widths; for games it can run the game's own self-test.
4. Ready. You open, play or preview the result, then ask for changes to get closer.

There are two ways to use it. Simple, the default, is a guided flow with plain-language progress, approval cards and a score for how close the build is. It also has a "Just look inside" option that answers questions about something without building anything. Advanced opens a full workbench for experts, with the kind of tools reverse engineers use.

Clean room or deep: the important choice

Craft Anything has two modes, and the difference matters.

• Clean room (the default). It reads nothing inside the original: no code, no files, no page source. It works only from what any visitor can see, such as screenshots, visible text, layout, colours and fonts. If a step would need to look inside, Craft Anything refuses and explains how to switch modes.
• Deep. Every tool is available, including reading code and files, watching a website's scripts and, if you have it installed, the reverse engineering tool Ghidra. ArtCraft says this mode is for your private use only, and builds made this way are marked as not to be shared or published.

"Clean room" is the same idea ArtCraft used for the Crafting Apps: rebuilding something from what it does, without copying its code.

Why the launch was aimed at Anthropic

ArtCraft announced Craft Anything on X with a jab at Anthropic, the company that makes Claude, saying it believes you should have the final say in what you do with your property, and not Anthropic.

The timing explains it. According to Mad Robot, two days earlier Anthropic added a rule to Claude Code telling Claude not to build a recreation of a specific existing game, even if it's renamed or called original. PC Gamer linked the change to weeks of Steam filling up with low-quality AI-made games. Addy Osmani of Anthropic said the company added the rule because "using Claude to infringe IP is against our usage policy."

The twist is that Craft Anything relies on Claude Code to do its building. It runs your own, unchanged copy of Claude Code with your own sign-in, and adds its instructions on top of Anthropic's rather than replacing them. So Anthropic's games rule still applies, and Mad Robot notes that some game rebuilds may simply be refused. ArtCraft's own notes say it needs to confirm with Anthropic that running Claude Code this way is acceptable at scale before it launches a planned paid tier. Anthropic hasn't commented on the app.

What it can do

• Study almost anything. Websites, desktop and phone apps, games, and files of many kinds, including Android and Apple apps, Electron apps, firmware, databases and game files. Each answer comes with the evidence behind it.
• Build in the stack you choose. You describe the goal and the agent does the building, in the language, framework or engine you pick.
• Check rather than guess. Builds are compared with the original, so you see what's still different instead of trusting that it worked.
• Work with AI agents. The same engine runs as a desktop app, a command line tool and an MCP server, with 314 tools an AI assistant can call. You don't need AI just to look inside something.
• Keep you in control. You set the rules, and anything outside them shows an approval card before it runs.

What to watch out for

• It's early alpha. The desktop app, command line and MCP server work, and so do website checks and game rebuilds with Claude Code. Building with other coding agents and checking how apps and games behave are only partly there.
• Claude Code is the only tested builder. There's an adapter for OpenAI's Codex and support for agents like Gemini CLI, Qwen Code and opencode, but most haven't been run on a real install yet.
• It uses your AI plan. Builds run through your own Claude Code account, so they count against your plan and its usage limits. Craft Anything itself never sees or handles your account.
• Legal lines still apply. ArtCraft asks you to use it only on software you own or are allowed to examine. Copying someone's code, art, logos or name can break copyright or trademark law, even if layouts and game mechanics are harder to protect. The app won't bypass copy protection, logins or anti-cheat, and the agent is told not to copy logos, photos or text unless you confirm you have the rights.
• Anthropic's rules apply too. Because it builds with Claude Code, requests to recreate a specific existing game may be turned down.

Good uses for it

• Learning how things are made. Ask how a website or app is put together, using "Just look inside", without building anything.
• Moving your own project. Rebuild a site or tool you own in a newer framework, or turn an old app into a web app.
• Bringing back old software you own. Recreate a tool from a company that no longer exists, so you can keep using it on a modern computer.
• Getting started from an idea. Show it a layout or style you like, then build something original with a similar feel, without copying anyone's content.

How to try it safely

1. Get it from an official source only: getartcraft.com/apps/craft-anything, or GitHub at github.com/storytold/craft-anything. The free ArtCraft Launcher can also install and update it for you.
2. Install Claude Code and sign in first, since that's the builder Craft Anything has tested.
3. Start in Simple mode with clean room switched on, and try it on something you own, like your own website.
4. Keep an eye on the approval cards, and only approve actions you understand.
5. Report bugs on GitHub or the ArtCraft Discord.

Good to know

Craft Anything is free and open source under your choice of the MIT or Apache 2.0 licence, written in Rust by the ArtCraft team. The ArtCraft name and logos aren't covered by that licence. It's an ambitious idea and still rough, but if you've ever wanted to understand how a piece of software works, or rebuild something of your own in a modern way, it's worth a look. Just stay on the right side of other people's work.