Paint by Zaweba on Mac and Linux: what to expect
Paint by Zaweba has a Mac and Linux version that uses the same plugins and opens and saves the same .ptx files as Windows. Here is how to work across systems.
Most people who edit pictures don't live on one operating system. A home Windows PC, a Mac laptop for travel, a Linux machine at a lab or school: files need to move between them. Paint by Zaweba has a Mac and Linux version alongside the Windows one. It uses the same plugins and opens and saves the same .ptx files, so a document started on one system carries on on another.
Same plugins, same files
Every tool in Paint by Zaweba is a plugin. The Mac and Linux version uses those same plugins, which means the tools you know behave the same way rather than being separate imitations rebuilt for another platform.
The .ptx file is the app's native document, holding layers, masks, adjustment layers, live Layer Art effects and the rest. Because both versions open and save the same .ptx files, you can save a document on Windows, copy it to a Mac or a Linux machine, keep working, and bring it back. There's no export and re-import in between, and nothing is flattened.
What is left out
Not everything the Windows version has is in the Mac and Linux version. The project keeps a list of what is left out, in a file called MAC-LINUX.md, so you can check before you rely on a particular feature. That is a more useful approach than discovering a gap halfway through a job.
If you work across systems, a sensible habit is to do the parts of a job that use Windows-only features on Windows, and keep the shared work, such as painting, layering and retouching with the common tools, for whichever machine is in front of you.
Why it matters
For students, a free editor that runs at home on Windows and on a Mac or Linux machine elsewhere makes life simpler. There's no need to learn two different programs or to convert files between formats.
For small teams, it means people can share .ptx files whatever system they use. One person can build a layered design on Windows, another can make changes on a Mac, and the layers survive.
For Linux users in particular, a Photoshop-style editor with layers, masks and adjustment layers that is free and offline is a welcome option.
The same principles everywhere
The Mac and Linux version follows the same approach as the Windows app. It is free software under the EULA, works offline, needs no account, and has no AI services and no telemetry. Your pictures stay on your own machine on every system.
Tips for working across systems
Keep your .ptx masters in one place you can reach from each machine, such as a shared drive or a USB stick, and avoid editing the same file on two machines at once.
Check fonts. Text layers depend on fonts installed on the computer. If a font is missing on the other system, the text may look different. Install the same fonts on each machine you use, and look over text layers after opening a file elsewhere.
Read the list of what is left out before starting a job you plan to finish on a Mac or Linux machine, so you know which steps to do on Windows.
Where to start
If you already use Paint by Zaweba on Windows, the Mac and Linux version should feel familiar from the start, with the same tools and the same documents. If you're new, the Windows version is the fullest, and the Mac and Linux version is a solid companion for the same files wherever you happen to be working.
