Glossary

Every term the editor (and this documentation) uses, in plain English. Terms link to the page that covers them in depth.

Document & canvas

Document

One open file: its canvas size, layers, selection, paths and history. Each document is a tab in the editor.

Canvas

The visible working area of a document. Layer content can extend beyond the canvas — it's kept, just not shown or exported.

Resolution

The pixel dimensions of the document (e.g. 1920×1080). PhotoFresco works in pixels; print PPI only matters when you export for print.

PSD

Adobe Photoshop's layered file format. PhotoFresco opens and saves PSD with layers, masks and styles intact, within the documented limits.

Layers

Layer

One stackable sheet of content. The image you see is all layers composited top-to-bottom. See Layers, masks & selections.

Background layer

The traditional locked bottom layer. Convert it to a normal layer to move it or give it transparency.

Group

A folder of layers that moves, hides and transforms as one. Groups can nest.

Blend mode

The formula a layer uses to combine with everything below it — Multiply darkens, Screen lightens, Overlay boosts contrast, and so on.

Opacity vs Fill

Both fade a layer, but Fill fades only the layer's own pixels while layer styles (like a stroke or shadow) stay at full strength.

Layer style / fx

Live, non-destructive effects attached to a layer — drop shadow, stroke, glow, bevel. The fx badge in the Layers panel marks styled layers. See Layer styles.

Smart object

A layer that wraps its source content so transforms don't destroy pixels; edits re-render from the original.

Rasterize

Convert vector or live content (type, shapes, smart objects) into plain pixels so raster tools can touch it. One-way: after rasterizing, the live editability is gone.

Selections & masks

Selection

The active region edits are limited to — shown as marching ants. Tools and filters only touch selected pixels.

Marching ants

The animated dashed outline around a selection.

Feather

Softens a selection's edge over a distance in pixels, so edits fade out instead of cutting off.

Anti-alias

Smooths jagged edges by partially selecting/painting edge pixels.

Layer mask

A grayscale image attached to a layer: black hides, white reveals, gray is partial. Non-destructive — the hidden pixels still exist. See Layers, masks & selections.

Clipping mask

Makes a layer visible only where the layer below it has content — the classic way to fill text or a shape with an image.

Alpha channel

The per-pixel transparency information in an image. PNG and WebP keep it; JPEG doesn't.

Editing

Command / History

Every edit is one undoable step. Cmd/Ctrl+Z walks back through history; the History panel jumps anywhere.

Free Transform

Scale, rotate, skew or move a layer's content with on-canvas handles. Enter commits, Esc cancels.

Tolerance

How similar colors must be (0–255) for tools like the Magic Wand or Paint Bucket to include them.

Sample point

The source location retouching tools copy from — Alt/Option-click sets it for the Clone Stamp and Healing Brush.

Action

A recorded sequence of edits in the Actions panel that you can play back on another image, and roll back after a run. See Actions & saved workflows.

Workflow

An action saved as a portable .workflow.json file. You can load it back into the Actions panel, share it, or run it from the command line or through an AI agent. See Actions & saved workflows.

AI features

Credits

The metered currency for server-GPU AI features (generation, background removal, layer split). Local editing never costs credits. See AI generation & credits.

AI Layer Split

Decomposes one image layer into a stack of editable RGBA layers. See AI Layer Split.

AI agents

MCP

The Model Context Protocol, a standard way for AI agents and apps such as Claude Code, Codex or Gemini CLI to use outside tools. PhotoFresco's MCP server offers each editor operation as one tool. See Use PhotoFresco with AI agents.

Local connector

The small open-source program that opens a PhotoFresco window on your computer and relays an agent's requests to it. The MCP server and the photofresco command line both use it. It doesn't listen on a network port, and the window it opens starts with session recording off.

Connection code

A code like 4913-7799 that the agent tells you and the PhotoFresco window shows when an agent asks to connect. Click Allow only when the two codes match. See Connect and check the code.

Agent session

One approved connection between an agent and a PhotoFresco window. It is shown in the agent bar above the canvas, and it ends when you click Stop, close the window or reload the page.

Agent permissions

What a connected agent may do: Read, Edit, Export, Send (to PhotoFresco services) and Spend (paid AI, up to a credit budget). A session starts with none, and only you can grant or revoke them. See Choose what the agent may do.

Credit budget

The most credits an agent may spend on paid AI in one session. You set it when you grant Spend, and it lasts up to 12 hours.