Fireship
AI-assisted summary of Every app on Earth is now open source... whether it likes it or not — original source. Check the original for full context.
Source published:
Key ideas
- Developer Brandon Thomas open-sourced ArtCraft, a project using Rust and Claude to clone seven core Adobe Creative Cloud applications with native Linux support. (0:00)
- The viral utility reverse-engineer-anything (REA) bridges decompilation engines like Ghidra with AI agents to decompile compiled binaries and proprietary software architectures into readable logic. (0:00)
- Real-world evaluation of ArtCraft's video editor FilmCraft demonstrated severe playback lag and poor effect rendering, underscoring the practical limitations of modern 'vibe-coded' clones. (1:14)
- Apify introduced a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects AI agents to thousands of cloud automation actors without overloading LLM context windows. (4:13)
Detailed notes
## Background Published by Fireship on YouTube on October 12, 2026, the video explores a project where an independent developer rewrote seven Adobe Creative Cloud applications in Rust and released them as open source. The description frames the video as a hands-on test of these clones alongside a spotlight on the Apify MCP tool integration for AI agents.
## TL;DR The video investigates the emerging reality where proprietary applications can be disassembled and rebuilt using AI coding agents and tools like reverse-engineer-anything. The host tests FilmCraft—an open-source Rust recreation of Adobe Premiere Pro—only to discover that its polished UI masks severe playback latency, broken audio meters, and poor rendering quality. To demonstrate a more practical alternative, the host shows how REA combines with Ghidra and Claude to decompile specific native binaries into clean Rust modules rather than cloning entire suites. The demonstration expands into cloud architectures by reverse-engineering a custom backend dubbed Studbase, before showcasing how Apify's MCP server equips AI agents with lightweight, on-demand web scrapers.
## Atmosphere & style The presentation is fast-paced, satirical, and irreverent, driven by Fireship's signature deadpan tech humor and internet meme culture. The emotional arc moves from optimistic excitement over escaping Adobe's subscription monopoly to comedic disillusionment when 'vibe-coded' Rust software stumbles under basic video playback. Watching the video feels like browsing a rapid-fire tech shitpost that nevertheless delivers genuinely insightful breakdowns of binary reverse-engineering and modern AI workflows.
## Bulletin - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=0s) Developer Brandon Thomas open-sourced ArtCraft, a project using Rust and Claude to clone seven core Adobe Creative Cloud applications with native Linux support. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=0s) The viral utility reverse-engineer-anything (REA) bridges decompilation engines like Ghidra with AI agents to decompile compiled binaries and proprietary software architectures into readable logic. - [01:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=74s) Real-world evaluation of ArtCraft's video editor FilmCraft demonstrated severe playback lag and poor effect rendering, underscoring the practical limitations of modern 'vibe-coded' clones. - [04:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=253s) Apify introduced a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects AI agents to thousands of cloud automation actors without overloading LLM context windows.
## Key takeaways - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=0s) ArtCraft was created as an open-source, subscription-free alternative to Adobe Creative Cloud, re-implementing core tools like Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro in Rust. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=0s) Unlike Adobe's proprietary suite, ArtCraft runs natively on Linux, addressing decades of missing official platform support. - [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=0s) The reverse-engineer-anything (REA) tool deconstructs native stripped executables, JVM bytecode, .NET assemblies, and bare-metal firmware into accessible data. - [01:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=74s) Despite Rust's reputation for performance, FilmCraft exhibited sluggish timeline responsiveness, broken audio meters, and severe playback latency under real editing workloads. - [01:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=74s) Visual effect rendering in FilmCraft, including basic glitch transitions, falls noticeably short of Premiere Pro's production standards, leaving the clone as an early proof-of-concept. - [02:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=155s) Rather than replicating full suites, developers can use REA to isolate and extract specific modular features from monolithic closed-source software. - [02:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=155s) On Windows, REA executes via Node.js and relies on the NSA's open-source Ghidra framework to analyze PE binaries and DLLs in a read-only state. - [02:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=155s) REA translates raw binaries into intermediate C-like pseudo-code, memory offsets, and call graphs that AI coding agents can convert into memory-safe Rust. - [02:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=155s) Natural language prompts allow developers to direct AI agents to inspect specific application subsystems, such as timeline logic, eliminating the need for manual assembly analysis. - [04:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=253s) Network-level inspection via REA can intercept live API calls and UI state changes, enabling developers to reverse-engineer and reconstruct cloud backend architectures. - [04:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=253s) Apify's MCP server avoids context window exhaustion by exposing a minimal endpoint layer and delegating tasks to external actors behind the scenes.
## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=0s) ArtCraft and the Promise of Instant Open-Source Software
Fed up with Adobe’s notoriously aggressive subscription lock-in and cancellation fees, an independent developer named Brandon Thomas set out to clone seven core Adobe Creative Cloud applications from scratch using Claude and Rust. Dubbed **ArtCraft**, the project took aim at industry standards including Photoshop, Illustrator, and Premiere Pro, completely re-implementing their capabilities and open-sourcing the software for free. Crucially, the suite even runs natively on Linux—an operating system Adobe has consistently refused to support for decades.
This dramatic feat is part of a much broader trend fueled by a viral utility known as `reverse-engineer-anything` (REA). The tool claims to decompile virtually any native binary thrown at it, granting ordinary users the ability to unpack stripped ELF, PE, and Mach-O executables, JVM bytecode with obfuscated constant pools, ECMA-335-compliant.NET assemblies, architecture-specific bare-metal firmware, and even OCI container layers bound to declarative infrastructure manifests. Effectively, the software landscape has shifted into an era where "virtually every app in the world is now open-source, whether it wants to be or not."
```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Reverse-Engineer-Anything Workflow accDescr: Pipeline showing how compiled binaries are converted to Rust code. subgraph Decompilation ["Decompilation & Extraction"] A["Native Binaries\n(PE / ELF / DLL)"] --> B["REA + Ghidra Engine"] B --> C["C-like Pseudo-Code &\nAssembly / Symbols"] end subgraph Generation ["Re-Implementation"] C --> D["AI Coding Agent\n(Claude)"] D --> E["Native Rust App\n(ArtCraft / Custom)"] end ```
[01:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=74s) Testing FilmCraft: The Reality of "Vibe-Coded" Software
While the premise of replacing a monolithic suite with an open-source Rust alternative sounds game-changing on paper, real-world testing tells a very different story. Paying a begrudged "$69 tribute every month to use Premiere" to edit videos, the host gave ArtCraft’s video editor, **FilmCraft**, an honest try. On initial launch, the user interface looked promising—almost an exact one-to-one recreation of Premiere Pro’s familiar workspace, requiring virtually zero learning curve.
However, the cracks appeared the moment actual media was imported. Dropping stock video onto the timeline and pressing play resulted in severe playback latency, unresponsive audio meters, and a sluggish overall experience despite being "vibe coded in Rust"—a language widely celebrated for being blazingly fast. Testing built-in effects made things worse; a side-by-side comparison of a standard glitch transition demonstrated that FilmCraft’s rendering quality fell drastically short of Premiere Pro. Describing himself humorously as a "once-in-a-generation cinematic visionary" and the "Stanley Kubrick of sponsored posts," the host concluded that the software is currently an unusable proof-of-concept, though the underlying ambition to escape Adobe remains compelling.
[02:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=155s) Decompiling Native Binaries with REA and Ghidra
Faced with the shortcomings of full suite clones, an alternative strategy emerges: reverse engineering specific features from native applications to create a stripped-down, customized "Premiere Light" containing only the tools actually needed. Premiere Pro is historically written in C and C++, maintained by top-tier engineering teams over decades, and distributed as closed-source compiled machine code.
Using the `reverse-engineer-anything` project, mapping compiled ones and zeros back to readable logic no longer requires manual assembly mastery:
- **Setup & Execution**: The tool is initialized via Node.js using the standard `npx` command. - **Decompiler Backend**: On Windows, REA hooks directly into the NSA’s open-source Ghidra framework, which performs read-only binary analysis on target `.exe` and `.dll` files. - **AI Agent Inspection**: Users direct an AI agent via natural language prompts to inspect specific subsystems, such as Adobe Premiere’s local timeline integration. - **Intermediate Representation**: The tool outputs disassembled instructions, C-like pseudo-code, memory offsets, raw strings, call graphs, and symbol references. - **Re-synthesis in Rust**: That intermediate pseudo-code is fed straight into a modern coding agent, which ports the logic into clean, memory-safe Rust without inheriting decades of legacy bloat.
[04:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=253s) Network Inspection, Studbase, and Apify MCP Agents
The philosophy of ripping apart proprietary software extends to backend tools and cloud architectures. Questioning why any "real vibe developer in 2026 is still paying money for developer tools when that money should be spent burning tokens," the host turns REA's network-inspection tools toward Supabase—dismissively characterized as a UI layer over AWS. By intercepting live API interactions and interface mutations, the host reverse-engineered a tailored, hyper-optimized backend called **Studbase**, designed specifically to power parody companion apps named "Horse Tender" and "Donker" with completely fabricated "trust me, bro" performance benchmarks.
The video concludes with a showcase of video sponsor Apify and its Model Context Protocol (MCP) server:
- **Tool Ecosystem**: Apify MCP bridges AI agents directly to thousands of pre-built cloud scrapers and automation scripts called "actors." - **Use Case**: The host demonstrated querying live Instagram data under the `#DonkeysofInstagram` hashtag in natural language to extract structured data for the "Donker" app. - **Token Efficiency**: Instead of overloading context windows by exposing every single tool definition simultaneously, the Apify MCP server exposes a lightweight set of core endpoints, discovers the optimal actor behind the scenes, and executes tasks externally to eliminate token bloat. - **Offer**: Viewers can claim $25 in free credits using code `FIRESHIP25`.
## Notable quotes > Every agent needs proper tools. Apify MCP gives yours thousands of them, ready to run. — Fireship
> [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=0s) A developer just rewrote seven Adobe apps in Rust and open-sourced them for free. Let's test them out. — Fireship
> [00:00](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=0s) virtually every app in the world is now open-source, whether it wants to be or not. — Fireship
> [01:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=74s) $69 tribute every month to use Premiere — Fireship
> [01:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=74s) vibe coded in Rust — Fireship
> [01:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=74s) once-in-a-generation cinematic visionary — Fireship
> [01:14](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=74s) Stanley Kubrick of sponsored posts — Fireship
> [02:35](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=155s) Premiere Light — Fireship
> [04:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=253s) real vibe developer in 2026 is still paying money for developer tools when that money should be spent burning tokens — Fireship
> [04:13](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8&t=253s) trust me, bro — Fireship
## Mentioned Fireship, Brandon Thomas, Adobe, Adobe Creative Cloud, Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere Pro, Claude, Rust, Linux, reverse-engineer-anything, ArtCraft, FilmCraft, Stanley Kubrick, Node.js, NSA, Ghidra, C, C++, Supabase, AWS, Studbase, Horse Tender, Donker, Apify, Apify MCP, Instagram
## Video description Every agent needs proper tools. Apify MCP gives yours thousands of them, ready to run. Use code FIRESHIP25 for $25 in free credits: https://apify.it/4ygURHS
A developer just rewrote seven Adobe apps in Rust and open-sourced them for free. Let's test them out.
Want more Fireship?
🗞️ Newsletter: https://bytes.dev 🧠 Courses: https://fireship.dev
[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wajoP_5Cpw8)