DesignCraft

Page layout and publishing; an open-source, clean-room reimplementation of Adobe InDesign, rebuilt in pure Rust.

A fast, open-source, clean-room take on the Adobe InDesign workflow. It runs natively on macOS, Windows and Linux, and in the browser via WebAssembly.
By the ArtCraft team.

DesignCraft on getartcraft.com · ArtCraft · All Crafting Apps

_{Quarterly, Spring Issue: threaded three-column body text, a wrapped pull quote and parent-page folios, all set by DesignCraft's own paragraph composer.}

Note

ArtCraft is a community of artists from all walks of life. Digital, generative, music, games — if you make things, you're one of us. Come say hi on Discord.

The sample magazine · Why DesignCraft · Quick start · Web · Architecture · Downloads · The Crafting Apps · License and credits

The sample magazine

Every page below was laid out by DesignCraft from code (crates/engine/src/sample.rs) and exported by its own renderer. Try it yourself with File → New → Sample Document, or start the app with --sample.

Cover. A full-bleed graphic frame, display type and an italic deck.	Styles. Kicker rule, headline, deck, caption and justified two-column body.
Threading, columns and text wrap. One story flows through three columns and around the pull quote.	Swatches. Named colors and a CMYK process swatch, laid out as a palette.

Why DesignCraft

• Familiar. InDesign's layout, tools, menus, panels and shortcuts: spreads and parent pages, frames and threaded stories, the Control panel, paragraph and character styles, swatches, text wrap and more. If you know InDesign, you already know how to use it.

• Beautiful type. A Knuth–Plass paragraph composer (plus single-line), dictionary hyphenation (the public-domain Moby word list plus our own trained patterns), word, letter and glyph-scaling justification, keeps, optical margin alignment, columns, baseline grid, tabs, rules and shading. Line breaks are identical on screen and in PDF.

• Fast. Multithreaded SIMD rendering (vello_cpu), copy-on-write documents with O(1) undo snapshots, and cached composition.

• Open. A documented native format, IDML import and export, INDD import (through indd-utils), editable PowerPoint export, and PNG, PDF (PDF/X-4, PDF/A-2b) and EPUB export.

  No subscription, no licence server, no telemetry.

• Agent-native. Every menu item, tool gesture, panel control and dialog can be driven over a JSON control channel and an MCP server, so Claude and other agents can lay out and edit documents like a designer. See docs/control-protocol.md and docs/mcp.md.

• Everywhere. One Rust codebase for desktop and the web.

Quick start

The egui frontend requires Rust 1.95 or newer (including its shared craft-ui components).

cargo run --release -p designcraft                         # desktop app (start screen)
cargo run --release -p designcraft -- --sample             # open the sample magazine
cargo run --release -p designcraft -- --sample --control 7979   # + JSON control channel
cargo run --release -p designcraft-cli -- run --sample --all-pages out/       # headless: render every page to PNG
cargo run --release -p designcraft-cli -- commands         # list every command
cargo run --release -p designcraft-cli -- script --help    # command script syntax (docs/agents.md)
cargo xtask ci                                             # fmt, clippy, tests, assets, layering, wasm

Japanese text (UI and documents) uses fonts from storytold/craft-fonts, an optional build input (font files are never committed here; see the public craft-fonts integration guide for build instructions and craftrules standards/fonts.md for the shared standard):

git clone https://github.com/storytold/craft-fonts ../craft-fonts
CRAFT_FONTS_DIR="$PWD/../craft-fonts" cargo run --release -p designcraft   # absolute path

Without it, Japanese falls back to the system's fonts (none on the web). Release builds always include it.

To drive a running app, send JSON lines to 127.0.0.1:7979. The protocol is described in docs/control-protocol.md.

Logs

The desktop app writes its log records to standard error and to logs/designcraft.log in the settings directory, beside ui.json and prefs.json (Linux ~/.config/designcraft/logs/, or $XDG_CONFIG_HOME/designcraft/logs/; macOS ~/Library/Application Support/DesignCraft/logs/; Windows %APPDATA%\DesignCraft\logs\). A start launched from a desktop menu or the Dock has no terminal, so this file is what to attach to a bug report: the graphics adapters found and the one drawing, why the app stopped (also when its window never opened), the crash guard's panic report and a failed crash-recovery save land there. Each launch moves the previous log to designcraft.1.log (and that one to designcraft.2.log), so the log of a run that crashed survives the next start. The file stops growing at 16 MiB. --version writes no file.

Variable	Effect
RUST_LOG	Log levels for standard error and the log file. Default: info for DesignCraft's own crates, warn for everything else. env_logger-style directives replace that, e.g. RUST_LOG=debug, RUST_LOG=warn,designcraft_render=trace or RUST_LOG=info,wgpu_core=warn; a directive ending in * covers every target starting with it (designcraft*=debug).
WGPU_BACKEND	The graphics backend that composites the window: dx12, vulkan, gl or metal (a comma-separated list lets wgpu choose among them). Default: DirectX 12 on Windows, Vulkan on Linux, Metal on macOS, with OpenGL as the fallback. Setting it also turns off the start-up fallback described below.
WGPU_POWER_PREF	The kind of GPU that draws the window: low (integrated), high (discrete) or none (the system's order). Default: the GPU that drives the primary display, then low on Windows and macOS and none elsewhere.
WGPU_ADAPTER_NAME	The graphics adapter by (part of) its name, any case (nvidia, radv, intel); the log lists the names.
WGPU_VALIDATION_INDIRECT_CALL	1 turns wgpu's check of indirect draw arguments back on. DesignCraft draws nothing indirectly and turns it off: the compute shader it needs failed to compile on an Intel Mac and lost the graphics device (#334).

The logger is apps/designcraft/src/logging.rs; the web build logs to the browser console instead.

Portable mode

A file named portable.txt next to the executable (on macOS, next to DesignCraft.app) makes the install portable: settings, logs and crash recovery are kept in a DesignCraftData folder beside it instead of the per-user folders above. The Windows portable zip ships with one; delete it to go back to %APPDATA%\DesignCraft. If DesignCraftData cannot be written (a copy unzipped into Program Files), the per-user folders are used instead and the log and the status bar say so. DESIGNCRAFT_CONFIG_DIR still takes precedence. The code is apps/designcraft/src/profile.rs.

Graphics backend and processor

The canvas is rendered on the CPU; the GPU only composites the interface, through wgpu, so any adapter that can show the window will do. The code is apps/designcraft/src/gpu.rs (the adapter) and apps/designcraft/src/gpu/backend.rs (the backend).

• Backend. A graphics driver that faults takes the process down before any Rust code can catch it, so each start creates its wgpu instance with one backend, chosen before the window exists: on Windows DirectX 12, then OpenGL, then Vulkan, each on its own (creating an OpenGL instance crashed inside AMD's atio6axx.dll, #167, and creating a Vulkan instance loads every installed Vulkan driver, of which a faulty one can crash the app); on Linux Vulkan with OpenGL beside it, then OpenGL alone; on macOS Metal. Seen in the wild: on an AMD hybrid-graphics laptop (a Radeon RX 6800M beside an integrated Radeon) the AMD Vulkan driver faulted at the first present, which is why DirectX 12 is the Windows default.
• A start that never showed a frame is remembered: gpu.json in the settings directory records the backend being tried until the first frame has been presented. A record left behind means that backend crashed (or the app was killed) at start-up, so the next start tries the next backend and says so in the status bar. The list starts over once every backend has failed, or with a new DesignCraft version; delete the file or set WGPU_BACKEND to start afresh.
• Adapter. Among the adapters of those backends, the app picks the one that draws the window (eframe's native_adapter_selector): adapters that report they can't present to the window are never tried; then the one WGPU_ADAPTER_NAME names; hardware before software (llvmpipe, WARP); the native backends before OpenGL; the GPU that drives a display, and among those the one that drives the primary display; then the power preference; then a GPU's DirectX 12 adapter before its Vulkan one. A GPU without a monitor is the wrong one even when it can present: Windows has to copy every frame to the GPU that shows it, and an integrated GPU's driver reset under that, losing the graphics device or blanking every monitor for minutes. Windows says which GPU drives which display (EnumDisplayDevices), Linux through /sys/class/drm (a built-in eDP, LVDS or DSI panel counts as the primary display); on macOS, or when nothing matches, the power preference decides: power saving on Windows and macOS, the system's order elsewhere (Mesa puts the GPU the desktop runs on first, and a Wayland compositor may refuse frames from another GPU). WGPU_POWER_PREF replaces this with the user's choice of kind.
• If the window fails on its adapter while starting up (an error from wgpu, such as a lost device, or a panic inside wgpu, egui-wgpu or naga during the first frames), the app starts again without that adapter and tries the next one, telling which in the status bar; the run that failed keeps its log as designcraft.1.log. When no adapter of the start's backends is left, it starts again with the next backend. Software renderers (WARP, llvmpipe) come last: they are passed over while another backend is left to try, and allowed once no graphics processor could show the window. On Unix the new app replaces the process (an AppImage stays mounted); on Windows it starts beside it. Adapters are told apart by backend and PCI ids, or by name where the backend reports no ids (Metal lists every GPU of a dual-GPU Mac as 0000:0000). What was left out travels in the restarted app's --gpu-skip= argument (Vulkan:1002:164e, Metal:Intel Iris Pro Graphics, or a whole backend such as Dx12), one more on each restart, so the restarts end. When nothing is left, the app logs why and exits with an error. Documents recovered after a crash stay in the recovery folder until they are saved or closed, so a restart never loses them.
• If the window's first frame is late (20 seconds after the app was created and the files named at the start opened), the log and the status bar say so. The adapter counts as hanging, and the app starts again without it, only when the UI thread has been stuck in the graphics stack, outside DesignCraft's own code, for 60 seconds while the window wasn't known to be minimized, covered or in the background. A large document composing on a slow machine never counts.
• The log lists the GPUs that drive a display (display GPUs (PCI vendor:device): 10de:2204 (primary)), every adapter with whether it drives a display, the one drawn on and why (drawing on NVIDIA GeForce RTX 3090 (Dx12, DiscreteGpu): it drives the primary display), and the driver version. That is the first thing to look for in a report of a window that stays black or never opens.
• On Linux with Mesa, MESA_VK_DEVICE_SELECT=10de:2f04! (vendor:device as vulkaninfo --summary or lspci -nn show it) leaves only that GPU to Vulkan, and DRI_PRIME=1 picks the other GPU.

Web

cd apps/designcraft-web && trunk build --release          # → dist/web (serve it with any static server)
cd apps/designcraft-web && trunk serve --release          # http://127.0.0.1:8767

You need trunk and the wasm32-unknown-unknown target. The same app runs through eframe's web runner on WebGPU, falling back to WebGL2 (?webgl forces it; ?sample opens the sample magazine). Open and Place use the browser's file picker, and dropping files works too. Save and Export download the file. The web build has no control channel.

Architecture

DesignCraft is an engine-first Cargo workspace with enforced layering (cargo xtask layers). The egui frontend is a separate crate, so the UI can be swapped without touching the engine.

Layer	Crates
L0	geom (paths, units & measurement parsing, corner options) · color (CMYK/RGB/Lab, swatches, tints, gradients)
L1	doc (spreads, pages, parents, layers, frames, stories, styles) · fonts (font DB, shaping, outlines)
L2	compose (the text engine)
L3	render (vello_cpu)
L4	tools (pointer events → commands + overlays)
L5	engine (session, history, command registry)
L6	ui-egui (InDesign-style UI, control channel)
L7	apps/designcraft, apps/designcraft-cli, apps/designcraft-web

• Status and milestones: ROADMAP.md (stage: pre-alpha); how close to InDesign: docs/target-app-parity.md; known gaps: docs/gaps.md
• Contributor and agent rules (clean-room, asset policy, quality gates): AGENTS.md
• Bundled assets: every one is listed with its licence in ASSETS.md
• App icon and colour: a calico cat in a polka-dot scarf on DesignCraft green #7bb51c; see assets/app-icon/

Downloads

New to DesignCraft? Download it from the DesignCraft page on getartcraft.com. That's the easiest way to install it.

Want a specific build or format? On GitHub, the latest release has every build listed below, and all releases has earlier versions and their notes. <ver> in the file names is the version number, and SHA256SUMS.txt lists a checksum for every file.

Windows

Build	Installer	Portable
x64 (64-bit Intel/AMD)	designcraft-<ver>-windows-x64.msi	designcraft-<ver>-windows-x64-portable.zip
arm64 (Snapdragon and other ARM PCs)	designcraft-<ver>-windows-arm64.msi	designcraft-<ver>-windows-arm64-portable.zip
x86 (32-bit)	designcraft-<ver>-windows-x86.msi	designcraft-<ver>-windows-x86-portable.zip

Installers and executables are code-signed.

macOS

Build	File	Notes
App, universal (Apple silicon + Intel)	designcraft-<ver>-macos-universal.dmg	Signed and notarized
Command-line tool, universal	designcraft-cli-<ver>-macos-universal.zip	Signed and notarized

Linux

Format	x86_64	aarch64 (ARM64)	Notes
AppImage	designcraft-<ver>-linux-x86_64.AppImage	designcraft-<ver>-linux-aarch64.AppImage	Runs anywhere; updates itself with AppImageUpdate (.zsync files)
Flatpak	designcraft-<ver>-linux-x86_64.flatpak	designcraft-<ver>-linux-aarch64.flatpak	Sandboxed; flatpak install --user <file>
Debian/Ubuntu	designcraft-<ver>-linux-x86_64.deb	designcraft-<ver>-linux-aarch64.deb
Fedora/RHEL/openSUSE	designcraft-<ver>-linux-x86_64.rpm	designcraft-<ver>-linux-aarch64.rpm
Arch Linux/Manjaro	designcraft-<ver>-linux-x86_64.pkg.tar.zst	designcraft-<ver>-linux-aarch64.pkg.tar.zst	sudo pacman -U <file>; installs as ai.storyteller.designcraft, replacing an AUR package
Tarball	designcraft-<ver>-linux-x86_64.tar.gz	designcraft-<ver>-linux-aarch64.tar.gz	Unpack anywhere

RISC-V (riscv64): designcraft-<ver>-linux-riscv64.tar.gz only, cross-compiled; needs glibc 2.39+ (Ubuntu 24.04 or newer).

Community packages

These packages are maintained by community members, not by the DesignCraft team.

On Gentoo, the ::snakebyte overlay packages the Linux release as media-gfx/designcraft-bin (prebuilt) and media-gfx/designcraft (built from source):

eselect repository add snakebyte git https://github.com/switch87/snakebyte-overlay.git
emaint sync -r snakebyte
echo 'media-gfx/designcraft-bin ~amd64' >> /etc/portage/package.accept_keywords/designcraft
emerge --ask media-gfx/designcraft-bin

FreeBSD

Build	File
x86_64	designcraft-<ver>-freebsd-x86_64.tar.gz

Web (WebAssembly)

Build	File	Notes
Static site	designcraft-web-<ver>.zip	Runs in a modern browser; host it on any static server

The Crafting Apps

DesignCraft is one of the Crafting Apps: free, open-source creative tools from the ArtCraft team, each written from scratch in Rust and each able to stand on its own.

	App	What it's for	Code	Learn more
	PhotoCraft	Image editing: layers, masks, type and real PSD files	GitHub	Website
	VectorCraft	Vector illustration	GitHub	Website
	FilmCraft	Video editing, color and sound	GitHub	Website
	LightCraft	Photo library and raw development	GitHub	Website
	PdfCraft	Reading, organizing and protecting PDFs	GitHub	Website
	EffectCraft	Motion graphics and visual effects	GitHub	Website
	DesignCraft	Page layout and publishing · you are here	GitHub	Website

And ArtCraft itself, our AI image and video studio for artists who want real control.

Come make things with us

Our Discord is where artists of every kind hang out: people who paint, shoot, draw, cut film, set type, and people still figuring out what they like to make. Share what you're working on, ask for help, tell us what's broken, or tell us what you wish these tools could do. Whatever your medium and however long you've been at it, you're welcome here.

discord.gg/artcraft · getartcraft.com · The Crafting Apps · DesignCraft

License and credits

DesignCraft is dual-licensed under MIT or Apache-2.0, at your option. Copyright (c) 2026 ArtCraft Team and the DesignCraft contributors. Required notices are in NOTICE.

Bundled fonts, icons, images and other assets keep their own open licenses; each one is listed with its author, source and license in ASSETS.md.

The bundled fonts, and the craft-fonts fonts embedded by release builds, are under the SIL Open Font License; all UI icons are drawn in code and are original.

The ArtCraft name, wordmark and logos in docs/brand/ are trademarks of the ArtCraft Team and are not covered by this license. They may be used only unmodified, and only as part of this repository and DesignCraft, under docs/brand/LICENSE-brand.txt. Forks and modified versions must remove them.

_{Adobe, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, Lightroom, Acrobat, After Effects and InDesign are trademarks or registered trademarks of Adobe Inc. in the United States and/or other countries. DesignCraft is an independent, open-source project and is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Adobe Inc.; these names are used only to describe the workflows it is compatible with.}

_{Made by the ArtCraft team and community.}