PhotoSuite on Linux: the free Photoshop-style editor
Yes, PhotoSuite runs on Linux. It is a free, open-source desktop editor that copies the classic Photoshop CS6 interface and uses PSD as its native format, with official .deb and .rpm packages for x86_64. It is also brand new: public since Sep 21, 2026, at version 0.9.15, and mostly built by one developer. Promising for Photoshop users; not yet proven for work that cannot fail.
PhotoSuite Linux support at a glance
What works on which Linux systems, checked against the project’s build workflow, source code and issue tracker on Oct 4, 2026.
| Linux system | Status | Details |
|---|---|---|
| Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS | Yes: Official .deb | An x86_64 .deb is built for every release on Ubuntu 24.04 by the project’s GitHub Actions workflow. |
| Fedora and other RPM distros | Yes: Official .rpm | An x86_64 .rpm ships with each release. The project does not list which RPM distributions it tests, so openSUSE users may need to check dependencies. |
| NVIDIA proprietary driver | Yes: Fixed in 0.9.14 | A startup crash on Wayland (issue 37) is now worked around automatically, only when the NVIDIA driver is loaded. AMD, Intel and nouveau are unaffected. |
| Alt+click shortcuts | Partly: Open bug | Alt+click (for example, the eyedropper) was reported not working on Linux Mint 22.3 (issue 62). Many Linux desktops reserve Alt+drag for moving windows. |
| Flatpak, AppImage, Arch, NixOS | No: Not yet | No official packages. AppImage (issue 64) and NixOS (issue 57) have been requested. |
| Immutable distros (Bazzite, Silverblue) | Unknown: No easy route | Without a Flatpak or AppImage, the usual route is a Distrobox container running Ubuntu or Fedora. That is our suggestion, not something we or the project have tested. |
| ARM Linux (Raspberry Pi, Asahi) | No: Not available | Linux builds are x86_64 only. ARM is offered only for macOS. |
Last verified Oct 4, 2026 against PhotoSuite 0.9.15.
Latest PhotoSuite news
No news posts yet. PhotoSuite is releasing quickly; we post here when a release changes Linux support.
How to install PhotoSuite on Linux
- Download from the official source only: the GitHub Releases page of eolix/photosuite, or photosuite.app. Pick the
.debfor Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint or Pop!_OS, or the.rpmfor Fedora. - Ubuntu, Debian, Linux Mint, Pop!_OS: open a terminal in your Downloads folder and run
sudo apt install ./followed by the file name. Usingaptrather thandpkg -iinstalls the libraries it depends on, such as WebKitGTK. - Fedora: run
sudo dnf install ./followed by the file name. - Start it from your application menu. The packages register PhotoSuite for PSD and PSB files, so you can also open them by double-clicking.
- Updating: PhotoSuite has no built-in updater and no package repository yet. Install each new package from the Releases page the same way; it replaces the old version.
These are the standard package-manager commands for local packages. File names change with every release, which is why we do not print a fixed one.
What PhotoSuite does, according to the project
PhotoSuite’s README says it aims for fidelity, not reinterpretation: “If you know Photoshop ~CS6, you already know PhotoSuite.” The developer also says what it is not: a mega-app like GIMP or Affinity, but “a legal way to edit PSDs for free”. The project lists:
- Layers and styles: raster and vector layers, groups, clipping and layer masks, all ten classic layer styles (Drop Shadow to Stroke), Smart Objects with non-destructive Smart Filters, and Layer Comps.
- Tools: Marquee, Lasso, Magic Wand, Crop, Brush, Clone Stamp, Healing Brush, Gradient, Dodge/Burn, Pen, Type and Shapes, plus a History palette with snapshots.
- Filters: the classic Filter Gallery, Liquify, Lens Correction using the Lensfun database, and Camera RAW development.
- Automation: playback of Photoshop Actions (
.atn), a JavaScript/JSX scripting engine, and sandboxed plugins. - Formats: PSD and PSB natively, plus Illustrator (.ai), Adobe XD, Sketch, Figma (.fig), GIMP (.xcf), SVG, PDF, EPS, camera RAW and the common image formats. Affinity files are listed as a work in progress.
It is built with Tauri 2: the editor runs on HTML5, WebAssembly and WebGL inside the system’s web view, with a small Rust program for files, menus and printing. On Linux that web view is WebKitGTK. The project says everything stays on your machine, with no telemetry or cloud requirement. We list these as the developer’s claims; we have not tested PSD round-trips ourselves.
PhotoSuite compared with GIMP, Krita and Photopea
| Editor | Feels like Photoshop? | PSD files | Maturity | License | On Linux |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| PhotoSuite | Copies the classic Photoshop CS6 layout, shortcuts and dialogs | PSD is its native format (project’s claim, not yet independently verified) | v0.9.15, public since September 2026, one main developer | Free, open source (GPL-3.0) | Official .deb and .rpm (x86_64) |
| GIMP 3.2 | Its own interface; takes adjustment if you come from Photoshop | Opens PSD; 3.2 broadened compatibility | Decades of development, large community | Free, open source (GPL) | Distro repos and Flathub |
| Krita | Built for painting and illustration | Opens and saves PSD | Mature, backed by the KDE community | Free, open source (GPL) | AppImage, Flatpak, distro repos |
| Photopea | Photoshop-style interface in a browser | Opens and saves PSD | Mature web app | Free with ads; not open source | Any modern browser |
Our view: PhotoSuite is the most promising native option for Photoshop users on Linux, and it is worth installing now to try with your own PSD files. Until it has a longer track record, keep GIMP or Photopea as a fallback for anything with a deadline. This is an editorial judgment from the project’s code, releases and issue tracker, not from hands-on benchmarks. Sources: GIMP 3.2, Krita, Photopea. For every route to Adobe’s own app, see Photoshop on Linux.
Who makes PhotoSuite, and can you trust it?
PhotoSuite is developed by the GitHub user eolix, who wrote all but one of its first 62 commits. The public repository started on Sep 21, 2026 with an initial commit of about 1,000 files, so it was developed privately before being published. Four releases followed in five days, from 0.9.12 on Sep 26, 2026 to 0.9.15 on Sep 30, 2026. Its macOS builds are signed with an Apple Developer ID, according to its build configuration.
The README names Photopea, Ivan Kutskir’s browser-based editor, as its main inspiration, and PhotoSuite bundles several of his MIT-licensed libraries (UPNG.js, UTIF.js, UZIP.js, Typr.js, UTEX.js). Photopea itself is not open source. We read PhotoSuite’s source tree on Oct 4, 2026: the editor code is readable, documented, modular JavaScript, and the Photopea-related code we found is those MIT libraries. That is a reading of the code, not a legal audit. Every bundled library is listed with its license in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md, and the one licensing gap raised so far, missing font attributions, was fixed (issue 46).
Press coverage so far: Linuxiac and AlternativeTo list it as a free Photoshop-like editor with native PSD support.
Several other GitHub repositories are also called “photosuite”. Most are forks, and at least one publishes its own builds with a higher version number (0.10.0) than the official release. Forks are not the official project, and a package you install runs with your permissions. Check that the Releases page you use is under eolix.
Best Linux distros for PhotoSuite
PhotoSuite ships .deb and .rpm packages, so the easiest systems are the Ubuntu family and Fedora. These four are the most popular from those families in our live ranking.
- 1
Ubuntu26.04.1
Broad support, from your laptop to your server.
DebianGNOMEStableBeginner4 GB+ RAM
Long-term support release options
#1 overallProfile - 2
Linux Mint22.3
A familiar desktop. A comfortable place to start.
Ubuntu LTSCinnamon, MATE, XfceStableBeginner4 GB+ RAM
Familiar desktop layout with useful defaults
PhotoSuite on Linux: common questions
Does PhotoSuite work on Linux?
Yes. PhotoSuite publishes official x86_64 .deb and .rpm packages for Linux with every release, alongside Windows and macOS builds. The latest version is 0.9.15 (Sep 30, 2026). There is no Flatpak, AppImage or ARM Linux build yet.
Is PhotoSuite free?
Yes. PhotoSuite is free and open source under the GPL-3.0 license, works offline, and its README says it has zero telemetry and no cloud requirement.
Is PhotoSuite a good Photoshop alternative?
It is the closest open-source match to Photoshop’s interface on Linux, and it treats PSD as its native format. It is also very new (public since September 2026, version 0.9) and mostly built by one developer, so keep GIMP or Photopea available for work with deadlines until it matures.
Can PhotoSuite open and save PSD files?
The project says PSD and PSB are its native formats and that files round-trip with layers, masks, effects, smart filters and text intact. That is the developer’s claim; we have not tested it. A 32-bit PSD corruption bug was fixed in version 0.9.15, so test your own files before relying on it.
How do I install PhotoSuite on Ubuntu or Linux Mint?
Download the .deb file from the official GitHub Releases page, then open a terminal in the download folder and run sudo apt install ./ followed by the file name. APT installs the libraries it needs, such as WebKitGTK.
How do I install PhotoSuite on Fedora?
Download the .rpm file from the official GitHub Releases page, then run sudo dnf install ./ followed by the file name in the download folder.
Is PhotoSuite made by Adobe or by Photopea?
No. It is an independent project by the GitHub user eolix and says it is not affiliated with or endorsed by Adobe. It names Photopea as its main inspiration and bundles several MIT-licensed libraries by Photopea’s author, but it is not a Photopea product.
Is PhotoSuite safe to download?
Download it only from the official GitHub Releases page (github.com/eolix/photosuite) or photosuite.app. Other GitHub repositories with the same name are forks, and at least one publishes its own builds with a higher version number than the official release.
Does PhotoSuite work with NVIDIA on Linux?
Yes, since version 0.9.14. The app detects the proprietary NVIDIA driver and sets the WEBKIT_DISABLE_DMABUF_RENDERER workaround automatically, which fixed a crash on Wayland. If you set the variable yourself, your value wins.
How we researched this page
- What we did. On Oct 4, 2026 we read PhotoSuite’s repository directly: the README, license, commit history, build workflow, Tauri configuration, Linux startup code and the full issue tracker. We compared it with the release information of GIMP, Krita and Photopea. Every claim links its source.
- What we did not do. We have not run PhotoSuite or tested its PSD compatibility, and we did not audit its code for security. Feature descriptions are the developer’s claims and are labelled that way.
- How fresh it is. PhotoSuite released four versions in its first week. The version and date in the facts above show what this page was checked against.
- Independence. distro.watch has no relationship with PhotoSuite, Adobe or Photopea, and this page has no affiliate links. See our editorial standards.
Using PhotoSuite on Linux? Send your distribution, desktop, graphics card and how your PSD files behaved, or a correction, to contact@distro.watch.
What changed on this page
- Page published for PhotoSuite 0.9.15: Linux packages and status, install steps, open Linux issues, how it compares with GIMP, Krita and Photopea, and a download-safety warning.
Sources
- GitHub: eolix/photosuite (README, code and history)
- GitHub: PhotoSuite releases
- GitHub: PhotoSuite issue tracker (issues 37, 46, 57, 62, 64)
- GitHub: PhotoSuite build workflow (Linux .deb and .rpm)
- GitHub: PhotoSuite NVIDIA workaround (main.rs)
- GitHub: PhotoSuite license (GPL-3.0) and third-party notices
- PhotoSuite: official website
