Pixel Shop Pro Download

A full image editor in one 1.6 MB file.

Pixel Shop Pro is a fast, free image editor for Windows. It has layers, layer effects, retouching tools and a built-in photo browser, and it needs no installer, no account and no internet connection.

Download for Windows See what's inside

Version 2.9.7 for 64-bit Windows. The download is an 870 KB ZIP file.

The Pixel Shop Pro editor with a nebula image open, the toolbox on the left and the color, history and layers panels on the right

  • Nothing to install

    Unzip it and double-click pixelshoppro.exe. Carry it on a USB stick. Delete the file when you are done with it.

  • Works offline

    Pixel Shop Pro never connects to the internet. There is no sign-in, no tracking and no AI built in.

  • Free

    No price, no ads, no trial period and no subscription.

Paint Shop Pro 4 as it was before Corel changed it, with a touch of Photoshop.

Remember when an image editor opened in a second and let you get on with the picture? Pixel Shop Pro is a replacement for that version of Paint Shop Pro. It keeps the quick, friendly feel and adds the things a modern workflow expects, borrowed from Photoshop: layers with blend modes, layer effects, soft-edged selections, healing brushes and a history list you can jump around in.

The interface is modern. It follows your Windows light or dark setting, scales properly on high-DPI monitors, and keeps every tool a click away. It is a single small file that starts fast and stays out of your way.

Pixel Shop Pro is an independent project. It is not made by, or connected to, Corel, Adobe or any maker of the programs mentioned on this page.

  • Photographers and hobbyists

    Crop, straighten, correct color, remove blemishes and objects, and print with a live preview.

  • Graphic artists

    Build layered artwork with blend modes, drop shadows, glows, bevels and strokes, then save it as a layered .psl file.

  • Anyone with a folder of pictures

    Browse thumbnails, find the one you want and fix it. Convert a whole folder to another format in one go.

Everything here fits in that one file.

A tour of what Pixel Shop Pro does, using screenshots of the real program. Click any screenshot to see it full size.

Browse your pictures like a contact sheet

Press Ctrl+B and the Browse tab shows your folders, a grid of thumbnails and a large preview.

  • Folder tree, thumbnails and preview side by side. The preview lists the file name, pixel size, file size and dates.
  • Sort by name, newest, oldest, largest or smallest, and drag the slider to make the thumbnails bigger or smaller.
  • Move around quickly. Type a path and press Enter, use Back and Forward (the mouse thumb buttons work too), and double-click a picture to open it in its own tab.
  • Set a default folder, and choose whether Browse opens when the program starts.
The Browse tab showing a folder tree, a grid of wallpaper thumbnails and a preview pane with file details
The Browse tab with the folder tree on the left, thumbnails in the middle and a preview with file details on the right.

An editor that stays out of your way

Each picture opens in its own tab. Tools on the left, color and layers on the right, and the canvas gets the rest. Hover over or tap the yellow squares to see what is what.

  • Follows Windows. Dark by default, or switch to light, or follow the system setting from the View menu.
  • Sharp on any display. The interface is DPI aware, and Actual Pixels view shows your image at true 1:1.
  • Rulers and a pixel grid are there when you need them for precise work.
The editor window with a nebula image open
The editor with a 4K image open. The status bar shows the cursor position, the color under it, image size, DPI, bit depth and zoom.
  • Menus and toolbar. Every command is in the menus, and the row of icons under them has the ones you use most.
  • Toolbox. Twenty-eight tools in two columns, covered in the next section.
  • Tabs. Drag to reorder, press Ctrl+W to close, and right-click for Close All Tabs.
  • Tool options. Size, hardness, opacity and the rest appear above the canvas, and each tool remembers its own settings.
  • Color panel. Pick on the gradient, type a hex or RGB value, or click a swatch.
  • Status bar. Cursor X and Y, the red, green, blue and alpha values under the pointer, and the zoom level.
The toolbox, a two-column strip of 28 tool icons
The toolbox: 28 tools in two columns.

Brushes, selections and retouching tools

Twenty-eight tools sit in the toolbox. Pick one and its options appear above the canvas.

Paint and erase

Brush and Eraser, each with size, hardness, opacity and spacing. Blur, Smudge and Sharpen brushes. Sponge and Burn change color saturation under the brush.

Retouch

Clone, Spot Healing and Healing Brush. Paint over a blemish and let it heal, or sample a clean area and blend it in so it matches the lighting around it.

Select

Rectangle and ellipse, freehand lasso, polygon lasso and magic wand. Add, subtract or intersect, and feather the edge so every fill and effect follows it.

Shapes and text

Line, rectangle, ellipse and rounded rectangle, outlined or filled and anti-aliased. Text stays editable on its own layer until you paint on it.

Move, crop and navigate

Move, Crop, Fill, Color Picker, Zoom and Pan. Layer Rotate and Layer Resize turn or scale a layer by dragging handles, with a live preview.

History and layers you can trust

Press F9 to show the History panel. It lists your recent changes, and clicking one takes you straight back to that moment.

  • History keeps the last 15 changes for the open image. Undo and Redo step through them one at a time.
  • Layers have an eye toggle, a thumbnail, an opacity slider you can also type into, and 14 blend modes.
  • Buttons below the list add, duplicate and delete layers, merge down, move up and down, and open the layer's properties.
  • Ctrl+click a layer to select everything on it. Alt+click a text layer to edit its words.
  • Save as .psl to keep all your layers. Other formats flatten the image.
The History panel listing Original, Selection, Deselect and Paste, above the Layers panel with a Pasted layer over a Background layer
The History and Layers panels.

Layer effects with a live preview

Open a layer's properties and the canvas changes as you move the sliders. Nothing is baked in until you decide.

Eight effects, all stackable on any layer. A small fx mark appears on the layer. Click it to hide every effect on that layer and compare with the original, then click again to bring them all back exactly as they were. Every effect remembers the values you used last and has a Reset to defaults button.

Choose an effect to see its settings and what it looks like.

Bevel

Gives a layer raised or pressed-in edges, like a button or an engraved plate. The example is a raised bevel on a dark rectangle.

  • Depth sets how strong the effect is, and size sets how wide the edge is.
  • Soften smooths the edge.
  • Light direction chooses where the light comes from.
  • Direction switches between raised and pressed in.
The Layer Properties and Effects dialog with Bevel enabled, next to the example layer on a nebula background
Layer Properties and Effects with Bevel enabled.

Bloom, the glowing one

Bloom lets light spill out of a shape and flood back into it, fading from a white-hot center to a colored rim, like a lamp or an eye about to fire a beam. The example is a plain rectangle.

  • Glow color, or one click to use your current primary color.
  • Spread from 1 to 300 pixels, and intensity up to 300 percent.
  • White-hot core and softness, from tight and bright to a wide haze.
  • Glow inside and outside, outside only, or inside only.
The Layer Properties and Effects dialog with Bloom enabled, next to the example layer on a nebula background
Layer Properties and Effects with Bloom enabled.

Color Overlay

Covers everything on the layer with a single color. The example turns a dark rectangle bright pink.

  • Color, or one click to use your current primary color.
  • Opacity and blend mode control how it mixes with what is underneath.
The Layer Properties and Effects dialog with Color Overlay enabled, next to the example layer on a nebula background
Layer Properties and Effects with Color Overlay enabled.

Drop Shadow

Adds a shadow behind the layer so it lifts off the background. The example shows a hard, offset shadow.

  • Offset X and Y set how far the shadow is shifted.
  • Blur sets how soft it is.
  • Opacity and color finish the look.
The Layer Properties and Effects dialog with Drop Shadow enabled, next to the example layer on a nebula background
Layer Properties and Effects with Drop Shadow enabled.

Gradient Overlay

Covers the layer with a blend of two colors. The example fades pink to near-black from top to bottom.

  • Color 1 and color 2. Click a swatch to choose, use your primary and secondary colors in one click, or swap them.
  • Style: linear, reflected, radial, angle or diamond.
  • Direction sets the angle, and reverse flips the colors.
  • Opacity and blend mode as with any effect.
The Layer Properties and Effects dialog with Gradient Overlay enabled, next to the example layer on a nebula background
Layer Properties and Effects with Gradient Overlay enabled.

Inner Glow

A glow inside the layer. The example glows white from the edges inward.

  • Glow from the edges inward or from the center outward.
  • Size, opacity and color shape the glow.
The Layer Properties and Effects dialog with Inner Glow enabled, next to the example layer on a nebula background
Layer Properties and Effects with Inner Glow enabled.

Outer Glow

A soft glow around the outside edge of the layer. The example uses a warm yellow.

  • Size sets how far the glow spreads.
  • Opacity and color, with a one-click button to use your primary color.
The Layer Properties and Effects dialog with Outer Glow enabled, next to the example layer on a nebula background
Layer Properties and Effects with Outer Glow enabled.

Stroke

Draws a line around everything on the layer, following every shape’s edge, including text and separate pieces. The example is a black outline.

  • Color and opacity.
  • Thickness from 1 to 100 pixels.
  • Smoothness from 0 (a crisp edge) to 20 pixels (a soft fade).
  • Position: outside, centered on the edge, or inside.
The Layer Properties and Effects dialog with Stroke enabled, next to the example layer on a nebula background
Layer Properties and Effects with Stroke enabled.

A toolbar with the things you reach for

One row of icons across the top. Buttons turn gray when they do not apply, so what is lit is what you can use.

The toolbar: new, open, browse, save, print, three capture buttons, undo, redo, cut, copy, paste, full screen, slideshow, zoom in, zoom out, fit, 100 percent and 1 to 1
Files
New, Open, Browse, Save and Print.
Screen capture
Capture the full screen, capture after a delay, or capture a region, straight into a new tab.
Undo and Redo
Step back and forward through your changes.
Cut, Copy and Paste
Work on a selection or the whole layer. Pasted pictures land on a new layer.
Full screen and slideshow
View your open images full screen, or run a slideshow with slide or fade transitions.
Zoom
Zoom in and out, fit to window, 100 percent scaled, and Actual Pixels (1:1).

Hand a picture to another program

Pixel Shop Pro does not try to do everything. For the rest, it can send your image to other programs from the menu.

Menu entries reading Upscayl and Edit in Photoshop

Upscayl, for AI upscaling

Upscayl is a free, open-source AI image upscaler that runs on your own PC. Pixel Shop Pro itself has no AI, but it can pass an image to Upscayl and open the result when it finishes.

  • Choose 2x, 3x or 4x, and one of seven models, including Upscayl Standard, High Fidelity and Digital Art.
  • The upscaled PNG is saved next to your original, named after the model, and never overwrites an existing file.
  • It runs in the background, so you can keep editing while it works.
  • Install Upscayl yourself, then point Pixel Shop Pro at it once in Edit > Settings.

Photoshop, or any editor like it

Edit in Photoshop opens your saved image in Photoshop. It works by starting the program you chose and handing it the file, so it also works with any other application that can open an image file from the command line.

  • Set the path to the program once in Edit > Settings.
  • Save first. The other program opens the file on disk, and Pixel Shop Pro warns you if you have unsaved changes.
  • Changes made over there are not picked up automatically, so reopen the file when you come back.
The Batch Conversion window with source folder, destination folder, output type and a JPEG quality slider
Batch Conversion, found in the File menu.

Convert a whole folder at once

Pick a folder, say which kind of file to convert and what to convert it to, and press Start.

  • Convert one type of file or all supported types, into a different folder if you like.
  • Set the options for the target type: JPEG and WebP quality, WebP lossless, or 256-color PNG.
  • A progress message tells you where it is, for example "Now converting file 3 of 12", and Stop ends it early.
  • Files with the same name in the destination are overwritten, so point it at a fresh folder if you want to keep the originals apart.

A complete manual, built in

Choose Help > Manual and the whole manual opens in its own window. It works offline and describes every tool, menu command and shortcut.

  • A contents list on the left jumps to any section.
  • Search with Ctrl+F. Every match is highlighted, and F3 steps to the next one.
  • It is stored inside the program file, so it can never go missing.
The Pixel Shop Pro manual window with a contents list on the left and the Getting started section open
The manual, with its contents list and search box.

One small file, nothing to install

1.6 MBsmaller than a single photo from most phones
The file pixelshoppro.exe with the Pixel Shop Pro icon
  • It is a single executable. No installer, no runtime and no other files to keep track of.
  • Portable. Run it from a folder, a network drive or a USB stick. Delete the file to remove it.
  • Offline. It never connects to the internet.
  • Settings live in a small text file, pixelshoppro.ini, next to the program. If that folder is read-only, such as Program Files, they go in %APPDATA%\Pixel Shop Pro instead.
  • Light on resources. Filters use all your CPU cores and need no special graphics card.
  • Memory follows picture size: about 4 bytes per pixel per layer, so a 12 megapixel photo takes roughly 48 MB for each layer.
The icon for Pixel Shop Pro .psl files: the program icon with a small document in the corner

Its own file type, with its own icon

Save as .psl to keep your layers, effects and editable text. One click makes Windows open .psl files in Pixel Shop Pro.

  • In Edit > Settings, press Associate .psl files with Pixel Shop Pro. It applies to your Windows account and needs no administrator rights.
  • Double-click a .psl file to open it. The file gets its own icon, the program icon with a small document in the corner, and that icon is stored inside the exe, so it is still one file.
  • If you move the program, press the button again. If Windows keeps another default, use Open with and tick Always.

Made for Windows, and it also runs on Linux and Mac.

Pixel Shop Pro is a 64-bit Windows program. Linux and Mac can run it through a Windows compatibility layer, which is not officially supported.

Windows Primary

Windows 11 is where Pixel Shop Pro is developed and used every day. It is built for 64-bit Windows 10 and later. Just unzip it and run pixelshoppro.exe.

Linux Works with Wine

Pixel Shop Pro runs on Linux through Wine, the Windows compatibility layer. It was tested with 64-bit Wine only.

  1. Install Wine from your distribution's package manager.
  2. Download and unzip pixelshoppro.zip to a folder you can write to.
  3. Open a terminal in that folder and run:
wine pixelshoppro.exe

Wine usually shows your Linux files as the Z: drive, which is where Browse will find them. Settings are saved in pixelshoppro.ini beside the exe, so keep it somewhere you can write to.

Mac Unofficial

A Mac needs a Windows compatibility layer, such as Wine or CrossOver. On Apple Silicon Macs those run through Rosetta 2. Pixel Shop Pro has been tested on a Mac with a compatibility wrapper and works, but running it this way is not officially supported.

System requirements

Operating system
Windows 11, or 64-bit Windows 10 and later
Processor
Any 64-bit (x64) processor. More cores make filters faster.
Memory
At least 4 GB of RAM. Large pictures need more: about 4 bytes per pixel for every layer.
Disk space
About 1.6 MB for the program
Graphics card
Not required. Everything runs on the CPU.
Display
Any size. Scales with Windows display settings, per monitor.
Internet
Not required, ever
Permissions
No administrator rights needed
Optional extras
Upscayl for AI upscaling, and Photoshop or another editor for hand-off

Download Pixel Shop Pro

Free for everyone. No sign-up, no email address and no installer.

Pixel Shop Pro 2.9.7 for Windows

A single ZIP file with a single program inside it: pixelshoppro.exe.

Download pixelshoppro.zip
Version
2.9.7
For
64-bit Windows 10 and 11
Download size
870 KB (ZIP)
Program size
1.6 MB (pixelshoppro.exe)
ZIP SHA-256
bfd403e6107a5ae885fce5f6bd07a0e099746a6725d2a3a2554db880cd68ed29
EXE SHA-256
cb7aedc3c9fb652964699bb49e2ddedcd32473dbf758f06179ddd7030ad42da3

  1. Unzip

    Right-click the ZIP file and choose Extract All. Put pixelshoppro.exe in any folder you like.

  2. Run

    Double-click pixelshoppro.exe. That is the whole installation.

  3. Set up, if you want to

    In Edit > Settings you can pick a default folder for Browse, link .psl files to the program, and add paths for Upscayl and Photoshop.

If Windows says "Windows protected your PC"

Pixel Shop Pro is a small independent program, and its exe is not digitally signed, so Windows SmartScreen or your antivirus may warn you the first time. Choose More info, then Run anyway.

To check that your copy is exactly the one published here, open PowerShell in the folder with the file and run Get-FileHash .\pixelshoppro.zip. The result should match the ZIP SHA-256 above.

By downloading or using Pixel Shop Pro you agree to the disclaimers and legal terms below.

Other things worth knowing

A few more of the things in the box, the keys worth learning, and answers to common questions.

Retouching

Clone, Spot Healing and Healing Brush, plus Fill Selection from Surroundings, which rebuilds a selected area from the texture around it to remove a power line, logo or stray object. It uses an ordinary algorithm, not AI, and works best on skies, walls, grass and other even surfaces.

Adjustments

Brightness and Contrast, Gamma, Hue, Saturation and Lightness, Colorize, Grayscale, Sepia, Invert, Posterize, Threshold, Auto Tone, Auto Contrast, Auto Color and HDR Tone Map. Sliders preview live.

Effects and filters

Blur, Gaussian, Lens and Motion blur, Lens Flare with four camera lenses, Sharpen, Pixelate, Emboss, Edge Detect, Add Noise, Whiten Area and Spiral.

Resizing

Resize for hard edges, Resample with bicubic and Lanczos, and Upscale with detail recovery or pixel-art smoothing. Also Canvas Size, Crop, Free Rotate and Color Depth with dithering.

Formats

Open and save PNG, JPEG, BMP, GIF, TIFF and WebP. Open ICO, Radiance HDR and Photoshop PSD files too. PSD files with plain pixel layers keep their layers.

Capture, print and present

Screen capture with a delay if you need one, printing with a live page preview, a full screen view and a slideshow.

Keys worth learning

Browse tabCtrl+B
Undo and redoCtrl+Z and Ctrl+Y
Brush size[ and ]
Swap foreground and background colorsX
New layer, duplicate, merge downCtrl+Shift+N, Ctrl+J, Ctrl+E
Show or hide HistoryF9
Fit in window, actual pixelsCtrl+0 and Ctrl+2
Full screenF11

Questions

Is Pixel Shop Pro really free?

Yes. There is no price, trial period, ad or subscription. See the Disclaimers for what that does and does not include.

Does it need an internet connection?

No. It never connects to the internet, and the manual is built in. The only time anything goes online is if you choose to use Upscayl, which is a separate program.

Does it use AI?

Pixel Shop Pro has no AI features of its own. Its tools, including Fill Selection from Surroundings and Upscale, use classic algorithms that run on your PC. If you want AI upscaling, it can hand a picture to Upscayl. While the application contains no AI within it, Claude AI was used to write the application itself.

Where does it keep my settings, and how do I remove it?

Settings are in pixelshoppro.ini beside the program, or in %APPDATA%\Pixel Shop Pro if that folder is read-only. To remove Pixel Shop Pro, delete pixelshoppro.exe and that ini file. If you linked .psl files to it, choose another app with Open with.

Why does Windows warn me before it runs?

The program is not digitally signed, which is common for small independent software. Choose More info, then Run anyway. You can also check the SHA-256 value in the Download section.

How large a picture can it open?

It depends on your memory. Each layer takes about 4 bytes per pixel, so a 130 megapixel image uses about 0.5 GB for one layer and about 1 GB for two.

What does it not do?

Filters run on the CPU with no GPU acceleration. HDR support is a tone-mapping filter and a .hdr loader, not true 16-bit or floating-point editing. ICO and Photoshop PSD files can be opened but not saved.

Can I share it with friends?

Please share a link to this page instead of the file, so people always get the current version. Do not sell it or share modified copies. The Disclaimers have the details.

Disclaimers

Pixel Shop Pro is free, and it comes with no promises. Please read this before you use it.

It is free, and that is all you get

Pixel Shop Pro is provided free of charge. You do not pay for it, and nothing here creates a contract, a service agreement or a support obligation.

No warranty

Pixel Shop Pro is provided "as is" and "as available", without warranty of any kind, express or implied, including but not limited to any warranty of merchantability, fitness for a particular purpose, accuracy, reliability, title or non-infringement.

The developer does not promise that the software will meet your needs, run without interruption or errors, work on your particular computer, or that any problem will be fixed.

No liability

To the fullest extent permitted by law, the developer accepts no responsibility and shall not be liable for any direct, indirect, incidental, special, consequential or exemplary damages arising from the use of, or inability to use, this software, including loss of data, corrupted, overwritten or lost files, lost work, lost profits, business interruption, or damage to your computer or other property, even if advised of the possibility of such damage.

You use Pixel Shop Pro entirely at your own risk.

Developed using Claude AI

This software was developed by Jason Ireland using Claude AI, an AI assistant made by Anthropic. Pixel Shop Pro itself contains no AI.

As with any software, including software written with the help of AI, it may contain mistakes. Check the results of anything that matters to you.

Keep your own backups

Saving writes over the file you are working on. Keep copies of your originals and back up anything you care about before you edit it, convert it in bulk, or let another program work on it.

You may not alter or sell it

You are not authorized to do any of the following:

  • Modify, alter, patch, translate or create derivative works of Pixel Shop Pro.
  • Decompile, disassemble or reverse engineer it, except where the law does not allow this restriction.
  • Sell, rent, lease, sublicense or charge money for it, or include it in anything that is sold.
  • Remove or change its name, version information, copyright notices or credits, or present it as your own work.

To share it, please link to this page, so that everyone gets the current, unmodified version.

Your pictures are your responsibility

You keep every right you have in the images you create or edit, and the developer claims none. You are responsible for having the right to edit and use the pictures you open. Tools such as Fill Selection from Surroundings can remove logos and watermarks, so only remove marks you have the right to remove.

Other programs are not covered

Upscayl, Photoshop, Wine and any other program mentioned here are separate products with their own licenses, terms and makers. The developer is not responsible for them. Some Upscayl models are marked Non-Commercial, and following those terms is up to you.

Compatibility is not guaranteed

Pixel Shop Pro is developed on Windows 11. It has been tested with 64-bit Wine on Linux and with a compatibility wrapper on a Mac. Running it on Linux or a Mac relies on a compatibility layer and is not officially supported. Results on other systems, hardware and compatibility layers may vary.

It may change or go away

The developer may change, update, move or stop offering Pixel Shop Pro or this website at any time, without notice.

Credits

Pixel Shop Pro was written by Jason Ireland and Claude AI.

Thanks to the libwebp team at Google, to the Upscayl project, and to the Inter Project Authors for the typeface on this page.