The full vector toolset (paths, booleans, text, gradients, effects) runs entirely client-side at app.hector-vector.com. No account, no install, nothing leaves the tab. Download the open-source desktop app and you also get AI image processing, batch, and a local library.
Same editor, same open-source code, one repository. The desktop build adds the things a browser sandbox simply can't do.
The short version is on this page. Everything else lives with the source.
Full feature list, architecture notes, and the install/run instructions for the desktop build.
Drive the editor from an AI agent over MCP: every tool, panel, and command exposed 1:1.
Tagged desktop builds, changelogs, and the source tarball for each version.
There is no separate cloud fork. The browser build at app.hector-vector.com is the same source tree as the desktop app: one editor, one codebase. The desktop app runs a small local Python server for the parts a browser can't do on its own (the AI pipeline, on-disk library, project files); the browser build detects it's running on a hosted domain and simply doesn't show those panels. Any bug fixed or feature added lands in both builds at once.
Everything, honestly. ✅ full · 🟡 reduced · ❌ desktop-only.
| Feature | Browser | Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Draw tools: select, node, pen, curvature, rect, ellipse, line | ✅ | ✅ |
| Live shapes (rounded-rect, polygon, star) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Booleans + Pathfinder (divide/trim/merge/crop/minus-back) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Geometric stroker · outline stroke · offset path · expand | ✅ | ✅ |
| Width tool · Shape Builder · Scissors · Knife · Eraser | ✅ | ✅ |
| Blend · clip & opacity masks · live effects (shadow/blur/glow) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Transforms · Repeat (grid/radial/mirror) · Isolation · Symbols | ✅ | ✅ |
| Gradients · pattern fills · Recolor Artwork | ✅ | ✅ |
| Layers · align · arrange · undo/history · multiple artboards | ✅ | ✅ |
| Feature | Browser | Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| System fonts | ✅ | ✅ |
| Web-font browse & apply | 🟡 ~1900 Google | ✅ 2000+, 4 sources |
| Convert text → outlines | 🟡 real shaping, single script per run | ✅ full shaping, mixed scripts |
| Feature | Browser | Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Place / embed a reference image (drag, drop, paste) | ✅ | ✅ |
| Process: vectorize, upscale, background removal, restore | ❌ | ✅ |
| Feature | Browser | Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| New · open .svg · export SVG/PNG · copy SVG markup | ✅ | ✅ |
| Local library (browse a folder of images/vectors) | ❌ | ✅ |
| .hv projects (document + full undo history) | 🟡 see below | ✅ |
| Persistence across sessions | 🟡 files | ✅ on disk |
| Feature | Browser | Desktop |
|---|---|---|
| Upscale (Real-ESRGAN / spandrel / AuraSR) | ❌ | ✅ |
| Background removal (rembg / BiRefNet / BEN2) | ❌ | ✅ |
| Vectorize / trace (VTracer) | ❌ | ✅ |
| Restore, face-restore, object removal, batch queue | ❌ | ✅ |
| Browser | Desktop | |
|---|---|---|
| Install | none, just open a URL | download |
| Offline | 🟡 | ✅ |
| Cost · open source | free · ✅ | free · ✅ |
The AI pipeline row stays desktop-only by design; it needs real compute a browser sandbox can't provide. Everything else in this table is either full parity or closing — the browser build now shapes text with real HarfBuzz (ligatures, kerning, complex scripts), same engine as desktop.
hector-vector.svg and edit it directly, then export SVG or PNG when done. All client-side.