GIMP for photo retouch and general raster. Krita for painting and illustration. Pick one as the daily driver.

Photopea is not open source. This site only lists OSS/self-host paths.

Can I deploy this on Railway?

No. The editor stays on the workstation. Railway is useful for the files you share, not for GIMP itself.

Easy

GIMP / Krita

Raster graphics you run locally. GIMP is GPL; Krita is GPL-3.0 — Adobe Photoshop without the seat. Photopea is not open source, so it is not this path.

The problem

Adobe Photoshop is a Creative Cloud seat. You wanted pixels on a machine you control. GIMP is the GNU Image Manipulation Program (GPL, gimp.org). Krita is GPL-3.0 if the job is painting and illustration more than photo retouch. This is a workstation install, not a Railway web app. Photopea is a hosted editor — skip it when you want OSS. Figma-shaped product design stays on /replace/figma.

Replaces

Adobe Photoshop

Replace Adobe Photoshop See all best open-source creative tools

Estimated SaaS saved

$1,200

per year, small team, before lock-in

Start on Railway

Penpot if this is product design (Figma), not raster pixels

Sponsor this stack Tip jar

This is a workstation install, not a hosted app. Start on Railway only if you also want a file share — that stack is /stacks/files-you-own. No one-click desktop template in this repo.

The stack

GIMP
GPL raster image editor (GNU Image Manipulation Program)
Catalog entry →
Krita
GPL-3.0 digital painting if the job is illustration, not photo retouch
Catalog entry →

Cost table

You stop paying	Typical / year	Self-host instead
Adobe Photoshop (Creative Cloud, one seat)	$1,200	GIMP or Krita on the workstation

Agent setup prompt

Replace Adobe Photoshop with GIMP (preferred for photo/raster) or Krita (painting).

- Install on the workstation from the official site. Open one PSD or export you still have. Do not claim every Photoshop plugin or generative-fill feature.
- Photopea is not open source — do not install it and call it the OSS path.
- Write AGENT_PROMPT.md. Product design stays on /stacks/penpot-design.

Also as markdown: /stacks/gimp-photo.md

FAQ

GIMP or Krita?: GIMP for photo retouch and general raster. Krita for painting and illustration. Pick one as the daily driver.
Why not Photopea?: Photopea is not open source. This site only lists OSS/self-host paths.
Can I deploy this on Railway?: No. The editor stays on the workstation. Railway is useful for the files you share, not for GIMP itself.