How to use PhotoFresco
Everything from opening your first file to layer styles, PSD round-trips, saved workflows, AI generation and AI agents — searchable, honest, and written for people who just want to get work done.
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Essentials
Tools reference
Every tool group in the PhotoFresco toolbar — selection, painting, retouching, vector and navigation tools — with their key options.
ReadLayers, masks & selections
The core editing model — layer types, blend modes, opacity vs. fill, layer and vector masks, clipping masks, adjustment layers, and the full selection toolkit.
ReadLayer styles
Non-destructive effects — drop shadows, strokes, glows, bevels, overlays — plus Blending Options and Blend If, in a dialog that mirrors Photoshop's.
ReadActions & saved workflows
Record a sequence of edits in the Actions panel, play it back on another image, roll a run back, and save it as a portable workflow file that the command line and AI agents can run too.
ReadFiles
Opening files — formats and size limits
Which image formats PhotoFresco opens, the size limits for images, PSDs and canvases, and what the messages mean when a file is too large or damaged.
ReadPSD import & export
PhotoFresco opens and saves layered Photoshop PSD files — what survives the round-trip, what gets simplified, and how to export flat images.
ReadAutosave & recovery
How PhotoFresco protects unsaved work locally, restores interrupted sessions, and differs from saving a PSD or document.
ReadAI
AI generation & credits
Generate images with AI models straight onto your canvas as editable layers — and understand exactly how pay-per-use credits work.
ReadSplit an image into editable layers with AI
Turn one raster image layer into a grouped set of editable foreground and background layers with AI Layer Split.
ReadUse PhotoFresco with AI agents
Let Claude Code, Codex, Gemini CLI or another MCP client edit images in a PhotoFresco window you approve — install, the connection code, permissions and credit budgets, pausing and stopping, and what is sent where.
ReadThe photofresco command line
Drive a PhotoFresco window you approve from a terminal or script — connect, open an image, run a saved workflow, export the result and stop, with JSON output and exit codes.
ReadGuides
How to resize an image for the web or Instagram
Resize an image online in your browser — set exact pixel dimensions with Image Size, then export a web-ready JPEG, PNG or WebP with a live file-size preview.
ReadHow to add text to a photo (with a drop shadow)
Add text to a photo online — set the font, size and color with the Type tool, then make the words readable on any background with a classic drop shadow.
ReadHow to remove the background from an image
Remove the background from an image online, free in your browser — select the backdrop with the Magic Wand, mask it out non-destructively, and export a transparent PNG.
ReadHow to cut out a subject and change a photo's background
Change the background of a photo online — cut out the subject with a wand selection and a layer mask, then place any new backdrop behind it. Free, in the browser, with on-device editing.
ReadReference
Keyboard shortcuts
The complete PhotoFresco shortcut reference for macOS and Windows/Linux — including honest notes on the chords your browser reserves for itself.
ReadFAQ
Frequently asked questions about PhotoFresco — pricing, privacy, offline use, PSD compatibility, accounts, ads and where your files actually live.
ReadGlossary
Plain-English definitions of the terms PhotoFresco uses — layers, masks, blend modes, rasterizing, alpha channels, actions and workflows, and the words around connecting an AI agent.
ReadPrivacy
What PhotoFresco collects when you edit, use AI or cloud storage, and see ads.
ReadTerms of Service
The rules for using PhotoFresco — the free editor, accounts, the ad-free subscription, AI credits, your content, AI agents and our responsibilities to each other.
Read