Tom's Hardware reports that Brandon Thomas, the developer behind the open-source ArtCraft suite of Adobe alternatives, has released GridCraft, DeckCraft, and WordCraft as free replacements for Excel, PowerPoint, and Word. The apps are available on GitHub and were built with Claude, according to Thomas.
Thomas has positioned the releases as a response to subscription-based software from companies such as Microsoft and Adobe. The article notes that ArtCraft's cross-platform compatibility is a key selling point: the apps run on macOS, Windows, and Linux with the same user experience, avoiding the compatibility layers Linux users often need for Adobe tools. The online-only Google Docs suite is free, but it does not offer the same ownership as downloadable open-source software.
Thomas has also pushed back against criticism that the project is 'vibecoded' or low-quality, saying he knows how to code. Tom's Hardware cautions that most of these apps are still far from matching the commercial tools they aim to replace. The article adds that ArtCraft's Discord community is already discussing a possible CADcraft alternative to Autodesk, though no such release has been announced.