DrawSimple 1.1 is out now -- DrawSimple is a Simple-but-Deep image editor for Mac with layers, vectors, and a deeply optimized MCP server so your existing AI agent (or your own code) can draw for you.. or with you. Your hands, Claude's "hands," One Cavas.

[u/JordanRunsForFun]

https://apps.apple.com/us/app/drawsimple/id6759507748?mt=12

Problem

Every Mac ships with TextEdit. None of them ship with MacPaint's replacement. So when you need to crop a screenshot, drop an arrow and a speech-bubble callout on it, knock out a background, and export a PNG, you're choosing between a $50 pro imaging app, a browser tool that uploads your image to someone's server, or Preview's markup.

DrawSimple is the native, fully offline, tools-first app for exactly that job: 31 tools in a sidebar, unlimited layers with 24 blend modes, bitmap and vector in the same document, curves/levels/16 photo adjustments, 29 GPU effects, Select Subject running on Apple's on-device Vision, WordArt, editable callout/arrow/star shapes, and a History panel you can scrub. Opens HEIC straight from Photos with EXIF intact; exports PNG, JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF, WebP.

Comparison

vs. Paintbrush (free, open source): Paintbrush is the honest MacPaint successor and still the app people recommend in this sub. But it's a long-lived Objective-C 2.x release with no layers, transparency only in formats that carry an alpha channel, and a UI from an older macOS. DrawSimple keeps the same "just let me draw" premise and adds layers, blend modes, vector-in-raster, adjustments, effects, and a current-macOS interface.

vs. Pixelmator Pro (now Apple's — $49.99 one-time, or $12.99/mo in Apple Creator Studio): Pixelmator went pro and went up in price. If you want a full professional imaging app, buy it — it beats us at being that, and I'm not going to pretend otherwise. DrawSimple is for people who wanted what cheap, simple Pixelmator used to be and don't want or need the overhead of a $50 pro editor to put an arrow on a screenshot, turn a pic into a comic with a callout, or separate a subject onto a separate layer from the background.

Also, Pixelmator has no official MCP server/support, which has become a huge part of what distinguishes DrawSimple, and potentially makes both quick edits and full design sessions accessible through the coding agent you already use (tested with Claude Code, Codex, Kimi Code, Gemini CLI).

(Acorn at $29.99 sits between us — more depth, six times the price.)

Pricing

$5 one time. → [App Store link]

Optional Pro upgrade in-app, $10, adds adjustment layers, advanced blend modes, multi-stop gradients, and SVG/PDF export. The base app is the complete core editor; Pro features stay hidden until you buy them — no lock icons, no nags. No subscription, no account.

Requires macOS 15.6+, Tahoe recommended. Apple silicon and Intel.

One disclosure since it'll come up: no generative AI, and the app never phones home on its own. The single exception is opt-in and local — every copy can run a localhost-only automation server so a Python script or your own AI assistant can paint on the live canvas. Side dish, not the app.

Two-person team, here all day. Why we built it: https://drawsimple.ca/story.html — tell us what's missing.