PhotoSteps

Stop using AI that edits your photos.
Start using AI that builds your editing system.

⚠️ The Problem

AI photo tools today are broken:

• You type -> it generates -> you get a result
• You don't know what happened
• You can't tweak it properly
• You can't reuse it

It's fast.
But it's opaque, fragile, and disposable.

💡 The Shift

PhotoSteps flips the model:

AI doesn't generate the image.
AI generates the pipeline.

🧩 What is PhotoSteps?

A pipeline-first image editor where:

• Every edit = a node
• Every workflow = a pipeline
• The pipeline = the truth
• PhotoSteps Studio gives humans a visual editor to inspect and directly edit every pipeline step

No hidden layers.
No mystery sliders.
No "magic."
Just a system you can see, edit, and own.

🧠 This is the killer feature

You type:

make it warmer and dreamy

Instead of getting a baked image...
You get:

[
  { "node": "temperature", "value": 12 },
  { "node": "softGlow", "radius": 8, "intensity": 0.4 },
  { "node": "toneCurve", "preset": "dreamy" }
]

AI becomes a pipeline generator.
You become the editor of the system.

🤝 Human × AI (not Human vs AI)

This is where it gets interesting.

Both you and AI operate on the same structure.

• You describe intent
• AI proposes structure
• You refine the structure in PhotoSteps Studio (step-by-step, with full control)

No overrides.
No black box.
No starting over.
Just continuous collaboration.

🔥 Why this is different

Most tools optimize for:

Get a result fast

PhotoSteps optimizes for:

Build something reusable

That unlocks:

• ♻️ Reuse the exact look on any image
• 🧪 Experiment by swapping steps
• 🔍 Debug bad edits instantly
• 📦 Share looks as pipelines (not screenshots)

🧠 The idea in one line

PhotoSteps is "Markdown for image editing" + AI.

⚡ Example flow

1. Load image
2. Type: cinematic, soft, slightly warm
3. AI generates pipeline
4. You tweak values
5. You reorder steps
6. You save the pipeline

🏗 Tech

• Next.js
• TypeScript
• WebGL rendering
• Lightweight, mostly client-side

PhotoSteps Studio

🧱 Schema and Render Contract

PhotoSteps includes a formal schema and render contract for nodes and pipelines.
That structure can be used to generate or port node implementations to other native GPU backends, including Apple Metal.

• Schema: src/lib/schema/photosteps-v2.schema.json
• Node catalog: src/lib/schema/nodes.full.json

🧨 Hot take

AI tools that hide their process will feel outdated.

The future is:

AI that exposes structure.

🔮 What this becomes

• A universal format for image editing
• A shared library of looks
• A programmable layer for creativity

⭐ If this clicks

• Star the repo
• Fork it
• Break it
• Build your own nodes
• Push the idea further

🐾 Final thought

Don't ask AI for better images.
Ask AI for better systems to make images.

Clone and Install

git clone https://github.com/Misfits-Rebels-Outcasts/photosteps.git
cd photosteps/photosteps-web
npm install
npm run dev

Open: http://localhost:3000