Cool Mac Apps
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Compositor

Layer-based photo editing, retouching, and compositing for Mac.

Free
Design
Photography

Compositor is a free, open-source image editor for macOS built around photo compositing and post-processing. It offers Photoshop-style layer editing, selection tools, and retouching in a native Mac app without a subscription.

Compositing and retouching

  • Layers and masks: Organize layers into folders, combine them with blend modes, and use layer masks, clipping masks, and editable adjustment layers.
  • Selections and repair: Select areas with marquee, lasso, magic wand, or subject selection tools; remove distractions with Spot Healing, Clone Stamp, and Content-Aware Fill.
  • Color and effects: Adjust RAW images, curves, levels, exposure, and color balance. Apply blur, lens correction, grain, or background removal.
  • Design controls: Work with editable text and shapes, alignment guides, transforms, and customizable Photoshop-style keyboard shortcuts.

16-bit, HDR, and CMYK workflows

Version 1.5 adds higher-precision layers for supported PNG, TIFF, HEIF, and RAW images, plus HDR import for EXR and .hdr files and EXR export. CMYK soft proofing and gamut warnings help preview print colors; Compositor can import CMYK PSD, JPEG, and TIFF files and export CMYK JPEG, TIFF, or PDF files with embedded profiles.

File support and requirements

Photoshop PSD and PSB import is partial, not full compatibility. CMYK documents are converted to RGB for editing, 16-bit PSD import is unsupported, and Compositor cannot export PSD files. It requires macOS 26 or later on an Apple silicon Mac and is currently English-only. The MIT-licensed app is available through GitHub Releases or Homebrew.