LibreAI / Design / poster-design
// design · palxiao/poster-design

poster-design

Open-source online poster and image designer with a full editor, admin backend, and built-in AI tools

★ 4.9k stars⑂ 751 forksAGPL-3.0updated 2026-09
▦ visual — this project's README ships no embeddable screenshot,
so here's a placeholder. The guide below is complete regardless.
// project facts

Project facts

poster-design is an open-source design project by palxiao (palxiao/poster-design on GitHub). It has 4,901 GitHub stars and 751 forks, is released under the AGPL-3.0 license, and was last updated on GitHub on 10 September 2026.

GitHub stars
4,901
Forks
751
License
AGPL-3.0
Last updated on GitHub
10 September 2026
Category
Design
Listing
Full install guide
Official site
Official site
// how it works

How it works

  1. Decide your use

    Use the hosted demo to evaluate, or self-host the open-source edition for your own design site or internal tool.

  2. Clone the project

    Get the source from GitHub.

  3. Install and start

    Run the prepare script, then start the dev server.

  4. Open the editor

    Visit the local site, sign in, and create your first poster; the admin backend lives under /admin.

// features

Why people love it

Native DOM canvas editor

Drag, group, scale, align, and distribute elements freely, with layers, rulers, snap guides, undo/redo, and multi-board support.

Rich text tools

Fonts, sizes, colors, spacing, and CSS-based effects such as shadows, outlines, and gradients, plus decorative text compositions.

AI features built in

Free AI image generation and copywriting, and one-click AI background removal (matting) with brush repair/erase — no separate deployment needed.

PSD import

Parse PSD design files to help recreate designs as editable templates.

Styled QR codes

Generate QR codes with custom colors, sizes, gradients, and embedded logos.

Admin backend and user system

User registration and saved works, plus admin management of templates, assets, fonts, categories, users, and AI provider configuration (any OpenAI-compatible API).

Advertisement
// run it

Run it yourself

  1. Clone the repository

    Clone the project and enter its directory.

    git clone https://github.com/palxiao/poster-design.git
    cd poster-design
  2. Prepare dependencies

    Run the project's prepare script as documented in the README.

    npm run prepared
  3. Start the dev server

    Start the site and open it in your browser.

    npm run serve
    # then open http://127.0.0.1:5173/
// use cases

What you can build

Advertisement
// faq

Questions, answered

Who maintains poster-design?

Developer palxiao and contributors; a paid 'Plus' enterprise edition with private deployment and support is offered separately by the same team.

Is poster-design free?

The open-source edition in this repo is free under the AGPL-3.0 license, which includes the full editor, admin backend, and AI capabilities; the AGPL's copyleft terms apply if you distribute modifications.

Does it need a paid API key?

Core design features do not. AI generation features can be configured in the admin backend with any OpenAI-compatible API (the default points at Zhipu's open platform), which may require your own key.

How does it compare to Canva or Gaoding Design?

It offers a similar browser-based, template-driven design experience but is self-hostable and open source, with your data in your own SQLite database — at the cost of running and maintaining the deployment yourself.

How do I get started?

Clone the repo, run `npm run prepared` and `npm run serve`, then open http://127.0.0.1:5173/ (admin backend at /admin).

// keep exploring

Similar tools

Design

designer

3D tool to design roads and environments for autonomous vehicle testing

★ 148 starsCustom
View guide →
Design

QuickApp

AI-ready Angular + ASP.NET Core starter with hardened auth built in

★ 1.4k starsMIT
View guide →
Design

SwanLab

⚡️SwanLab - an open-source, modern-design AI training tracking and visualization tool. Supports Cloud / Self-hosted use. Integrated with PyTorch / Transforme…

★ 4.2k starsApache-2.0
View guide →
Design

kangaroo

AI-powered SQL client and admin tool for every popular database

★ 518 starsCustom
View guide →
Design

network-sketcher

AI-ready network design tool — draw topologies, export PowerPoint and Excel

★ 400 starsApache-2.0
View guide →
Design

figma-console-mcp

Your design system as an API — an MCP server that connects AI to Figma for extraction, creation and debugging

★ 2.5k starsMIT
View guide →
// alternatives

Alternatives in Design

The most-starred other Design projects in the LibreAI catalogue — the realistic shortlist if poster-design is not the right fit.

Get poster-design

Free and open — grab the source, star the repo, and start creating.