Patchy tackles the part of image editing where PSD files usually break

A layered Photoshop file is more than a picture. It can carry editable type, masks, vectors, adjustment layers and embedded objects that a team expects to revise later. Many inexpensive editors can open a flattened preview; far fewer can return a document another designer can still work with. Seth Robinson's Patchy takes that compatibility problem as its main brief. The free, MIT-licensed editor runs on Windows, macOS, Linux and in a browser, with an interface designed to feel familiar to people who have used Photoshop.

Editing the source, not just the pixels

Patchy supports PSD and PSB documents with layer groups, masks, blend modes, clipping and layer styles. Its feature list includes editable text and vectors, Smart Objects and Smart Filters, selections, healing and cloning tools, and a range of painting controls. It also covers less universal workflows such as indexed palettes, seamless textures, sprite sheets and animated GIFs. The browser version uses WebAssembly; desktop releases have more memory and add platform-specific features such as scanner or camera import and command-line automation. A designer can try the editor without uploading an image to a hosted processing service, according to the project.

The hard question is not whether a feature name appears in a menu, but whether a complicated file remains editable after a round trip. Patchy's public compatibility report gives a useful, bounded answer. In a test dated August 7, 2026, Photoshop reopened all 64 files saved by Patchy and all 312 text objects in that corpus remained editable. The report also gives a 98.83% perceptual render match across 63 measured files. Those are the project's own test results for a specified corpus and commit, not a claim that arbitrary PSDs will be perfect. The methodology and per-file limitations are published for readers who need to judge the result.

How far the release has gone

Version 1.05 was released on October 4, 2026, shortly before this listing. The repository provides signed or notarized desktop packages, a Linux Flatpak route, checksums and a browser build. The recent release notes cover small workflow repairs as well as compatibility work: opening an image from the clipboard, changing selected text or shape color from a palette swatch, and fixes for Linux drag behavior. That cadence points to a maintained tool rather than a static concept page. Public source, issues and release history make its development inspectable, though they are not substitutes for a verified active-user or revenue figure. No such adoption or commercial result is established by the sources reviewed.

Robinson is also candid about boundaries. Editing is currently 8-bit RGB or RGBA; CMYK, Lab and higher-bit-depth workflows are outside the supported editing model. There is no GPU acceleration, and some unsupported Smart Filters may remain preview-locked. A print production team with color-critical files should test its own documents before switching tools. A web designer passing layered assets between collaborators may care much more about the measured PSD text preservation than about a feature Patchy does not claim to offer.

Why this editor is worth watching

Patchy is not another 'remove background with AI' shortcut. Its distinctive work is the slower engineering of document fidelity: preserving structure so a file remains useful after it changes hands. It also exposes JavaScript scripting, batch operations and local MCP control for automated workflows, but the image editor remains usable without an agent. That combination makes it relevant to people building visual projects with AI tools: an assistant may generate or modify an asset, yet a human designer still needs layers, type and paths that survive the next revision. The public tests give a starting point for trust, and the limitations give a clear reason to run a real-file trial before relying on it for client work.

Sources: Patchy repository, releases and feature notes; PSD compatibility methodology.

Project page screenshot captured by CoderHype on October 6, 2026 for this independent editorial listing.