DesignCraft

DesignCraft is a free, open source page layout app from the ArtCraft team, built to work like Adobe InDesign. You design spreads with parent pages, text frames, images and styles, then export print-ready PDFs. It runs on Mac, Windows, Linux and FreeBSD, and in a web browser.

What it can do

• Familiar layout tools. InDesign's tools, menus, panels and shortcuts: spreads and parent pages, text frames, styles and text wrap.
• Accurate typesetting. Line breaks are identical on screen and in the exported PDF.
• Print-ready output. Export PDF/X-4 for printers and PDF/A-2b for archiving, plus PNG.
• InDesign files. Import and export IDML, InDesign's exchange format, alongside a documented native format.
• Works with AI assistants. A command-line tool and MCP server let an assistant build and export layouts.

Part of the Crafting Apps

DesignCraft is one of the Crafting Apps, a family of free, open source creative and office apps from ArtCraft, each a clean-room rebuild of a well-known paid app written from scratch in Rust. The best known is PhotoCraft, a Photoshop-style photo editor. They share the same approach: familiar menus and shortcuts, fast native apps on every major system, a version that runs in your browser, and commands an AI assistant can drive.

DesignCraft, Scribus, Affinity or InDesign?

All four lay out pages for print and screen. The difference is how familiar they feel, how mature they are, and what they cost.

DesignCraftThis page

Best forInDesign users who want a free, familiar alternative to try

Copies InDesign's layout workflow and works with IDML and print PDFs. Still pre-alpha.

How mature

Pre-alpha (2026)

Open source

Yes (MIT or Apache 2.0)

Cost

Free

Scribus

Best forA free, proven desktop publishing app

The long-standing open source layout app, with solid print PDF output. Its interface feels dated next to InDesign's.

How mature

Very mature

Open source

Yes (GPL)

Cost

Free

AAffinity

Best forPolished layout tools at no cost

Canva's pro design app, including the former Affinity Publisher, now free to download. Not open source.

How mature

Mature

Open source

No

Cost

Free

InDesign

Best forProfessional publishing today

Adobe's industry standard for magazines and books. Closed source and paid monthly.

How mature

Industry standard

Open source

No

Cost

Monthly subscription

A quick way to choose: need dependable free print layout today? Use Scribus. Want a polished free app and don't mind closed source? Try Affinity. Publishing professionally? InDesign. Know InDesign and want a free, open source app that feels the same? Try DesignCraft.

How to get it

• Easiest: download it from the DesignCraft page on getartcraft.com, or from the latest release on GitHub.
• Every system: installers for Mac (Apple silicon and Intel), Windows (including ARM), Linux (AppImage, Flatpak, .deb, .rpm) and FreeBSD.
• In a browser: a web version runs the whole app in a modern browser, and you can host it yourself.
• For scripts and AI assistants: the designcraft-cli tool runs the same commands without opening the app and includes an MCP server.

Good to know

• Pre-alpha. DesignCraft is still pre-alpha. Its team estimates it's about 47% ready for real work, with deeper typography and full InDesign file support still to come. These are the team's own estimates; nobody has tested them independently yet.
• Changing very fast. New versions arrive every few days, so expect bugs and update often.
• Built with AI help. The ArtCraft team uses AI coding agents heavily, which is how so much appeared so quickly. Test it on your own files before you rely on it.
• No Adobe code. It's a clean-room rebuild, written from public file specifications and by observing how InDesign behaves, not from Adobe's code.
• Licence: MIT or Apache 2.0, your choice. Free to use, including at work. The ArtCraft and DesignCraft names and logos have their own, stricter terms.