Download PhotoCraft for Mac: Install Guide

PhotoCraft for Mac is a single universal DMG that runs natively on both Apple silicon and Intel Macs with macOS 11 Big Sur or later. The app is signed with a Developer ID and notarized by Apple, so it opens like any other downloaded app. The table above links to the official GitHub release. PhotoCraft is early alpha software, so expect rough edges.

Which file should I download?

You want	Pick
The app (any Mac, Apple silicon or Intel)	photocraft-<ver>-macos-universal.dmg
The command-line tool for scripts, batch jobs or MCP	photocraft-cli-<ver>-macos-universal.zip

There is only one app download because the DMG is universal: it contains both the Apple silicon and the Intel build. You don't need the CLI zip to use the app.

Requirements. macOS 11 or later (the app's minimum system version is 11.0). PhotoCraft draws the canvas on the GPU with wgpu over Metal, and falls back to a CPU renderer if the GPU path fails.

Install from the DMG

1. Download the .dmg from the table above.
2. Optionally verify the checksum (see below).
3. Open the DMG. A Finder window named "PhotoCraft" appears with an Applications shortcut.
4. Drag PhotoCraft onto Applications, then eject the disk image.
5. Start PhotoCraft from Launchpad, Spotlight or the Applications folder. macOS asks you to confirm opening an app downloaded from the internet the first time. That prompt is normal.

Both the app and the DMG are notarized, and the notarization ticket is stapled to them, so Gatekeeper can check them even offline. To confirm it yourself after installing:

spctl -a -vvv /Applications/PhotoCraft.app

The output should say accepted and source=Notarized Developer ID. If macOS says the app "is damaged" or comes from an unidentified developer, the download is corrupted or did not come from the official release. Delete it and download again from GitHub.

Install with Homebrew

There is a PhotoCraft cask in Homebrew's main homebrew/cask repository, so no tap is needed:

brew install --cask photocraft

Be clear about what it is. Community members wrote the cask and Homebrew maintains it (homebrew-cask#292191, merged 7 October 2026). The PhotoCraft team does not publish it. It downloads the official DMG from GitHub releases, checks its SHA-256, and installs PhotoCraft.app into /Applications. It was at 0.5.0 on 9 October 2026 and is set to update automatically. The cask installs the app only, not photocraft-cli. A separate official tap (storytold/tap) has been proposed in #1060 but is not merged, and the Homebrew request #342 is still open.

Update with brew upgrade --cask photocraft. Remove it with brew uninstall --cask photocraft. Add --zap to also delete PhotoCraft's preferences plist.

Verify the download (SHA256)

Each release includes SHA256SUMS.txt. Put it in the same folder as the DMG, then run:

shasum -a 256 photocraft-0.5.0-macos-universal.dmg
grep macos-universal.dmg SHA256SUMS.txt

The two hashes must match. Or let shasum compare them for you:

grep macos-universal.dmg SHA256SUMS.txt | shasum -a 256 -c
# photocraft-0.5.0-macos-universal.dmg: OK

Install the command-line tool

photocraft-cli is a separate, universal download. The binary is signed with the same Developer ID and notarized. A bare binary can't carry a stapled ticket, so macOS checks the notarization online the first time it runs. Run it once while connected to the internet. Unpack and check it as the README shows:

ditto -x -k photocraft-cli-0.5.0-macos-universal.zip .
spctl --assess --type install -vv photocraft-cli-0.5.0-macos-universal/photocraft-cli
# ... accepted, source=Notarized Developer ID

Then move it somewhere on your PATH, for example:

sudo mv photocraft-cli-0.5.0-macos-universal/photocraft-cli /usr/local/bin/
photocraft-cli --version

photocraft-cli batch --help and photocraft-cli mcp are good places to start. Each subcommand explains itself with --help.

Updating

Download the newer DMG and drag the app into Applications again, replacing the old copy. Your settings are kept. PhotoCraft has no built-in update check as of v0.5.0 (it is planned in #220), so follow the release notes or use Homebrew.

Uninstalling

1. Quit PhotoCraft and drag /Applications/PhotoCraft.app to the Trash.
2. To remove your settings too, delete ~/Library/Application Support/Photocraft (preferences, presets, recovery autosaves) and ~/Library/Preferences/ai.storyteller.photocraft.plist.
3. If you installed the CLI, delete it from wherever you put it, such as /usr/local/bin/photocraft-cli.

Known issues on macOS

Old Macs that close straight away — #600, open. On a Late 2013 iMac (NVIDIA GTX 775M) running macOS 15 through OpenCore Legacy Patcher, PhotoCraft 0.5.0 exits with Wgpu(RequestDeviceError ... Device(Lost)), even with --safe-gpu. There is no workaround yet. If your Mac won't open PhotoCraft, run it from Terminal to see the error, and try the CPU renderer:

/Applications/PhotoCraft.app/Contents/MacOS/PhotoCraft
/Applications/PhotoCraft.app/Contents/MacOS/PhotoCraft --safe-gpu

Then add the output to the issue.

Oversaturated colours with two displays — #569, closed. With Monitor Profile set to auto, version 0.2.0 could use the built-in display's profile on an external monitor. v0.5.0 fixes it: the auto profile now follows each window's display, and Edit › Color Settings shows the profile in use. Update if you are on an older version.

No pen pressure — #79, open. On macOS the windowing library doesn't deliver tablet pressure yet, so strokes use full pressure. Fade, Direction and Rotation dynamics still work. Pressure does work in the web build and on Windows.

For other problems, see Troubleshooting.

Download only from GitHub

photocraft.im is an unofficial community guide. Every download link here goes to the official storytold/photocraft GitHub releases, which the project also links from the PhotoCraft page on getartcraft.com. Don't install PhotoCraft from re-hosted DMGs or "cracked" bundles. The official build is free and open source, and it is the only one signed and notarized by its developers.