Install the build that matches your operating system from the upstream release, launch it, and learn four things before touching your own work: where panels dock, how layers stack, what the history keeps and how saving a PSD differs from exporting a flat file. This walkthrough covers Linux, Windows, macOS and FreeBSD, plus the browser build.
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Written against the build verified on 2026-10-13.
AppImage is the quickest: one file, no installation, no root. Choose deb or rpm if you want the update cycle handled by your package manager, or flatpak if Flathub is configured.
Both come from the same release tag. Keeping them in one directory lets you verify the file you are about to run.
Run the SHA256SUMS check against the release file. A mismatch means the download is not what upstream published.
chmod +x on the AppImage, then run it. In a container without FUSE, extract and run instead of mounting.
| Platform | Build | What to expect on first launch |
|---|---|---|
| Windows x64 or arm64 | MSI installer or portable zip | SmartScreen warns on a fresh publisher. Confirm the checksum, then choose More info and Run. |
| macOS universal | DMG | Gatekeeper quarantines an unnotarised build. Right-click and Open once, or clear the quarantine attribute. |
| FreeBSD x86_64 | tar.gz | You are running the same engine on a less-tested platform; expect to supply your own GPU driver and libraries. |
| Browser | WebAssembly archive you serve | Nothing uploads. Treat the tab as the editor, not as a cloud service. |
The workspace is a docked layout rather than one canvas with a toolbar. Panels can be moved, grouped and closed, and the arrangement you leave is the arrangement that returns next session — the current release reworked docking onto a shared model while keeping panel controls and saved workspaces intact. Three panels carry most of the work: the layers panel on the right, where stacking order and masks live; the tool column, which holds brush, move, transform, text and vector tools; and the file info panel, which in recent builds also surfaces camera data read from EXIF and XMP.
Use Open rather than drag-and-drop the first time, so you can see which format the editor decided it is. A layered PSD opens with structure; a flat JPEG opens as one background layer.
Keep the original pixel layer intact. Every subsequent change belongs above it.
Adjustment layers sit above the stack and affect what is beneath them, so exposure and colour decisions stay reversible.
A layer mask hides without deleting. If the composite is wrong you fix the mask; you do not lose the layer.
Save as PSD or the native project format to keep layers. Export a flat PNG or JPEG for delivery. These are two operations and the second one should never be your only copy.
A good first outcome looks like this: the file reopens with every layer still present, the adjustment layer can be switched off and the image returns to its original state, and the exported flat file matches what the canvas showed at full resolution. If any of those fail, note the exact build tag rather than assuming your technique is wrong — this is an alpha project and layer handling is one of the areas that still moves.
| Symptom | Likely cause | What to do |
|---|---|---|
| Canvas is black or flickers | GPU path selected a driver that does not support the required feature set | Start with the software renderer, then update the driver and retry |
| PSD opens without layers | The file uses a feature the reader has not implemented yet | Re-open the original; report the file; keep working from the source rather than a re-exported copy |
| AppImage will not start | FUSE missing on the host | Extract and run, or install the deb or rpm build |
| Everything is slow at high zoom | Large canvas on an integrated GPU | Work at a reduced preview zoom and check the full-res export before shipping |
Once the panels feel ordinary, the two things that change how fast you work are keyboard shortcuts and the batch path. Both are covered separately here: the PSD workflow guide for layered files, and the CLI and MCP guide for running the same edits over a directory instead of by hand.
Take the AppImage unless your distribution already manages your applications. It is one file, needs no root and leaves nothing behind, which makes it the fastest way to find out whether the editor suits your machine before you commit to it.
You can start without one, but the experience differs. The editor selects a rendering back end per platform, so a machine without a modern driver falls back and large canvases feel slower. Judge the tool on hardware close to what you will actually use.
No. Both the desktop builds and the WebAssembly build process locally, and there is no account or licence key anywhere in the workflow. The only network traffic worth mentioning is whatever you choose to do after the editor is open.
Expectations rather than crashes. People open a complex layered file, find one effect interpreted approximately and conclude the whole editor is unusable. Check structure first, then judge individual effects against a flattened reference.
The source bar names the release tag and the verification date. Panels in an alpha move, so a guide that does not state its version is a guide you should distrust rather than follow.
