PeerBrush Source
Free & open source / GPL v3 / In active development

PeerBrush

Image editing with layers, masks and connected AI agents.

Choose a download Watch the trailer

Windows, Linux & macOS · Native development builds

Free to download and useGPL v3 license
The real PeerBrush window editing a mountain lake at golden hour. Layers for Sunlight, Lake reflection, Atmosphere, Sun glow, Sky and Photo; the status bar shows MCP connected and the AI updating the shared canvas.
Real application window during the trailer session · AI layers arriving over MCP while a brush stroke is in progress
VIDEO

Trailer

One minute: a sky replacement and golden-hour edit, with an AI agent and a manual operator working in the same document.

A 63-second editing demo with narration. Manual input is scripted, as disclosed in the video.

Download the trailer
SHARED DOCUMENT

You and an agent, editing at the same time

  1. One open document, two editors

    While you paint, a connected agent edits the same document. Both changes land in one shared history, marked by who made them.

  2. Different parts of the canvas

    An agent can reserve a whole layer or only a region of one, so you can keep working everywhere else, even on the same layer. Its work area is outlined in blue.

  3. Different layers

    In the trailer edit, the agent built the sky, grade, glow, atmosphere and lake light on its own layers while the sunlight and dodge & burn were painted on separate manual layers.

  4. Still editable

    Nothing is merged. Turn any layer off and on; masks, effects and blend modes survive the saved PSD.

Painting

Pressure, texture, taper and flow. Brush, erase, clone and heal.

Layers & masks

Folders, blend modes, selections and separate color and mask editing.

Editable effects

Curves, levels, color balance, bloom and liquify with live previews.

8 & 16 bit

Native channel precision through editing, transforms and PSD / PNG saves.

DOWNLOADS

Choose your platform

Development builds

Free native builds from the same tested source. Includes GPL v3 source and third-party notices.

Windows

x64 · Extract and run peerbrush.exe

24.3 MBDownload

Linux

x64 · Built on Ubuntu 24.04

26.9 MBDownload

macOS

Apple silicon · arm64 · Unsigned

23.7 MBDownload

Experimental development builds. macOS and Linux desktop workflow verification is pending. macOS builds are unsigned and require Apple silicon.

Build notes Windows v0.1.4 checkpoint
SETUP

Run PeerBrush

Download a native build for your platform. Rust is only required to develop from source.

Full getting-started guide
  1. 01

    Download and extract

    Windows: run peerbrush.exe. Linux and macOS: run the extracted peerbrush executable. Linux may need chmod +x peerbrush.

  2. 02

    Open an image

    Use File → Open, or drop an image into the workspace. New and opened documents have separate project tabs.

  3. 03

    Save your project

    Save as PSD to keep layers and masks. Export PNG for a merged image at the document’s channel depth.

AI CONNECTION

Connect an agent

Agents inspect the actual canvas and edit through the same document engine. AI changes appear in blue.

Codex · Claude Desktop · Cursor · Gemini CLI

MCP setup and tool reference
The PeerBrush status bar showing MCP connected next to the Connect AI button.
The real status bar once a client is attached
  1. 01

    Click Connect AI in PeerBrush

    The app registers with detected clients and preserves their existing settings.

  2. 02

    Reload your AI client

    Approve the connection if prompted. A green MCP indicator in PeerBrush confirms a connected client.

peerbrush_edit
{"commands":[{"op":"paint","layer":"LAYER_ID",
  "points":[[60,60],[180,120]],"radius":14,
  "color":[233,84,32,255]}],
 "expected_revision":0,"actor":"my-agent",
 "label":"Paint orange accent"}

Choose your model in the AI client. PeerBrush is free; separate AI providers may charge for their services.

FILE SUPPORT

Supported formats

Compatibility details
FormatCurrent supportBehavior
PSD v1 · RGB · 8 / 16 bitEditable, supported structuresRaster layers, groups, supported blends and raster masks. Saves include a current merged composite.
PNG 8 / 16 bitImport & exportExport retains the document’s native channel depth.
JPEG / BMPImage importOpen or import as raster content.
Unsupported PSD structuresProtected previewRead-only merged preview. An explicit flattened copy retains the original precision.
PSB / other color modesNot supportedFull Photoshop compatibility and full color management are pending.
QUICK REFERENCE

Canvas shortcuts

Paint
B
Move / rotate / scale
WER
Frame canvas or selection
F
Pan
Middle drag / Space + drag
Zoom
Scroll / Alt + right drag
Undo / redo
Ctrl + Z / Ctrl + Shift + Z
SOURCE

Develop from source

Rust, egui and wgpu. Licensed under GPL v3.

git clone https://github.com/Deftr0y/PeerBrush.git
cd PeerBrush
cargo run --locked

Native build and automated tests pass on Windows, Linux and macOS. Desktop workflow verification on Linux and macOS is pending.

Development guide
ONGOING DEVELOPMENT

Artists and developers:
take part in PeerBrush.

Try a workflow, share what needs improving, or contribute a focused change. The application and its source are free under GPL v3.

Artists

Test painting, masks or layer editing. Share artwork, awkward steps and the tools your workflow is missing.

Join the conversation

Developers

Contribute Rust, egui, wgpu, codecs, tests or native platform fixes. Start with the development guide and a small, reviewable change.

Development guide
Native workspace