+++
title = "Graphite features"

[extra]
css = ["/page/features.css", "/component/feature-box.css", "/component/feature-icons.css", "/component/youtube-embed.css"]
js = ["/js/component/youtube-embed.js"]
+++

<section>
<div class="block">

# Graphite features

The current alpha version of Graphite is a tool for vector art and graphic design. It also supports a limited, experimental raster editing toolset. This tooling is built around a procedural graphics engine, letting artists build complex graphics and animations in its visual scripting language.

</div>
</section>

<section>
<div class="block">

<div class="block video-container">
<div>
{{ youtube_embed(id="ZUbcwUC5lxA", title="Rust-Powered Graphics Editor: How Graphite's Syntax Trees Revolutionize Image Editing") }}
</div>
</div>

</div>
</section>

<section>

<div class="diptych">

<div class="block">

## Layers & nodes: hybrid editing

Graphite combines the best ideas from multiple categories of digital content creation software to reimagine the workflows of 2D graphics editing. It is influenced by the core editing experience of traditional layer-based raster and vector tools, the nondestructive approaches of VFX compositing programs used by film studios, and the boundless creative possibilities of procedural production tools daily-driven by the 3D industry.

Classic layer-based image editing is easy to understand, employing collapsable folders that help artists stay organized. A variety of interactive viewport tools make it easy to manipulate the layers by drawing directly onto the canvas. On the other hand, node-based editing is essentially artist-friendly programming. It works by describing manipulations as steps in a flowchart, which is vastly more powerful but comes with added complexity.

The hybrid workflow pioneered by Graphite is able to deliver a classic tool-centric, layer-based editing experience built around a procedural, node-based compositor. Users can ignore the node graph, use it exclusively, or switch back and forth with the press of a button while creating content. Interacting with the canvas using tools will manipulate the nodes behind the scenes. And the layer panel and node graph provide two equivalent, interchangeable views of the same document structure.

</div>
<div class="block">

## Raster & vector: sharp at all sizes

Digital 2D art commonly takes two forms. Raster artwork is made out of pixels which means it can look like anything imaginable, but it becomes blurry or pixelated when upscaling to a higher resolution. Vector artwork is made out of curved shapes which is perfect for some art styles but limiting to others. The magic of vector is that its mathematically-described curves can be enlarged to any size and remain crisp.

Other apps commonly focus on just raster or vector, forcing artists to buy and learn separate products for both. Mixing art styles requires shuttling content back and forth between programs. And since picking a raster document resolution is a one-time commitment, artists often choose to start out big, resulting in sluggish editing performance and multi-gigabyte documents.

Graphite reinvents raster rendering so it stays sharp at any scale. Artwork is treated as data, not pixels, and is always redrawn at the current viewing resolution. Zoom the viewport and export images at any size— the document's paint brushes, masks, filters, and effects will always be rendered in full detail.

Marrying vector and raster under one roof enables both art forms to complement each other in one cohesive creative workflow. *(Scalable raster compositing is still experimental.)*

</div>

</div>

</section>

<section>
<div class="block">

## Roadmap

<div class="roadmap">
	<div class="feature-icons">
		<!-- Pre-Alpha -->
		<div class="feature-icon complete heading" data-year="2021">
			<h3>— Pre-Alpha —</h3>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon complete" title="Development Complete">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 1" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Editor systems; basic vector art tools</span>
		</div>
		<!-- Alpha 1 -->
		<div class="feature-icon complete heading" data-year="2022">
			<h3>— Alpha 1 —</h3>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon complete" title="Development Complete">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 2" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Better tools; node graph prototyping</span>
		</div>
		<!-- Alpha 2 -->
		<div class="feature-icon complete heading" data-year="2023">
			<h3>— Alpha 2 —</h3>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon complete" title="Development Complete">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 6" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Node graph integration in documents</span>
		</div>
		<!-- Alpha 3 -->
		<div class="feature-icon complete heading" data-year="2024">
			<h3>— Alpha 3 —</h3>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon complete" title="Development Complete">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 8" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Procedural vector editing and usability</span>
		</div>
		<!-- Alpha 4 -->
		<div class="feature-icon ongoing heading" data-year="2025–">
			<h3>— Alpha 4 —</h3>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon complete" title="Development Complete">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 46" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Parametric animation</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon complete" title="Development Complete">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 58" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Instancer nodes for looped generation</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon complete" title="Development Complete">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 59" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Enhanced Pen, Path, and Shape tools</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon complete" title="Development Complete">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 63" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>List-based graphical data format</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon complete" title="Development Complete">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 67" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Data panel for graphical introspection</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon complete" title="Development Complete">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 13" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Layer clipping masks</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon complete" title="Development Complete">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 12" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>GPU acceleration infrastructure</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon complete" title="Development Complete">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 66" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>All-around performance optimizations</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon complete" title="Development Complete">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 73" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Blend tool to morph between shapes</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon complete" title="Development Complete">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 24" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Dockable panels and tab reordering</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon ongoing" title="Development Ongoing">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 9" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Custom attributes for list data</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon ongoing" title="Development Ongoing">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 17" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Stable document format</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon ongoing" title="Development Ongoing">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 7" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Desktop app <a href="/#desktop-first-and-web-ready">release candidates</a></span>
		</div>
		<!-- Beta 1 -->
		<div class="feature-icon heading" data-year="Early 2026">
			<h3>— Beta 1 —</h3>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 7" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Desktop app release and 1.0 launch</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 51" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Context menus throughout the editor</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 40" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Simplified main properties panel</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 64" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Node version management</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 53" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Local fonts access</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 54" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Saving over local files (web version)</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 41" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Timeline panel for animation curves</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 62" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Nested documents as custom nodes</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 56" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Variables and color swatches</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 10" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Expanded imaging model data format</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 28" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Physical measurement units</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 12" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>GPU-accelerated raster rendering</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 65" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Text-on-path tool support</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 3" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Per-glyph text style controls</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 48" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Robust vector mesh editing/rendering</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 50" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Nondestructive shape builder tool</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 71" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Automatic image trace vectorization</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 11" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Broader SVG support including filters</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 45" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Parametric art standalone export</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 5" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>New and improved brush tool</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 43" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Stylus and touch interaction</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 70" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>MIDI and audio-reactive visualization</span>
		</div>
		<!-- Beta 2 -->
		<div class="feature-icon heading" data-year="2027">
			<h3>— Beta 2 —</h3>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 52" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Command palette</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 68" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Onion skinning mode for animation</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 69" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Animatable deformation meshes/rigs</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 72" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Simulation domains</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 57" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Signed distance field rendering</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 14" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Procedural PBR material generation</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 16" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Code editor for custom nodes</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 34" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Asset libraries and node marketplace</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 27" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Automation/batch processing tools</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 24" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Multiple adjacent document panels</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 40" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Tear-out panels as separate windows</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 21" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Select mode (marquee masking)</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 0" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Raster adjustments, filters, and effects</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 25" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Liquify and warp transforms</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 19" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Raw photo processing</span>
		</div>
		<!-- LTS Releases -->
		<div class="feature-icon heading" data-year="Future">
			<h3>— LTS Releases —</h3>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 31" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Advanced typesetting features</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 32" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>PDF, EPS, AI, DXF, PSD, and TIFF</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 55" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>CMYK, spot color, and ICC profiles</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 33" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>HDR and WCG color handling</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 4" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Outliner panel (node graph tree view)</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 18" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Document history management</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 39" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Offline edit resolution with CRDTs</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 22" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>History brush and clone stamp tools</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 23" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Internationalization and accessibility</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 49" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Neural nodes/tools like Magic Wand</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 20" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Procedural styling of paint brushes</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 60" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Infinite generative vector patterns</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 29" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Geometric constraint system solver</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 30" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Responsive design layout solver</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 61" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Authoring animated SVGs, Lottie, etc.</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 42" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Live video stream compositing</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 44" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Tablet app and keyboard-free controls</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 26" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Media collection manager/browser</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 37" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Cloud document storage/device sync</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 38" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Multiplayer collaborative editing</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 35" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Predictive graph rendering/caching</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 36" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Multi-device distributed rendering</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 15" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span>Hosted rendering accelerator service</span>
		</div>
		<div class="feature-icon">
			<img class="atlas" style="--atlas-index: 47" src="https://static.graphite.art/icons/icon-atlas-roadmap__5.png" alt="" />
			<span><em>…and that's all just the beginning…</em></span>
		</div>
	</div>
</div>

</div>
</section>

<section>

<div class="block">

## Roadmap spotlight: keyframe animation

Coming early 2026, Graphite will expand its animation toolset beyond parametrically-driven motion to include traditional keyframe animation. The Timeline panel pictured below will let animators drive parameters using keyframes and curves through a traditional dopesheet interface.

Node parameters can be set to a constant value in the Properties panel, exposed to the graph for procedural animation, or exposed to a channel in the upcoming Timeline panel for hand-authored keyframing.

The panel will enable users to scrub through time with the playhead and choose between timing with discrete frames or continuous seconds. A dedicated curves editing mode (not pictured) will enable fine-tuning parameters with a labeled Y-axis, while the dopesheet allows individual channels to be expanded to view and edit the shape and smoothness of curves inline.

Work-in-progress design mockup:

<img src="https://static.graphite.art/content/features/mockup-timeline-panel.avif" onerror="this.onerror = null; this.src = this.src.replace('.avif', '.png')" alt="" />

</div>

</section>

<section>

<div class="block">

## Roadmap spotlight: raster image editing

The vision since Graphite's inception has been to open up the traditional raster image editing workflow to the greater degree of flexibility found in node-based compositors, without one approach compromising the ergonomics of the other.

As with Graphite's current vector toolset, raster editing will interpret the user's interactive edits as modifications to the construction of layers in the underlying node graph rather than destructive alterations to layer pixel data (as in other image editors). By containing only a description of the user's editing operations without the data, documents will remain ultra tiny when source assets are linked externally.

Brushes, selection tools, masks, filters, effects, adjustment layers, and other tools used to manipulate raster layers will all be presented in a familiar form when Graphite's raster toolset nears maturity by the end of beta.

Work-in-progress design mockup:

<img src="https://static.graphite.art/content/features/mockup-viewport.avif" onerror="this.onerror = null; this.src = this.src.replace('.avif', '.png')" alt="" />

<img src="https://static.graphite.art/content/features/mockup-node-graph.avif" onerror="this.onerror = null; this.src = this.src.replace('.avif', '.png')" alt="" />

</div>

</section>
