Patchy Image Editor is a powerful, free, and open-source image editor designed with a strong focus on Photoshop compatibility. It allows users to open, edit, and save layered PSD and PSB files without flattening the layers, preserving text, vector shapes, masks, layer styles, and Smart Objects. This makes it an excellent alternative for designers who work heavily with Photoshop files but prefer an open-source, lightweight, and cost-free solution.
Beyond Photoshop files, Patchy can open artwork from Affinity, Krita, GIMP, Paint.NET, OpenRaster, and PDF files. Its toolset covers everything from pixel art and digital painting to photo retouching, vector graphics, and non-destructive editing. With version 1.20, Patchy introduces native Windows ARM64 support, customizable themes, Perspective Planes, and an enhanced Export for Web feature, solidifying its position as a versatile tool for a wide range of creative workflows.
In This Post
How to Maximize It
Mastering Layer Management and Non-Destructive Editing
- Open your PSD file in Patchy and inspect the Layers panel.
- Use the new Bring to Front, Send to Back, Move Up, and Move Down controls to reorder layers quickly.
- Apply layer styles and masks directly without flattening the image, preserving full editability for future changes.
Explanation: Non-destructive editing is crucial for professional design workflows. By mastering Patchy’s layer controls, you can iterate on designs quickly without losing original data, ensuring maximum flexibility and quality.
Utilizing Perspective Planes for Digital Painting
- Select the Perspective Plane tool from the toolbar.
- Define the perspective grid on your canvas by dragging the control points to match the surface angle.
- Use the Paste, Clone, and Paint controls to paint directly onto the perspective surface, with step banners helping you maintain correct scale and vanishing points.
Explanation: Perspective Planes dramatically reduce the time needed to paint or clone textures on flat surfaces in 3D space, ensuring that your brush strokes and patterns align perfectly with the perspective of the scene.
Optimizing Web Export with Live Previews
- Prepare your image or animation in the document window.
- Navigate to File > Export for Web.
- Adjust the format (JPEG, WebP, PNG, GIF, AVIF, or JPEG XL) and quality settings while watching the live preview and estimated file size to find the perfect balance between quality and performance.
Explanation: The Export for Web feature streamlines the optimization process by letting you compare formats and sizes in real-time, ensuring your web assets load quickly while maintaining high visual fidelity.
Download Patchy Image Editor
File size: 100.0 MB
OS support: Windows, macOS
Windows
Download Patchy Image Editor 1.20 for Windows (Exe)
Download Patchy Image Editor 1.20 for Windows (Exe)
macOS
Download Patchy Image Editor 1.20 for macOS (DMG)
Other
Main Features
- PSD and PSB Compatibility: Open and edit Photoshop (PSD and PSB) files while preserving layers, text, vector shapes, masks, layer styles, and Smart Objects without flattening the image, ensuring complete non-destructive editing workflows.
- Multi-Format Import: Supports opening artwork from a wide range of applications including Affinity, Krita, GIMP, Paint.NET, OpenRaster, and PDF files, making it a versatile tool for cross-platform creative projects.
- Diverse Artistic Tools: Includes a comprehensive set of tools for pixel art creation, digital painting, photo retouching, vector graphics, and non-destructive editing, suitable for diverse artistic needs.
- Game Asset Creation: Create sprite sheets, animated images, and game assets efficiently, with support for working under limited color palettes, ideal for game development and pixel art workflows.
- Advanced Production Features: Develop images with Camera Raw support, print-ready CMYK color space compatibility, batch processing for multiple files, JavaScript scripting for automation, and classic Photoshop plug-in compatibility.
- Export for Web: Export assets for the web with live previews and file size estimates for JPEG, WebP, PNG, GIF, AVIF, and JPEG XL formats, including animated format previews and palette controls.
- Perspective Planes: Work with perspective using Perspective Planes, allowing you to paste, clone, and paint onto flat surfaces in perspective with dedicated Place Layer, step banners, and Clone Sample controls.
- Enhanced Layer Management: Manage layers efficiently with Bring to Front, Send to Back, Move Up, Move Down, and Merge Down controls, alongside customizable footer buttons and layer presets.
Technical Details
| Software Name | Patchy Image Editor |
|---|---|
| Version | 1.20 |
| License | Open Source |
| File Size | 100.0 MB |
| OS Support | Windows, macOS |
| Language | English |
| Developer | Seth Robinson |
| Homepage | https://rtsoft.com/ |
| Changelogurl | https://github.com/SethRobinson/Patchy/releases/tag/v1.20 |
| Last Updated | October 28, 2026 |
Highlights in New Version
- Adds native Windows ARM64 installers and ZIP packages for Windows 11 PCs with Snapdragon and other ARM64 processors.
- Introduces customizable themes with replacement icons, cursors, backgrounds, sounds, and sandboxed scripts, including the Dink Smallwood theme.
- Adds Export for Web, with live previews and file sizes for JPEG, WebP, PNG, GIF, AVIF, and JPEG XL, plus animated format previews.
- Introduces Perspective Planes, allowing users to paste, clone, and paint onto flat surfaces in perspective.
- Expands layer export options with Quick Export as PNG, Export As for selected layers, and grayscale mask exports.
- Adds vector mask controls, including a dedicated submenu, Ctrl-click support, Mask Properties, and linking controls.
- Improves layer management with Bring to Front, Send to Back, Move Up, Move Down, and Merge Down controls, plus layer presets.
- Adds a Customize Tool Palette interface for hiding tools, changing icon sizes, and controlling tool groups.
Installation Guide
Installation Steps
- Visit the GitHub releases page or the download link above and select the installer matching your operating system (Windows x64, Windows ARM64, or macOS).
- Double-click the downloaded installer file (e.g., PatchyWindowsInstaller.exe or PatchyMacOS.dmg) and follow the on-screen setup wizard.
- Launch Patchy Image Editor from your Start menu or Applications folder. On first launch, you can configure your preferences, themes, and plugin directories.
Compatibility: Compatible with Windows 10, Windows 11 (x64 and ARM64), and macOS 11 (Big Sur) and later. For Windows ARM64 users, native installers are provided for optimal performance on Snapdragon and other ARM64 processors.
Questions & Answers
Is Patchy Image Editor free to use?
Yes, Patchy Image Editor is completely free and open-source, licensed under the GNU General Public License (GPL). You can view the source code on GitHub, modify it, and distribute your own versions under the GPL terms.
How well does Patchy Image Editor work with Photoshop files?
Patchy Image Editor is designed with a strong focus on Photoshop compatibility. It can open and preserve layers, text, vector shapes, masks, layer styles, and Smart Objects in PSD and PSB files without flattening them. It also supports opening files from Affinity, Krita, GIMP, Paint.NET, OpenRaster, and PDF.
What operating systems does Patchy Image Editor support?
Patchy Image Editor runs on Windows 10, Windows 11 (including native ARM64 support for Snapdragon processors), and macOS. While there is no official Linux build, the application is open-source and can potentially be compiled from source for Linux systems.
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