October 2026
What landed on the shelves this month: 88 new tools and 9 articles.
New articles
29 October 2026, 6 minute readLeaving Adobe: free apps for every jobWhat to check before you cancel Creative Cloud, and the open source apps that take over each job, from the steady old hands to this month’s vibe-coded rewrites.
29 October 2026, 5 minute readSomeone vibe-coded Adobe’s apps, and gave them awayArtCraft rebuilt Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Lightroom and ten more with an AI coding agent and open sourced all of them.
28 October 2026, 4 minute readDesign skills that stop AI pages looking AI-madeImpeccable, Taste Skill and Hallmark teach Claude Code, Codex and Cursor to skip the purple gradients and generic cards.
27 October 2026, 6 minute readClean up your smart TV with an AI agentPeople are pointing Claude Code at their TVs to switch off ads, tracking and preinstalled apps. The tools, which TVs they work on, and what to watch for.
24 October 2026, 5 minute readSmall Mac apps that make a big differenceA launcher, a window manager, a better screenshot and a quieter menu bar: the little apps you stop noticing because they just work.
21 October 2026, 5 minute readFree photos, footage and music for client workWhere to find stock media you can actually use in paid projects, and the one habit that keeps you out of trouble.
17 October 2026, 6 minute readA week of small privacy upgradesOne change a day, none of them hard: a browser, a search engine, mail and storage, then a check on what’s already out there.
13 October 2026, 5 minute readShip a website this weekendSaturday to build it, Sunday to put it online and check it. The tools for each step, whether you write code or not.
9 October 2026, 4 minute readFind a colour palette that worksGenerators for ideas, real layouts to test them on, and scales that hold up in dark mode and for people with low vision.
New on the shelves
7-ZipAppsFreeOpens and makes zip, 7z, rar and most other archives, very small and fast.
AFFiNEAppsFreeDocs and whiteboards in one space, working offline first.
AppFlowyAppsFreePages, databases and boards like Notion, with your data kept on your device.
AudacityMusic & AudioFreeRecord, cut and clean up audio, from podcasts to voice notes.
BitwardenPrivacyFreeA password manager that syncs everywhere, free for unlimited passwords.
BleachBitAppsFreeClears caches, logs and leftovers to free space and protect privacy.
BlenderDesignFreeModelling, sculpting, animation, rendering and even video editing in one app.
BrunoCode & BuildFreeAn API client that saves requests as plain files in your repo, offline and with no account.
CADCraftDesignFree2D drafting and design in the AutoCAD mould, written in Rust.
darktableDesignFreeA raw photo developer and library that never touches your originals.
DeckCraftAppsFreeSlide decks in the PowerPoint mould, rebuilt in Rust.
DesignCraftDesignFreePage layout and publishing laid out like InDesign, written in Rust.
EffectCraftVideoFreeMotion graphics and visual effects with layers and keyframes, rebuilt in Rust.
ElementPrivacyFreeTeam chat on the open Matrix network, encrypted end to end.
Ente PhotosPrivacyFreeEncrypted photo backup with face search and shared albums.
FigCraftDesignFreeInterface design and prototyping as a native app, also runs in a browser tab.
FilmCraftVideoFreeA Premiere-style editor: source and program monitors, a multitrack timeline and the usual trims.
FreeCADDesignFreeParametric 3D modelling for parts, buildings and anything you plan to make.
GIMPDesignFreeThe long-standing free photo editor: layers, masks, curves, healing and plug-ins.
GridCraftAppsFreeSpreadsheets in the Excel mould, rebuilt in Rust.
HandBrakeVideoFreeShrink and convert videos with ready-made presets for phones and the web.
ImmichPrivacyFreeA Google Photos look-alike you host on your own server.
inkscape.orgInkscapeDesignFreeVector drawing for logos, icons and print, saving straight to SVG.
JanAIFreeA chat app that runs open AI models on your own computer, offline.
Jitsi MeetPrivacyFreeVideo calls straight from a link, with no account needed.
JoplinAppsFreeMarkdown notes and notebooks, synced end to end encrypted to the cloud you pick.
KdenliveVideoFreeA multitrack video editor with effects, titles and proxy editing for big files.
KeePassXCPrivacyFreePasswords in an encrypted file you keep, with no account at all.
KritaDesignFreeA painting app made by artists, with brushes, layers and animation built in.
LightCraftDesignFreeA photo library and raw developer laid out like Lightroom, running on your machine.
LMMSMusic & AudioFreeMake beats and songs with a pattern editor, piano roll and built-in synths.
LocalSendAppsFreeSend files to any nearby device on the same Wi-Fi, whatever it runs.
MattermostPrivacyFreeChannels and threads like Slack, on a server you run.
MuseScoreMusic & AudioFreeWrite, play back and print sheet music.
Notepad++Code & BuildFreeA fast, light code and text editor with tabs and syntax colours.
OBS StudioVideoFreeRecord your screen and camera or stream live, with scenes you switch between.
OllamaAIFreeDownload and run models like Llama and Gemma locally with one command.
PdfCraftAppsFreeRead, organise, combine, split and secure PDFs.
PDFsam BasicAppsFreeMerge, split, rotate and pull pages out of PDFs, offline.
PeaZipAppsFreeAn archive manager for 200 formats, with encryption.
PhotoCraftDesignFreeA Photoshop look-alike written in Rust that opens and saves layered PSD files.
Podman DesktopCode & BuildFreeRun and manage containers and Kubernetes from a desktop app.
RawTherapeeDesignFreeRaw processing with fine control over colour, detail and noise.
RustDeskAppsFreeRemote control of another computer, through their servers or your own.
ScribusDesignFreePage layout for magazines, posters and books, with print-ready PDF export.
ShareXAppsFreeScreenshots, scrolling captures, GIFs and annotations, with dozens of upload targets.
ShotcutVideoFreeA straightforward editor that opens almost any format without importing.
SignalPrivacyFreeEnd-to-end encrypted messages and calls, run by a non-profit.
SoundCraftMusic & AudioFreeRecord, edit and mix audio in a native digital audio workstation.
ThunderbirdPrivacyFreeMail, calendar and contacts for all your accounts in one app.
VectorCraftDesignFreeVector illustration with Illustrator’s tools and shortcuts, rebuilt in Rust.
VLCAppsFreePlays nearly every video and audio file, and converts them too.
VSCodiumCode & BuildFreeThe same editor built from the open source code, without Microsoft’s telemetry.
WordCraftAppsFreeA Word-style word processor, native and fast.
ZoteroAppsFreeCollect papers and pages, then cite them in Word or LibreOffice in any style.
Agent SkillsAI SkillsFreeThe open format behind skills: a folder with a SKILL.md that many agents can load.
Algorithmic ArtAI SkillsFreeGenerative art in p5.js with seeds you can change, made from a written art direction.
Anthropic SkillsAI SkillsFreeAnthropic's public repository of example and document skills, ready to install in Claude.
Awesome Claude SkillsAI SkillsFreeA long community list of Claude skills, sorted by what they help with.
Canvas DesignAI SkillsFreeHas Claude make posters and still artwork as PNG or PDF from a short design brief.
Claude Agent Skills docsAI SkillsFreeAnthropic's guide to how skills load, how to write one and where they work.
Deploy to VercelAI SkillsFreeAsk your agent to put the project live and it creates a Vercel deployment and hands back the link.
Doc Co-authoringAI SkillsFreeA guided way to write a spec, proposal or decision doc together with Claude, section by section.
Excel (xlsx)AI SkillsFreeSpreadsheets with working formulas, formatting and charts, plus analysis of the ones you have.
Figma Implement DesignAI SkillsFreeOpenAI's Codex skill that turns a Figma frame into matching production code.
Frontend DesignAI SkillsFreeAnthropic's skill for picking a clear visual direction and type before an agent writes any UI.
GitHub Fix CIAI SkillsFreeReads failing GitHub Actions checks on a pull request and plans the fix with you.
MCP BuilderAI SkillsFreeA guide Claude follows to build a good MCP server around an API or service.
OpenAI SkillsAI SkillsFreeThe catalogue of skills for Codex, from Figma and Notion to deploys and security.
PDFAI SkillsFreeRead, merge, split, fill in and create PDF files from a chat with Claude.
PlaywrightAI SkillsFreeLets Codex drive a real browser from the terminal to fill forms, take snapshots and debug flows.
PowerPoint (pptx)AI SkillsFreeBuild and edit slide decks, including layouts, speaker notes and charts.
React Best PracticesAI SkillsFreeVercel's performance rules for React and Next.js, applied while the agent writes or reviews code.
Security Threat ModelAI SkillsFreeWrites a threat model of your repository: trust boundaries, abuse paths and fixes.
Skill CreatorAI SkillsFreeAnthropic's skill for writing your own skills, then testing and tuning them with evals.
skills.shAI SkillsFreeA searchable directory of agent skills with a one-line install for each.
SuperpowersAI SkillsFreeJesse Vincent's full set of skills for planning, test-first coding, debugging and code review.
Systematic DebuggingAI SkillsFreeMakes the agent find the root cause of a bug before it tries a fix.
Taste SkillAI SkillsFreeDeals art directions and checks the page in a real browser so agent-built sites stop looking generic.
Test-Driven DevelopmentAI SkillsFreeRed, green, refactor: the agent writes a failing test before any code.
Theme FactoryAI SkillsFreeReady colour and font themes Claude can apply to slides, documents and pages.
TranscribeAI SkillsFreeTurns audio or video into text in Codex, with speakers labelled.
Vercel Agent SkillsAI SkillsFreeVercel's skills for React, React Native, web design and deploying.
Web Design GuidelinesAI SkillsFreeVercel's review of your UI code against its interface guidelines: accessibility, forms, focus and more.
Webapp TestingAI SkillsFreeClaude tests your local web app with Playwright: clicks through it, takes screenshots and reads the logs.
Word (docx)AI SkillsFreeWrite and edit Word documents with tracked changes, comments and proper formatting.
Writing PlansAI SkillsFreeTurns a spec into a step-by-step build plan before the agent touches the code.
The Component GalleryDesignFreeHow real design systems build each component, side by side.