Creative Developer Tools

Creative Developer Tools (CRDT) is a free toolkit for people who build scripts, panels and plug-ins for the Adobe Creative Cloud apps (InDesign, Photoshop, and any app that runs ExtendScript).

It gives your code abilities the Adobe scripting environments don’t offer on their own: real file access, environment variables, encoding, encryption, and it bundles PluginInstaller, which handles the whole developer‑to‑user chain for you: packaging, code‑signing, downloading, installing, updating, removing, licensing and activation.

CRDT is free. Everything you need to package, distribute and license your own software costs nothing. A few optional extras require a paid developer account (see below).

Two editions

  For Notes
CRDT_ES CEP panels and ExtendScript scripts All functions are synchronous. No background process needed — a DLL loads transparently when you //@include the crdt.jsx file.
CRDT_UXP UXP plug-ins and UXPScript (InDesign, Photoshop) Some functions run in‑process; others are handled by a small local daemon (a private HTTPS server on your own machine).

You need a free developer account for either edition. You create and register it in PluginInstaller.

What you get

Free

  • Package, code‑sign, download, install, update and remove ExtendScript scripts and CEP/UXP panels

  • Add licensing and activation to your own product

  • A unique account GUID for each end user

  • Protect source code — replace JSXBIN with AES‑256 encryption, certificates handled for you

  • Read and write files (including binary) beyond the UXP sandbox

  • Read environment variables

  • Base64 encode/decode

Paid developer account

  • Callable AES‑256 string encryption/decryption

  • Stable, unique machine GUID per end‑user computer

  • Persistent local storage that survives uninstall/reinstall

  • Install and usage metrics for your product

Get started

  1. Download PluginInstaller — https://PluginInstaller.com Runs on macOS (Intel and Apple Silicon), Windows 10+ (x86‑64 and ARM64) and Ubuntu Linux (x86‑64 and ARM64). Run it once from its final location.

  2. Turn on the advanced UI. PluginInstaller opens in a simplified guided flow. Open Preferences and tick Show Advanced UI. Developer features are only reachable from the advanced UI.

  3. Create and register a developer account — switch to Developer/Publisher mode in the File menu, create an account, then click Register. Confirm via the email link. You will have two separate accounts: a user account (Standard Mode) and a developer account (Developer/Publisher mode)

  4. Activate CRDT.

    • CRDT_ES: nothing else to do — call the crdtes functions straight from your script.

    • CRDT_UXP: in Preferences (advanced UI), tick Launch daemon for Creative Developer Tools. The daemon keeps running until the next reboot; startDaemon / killDaemon scripts are included if you want to control it manually or auto‑start it.

Tip: on a personal machine, tick Save Unlock Code in the Accounts window so you don’t have to re‑enter it every launch.

Documentation

Both downloads include sample code (crdtes_test.js / crdtuxp_test.js) showing every function in use. To experiment: use the VSCode ExtendScript debugger for CRDT_ES, or the Adobe UXP Developer Tool for CRDT_UXP.

Downloads

Release notes: CRDT_ES · CRDT_UXP

Training and support

We provide commercial training and developer support for integrating CRDT into your own product. Contact us to discuss a support contract, or to send a feature request.