Insignificant Developer

Introducing Avnac Studio, an open-source, local-first Canva alternative on desktop. Design like Canva, but fully offline, yours to control, and fast. Built on @akinkunmi’s work. Contributor: @d3uc3y

@heyrapto R2

How are you handling file uploads these days? Server storage or something like Cloudinary?

What's new in Avnac Studio ! We rebuilt the canvas and rendering engine from scratch. Grid lines, guides, and 30° rotation snap, so every move feels intentional. Contributor: @d3uc3y

Precision mode. New inspector panel lets you enter exact size, position for any shape or vector. And because our new canvas tracks every state cleanly, undo and redo just work more reliably. Credits to @d3uc3y as well, we were able to test this very well 🙂‍↔️

You can also adjust snap stickiness and speed in settings. Make it stronger or looser, however you work. 🙂‍↔️

@joshmanders Back in the day people were trying to make their code more efficient because of limited resources, but now with the excessive amount of resources available apps and programs just end up a bloated mess.

Nairaland is used by older generations. A massive UI/UX overhaul would disrupt what users are accustomed to. So any work on it should involve subtle improvements rolled out gradually, giving users time to adapt without getting lost. Nairaland’s value lies in its data efficiency and users’ muscle memory, not modern aesthetics. It’s fine as it is for me oo 😂

@akinkunmi What would you like us to change?

@seunosewa, I feel like I've asked you this before, but I don't remember your answer. Why hasn't Nairaland changed in decades?

I wrote mine from start to finish There was no AI when I graduated lmao

@akinkunmi Your build time would be getting insane 😂

Background removal is the single most requested feature for Avnac.design. I worked on this at midnight. I self-hosted a background removal model. The result is not as good as something you'd get on remove(dot)bg and it's significantly slower, the server also crashes because this is running on a small 48GB CPU. I used a smaller model that took less than 3 seconds average but the results were not very good. Anyway, it's live now, use it and let me know what results you get. I will work on improving it.

Help keep Avnac free and opensource. avnac.design/sponsor

@d3uc3y @akinkunmi You can check out the repo 🙂‍↔️ github.com/striker561/Avn…

Avnac Studio now Available on avnac.design/studio 🤩 maintained independently by @insigdev and I, thanks to @akinkunmi

@AnjolaaJesu @_ix_drew Make Una calm down 😑 Even if we ignore all those misalignments and let them build, they will not finish it in two weeks.

@_ix_drew @insigdev Likeeee!! It doesn’t have to be? That misalignment is not a deal breaker?

You never ready

You are right i phased wrongly but, resources don't always have to come from gated paywalls. Community contributions, self-hosting options, and transparent funding sustain plenty of massive projects without locking features. I feel if the project just replicates Canva’s subscription gates, it isn't really a disruptive alternative, it’s just a smaller version of the same model. The point of an open-source alt is to provide a different path, not just a different UI. If the tech is built for self-hosting or local processing, the 'resource' argument for gating features disappears.

@insigdev @akinkunmi I hate when someone tries to sound knowledgeable and end up saying something dumb, open source in no way means no paywall and a product being an alternative to another with gated features normally will have gated features itself, such has been the case with many alts.

I'm thinking of how to keep Avnac free and open-source while offering pro features like background removal and a high-quality template gallery. Don't really want to do subscriptions.

Building Canva Alternative, Avnac Studio ! x.com/insigdev/statu…

@2xQuant @akinkunmi If you’re unfamiliar with “free and open source” look it up. Given the search for Canva alternatives, what’s the point of gated features if the project is a Canva alternative?

@akinkunmi Bro are you trying to build a product or doing charity work lol, people will never appreciate it as long as it is free. At best you could have added one month free trial or implement gated features like canva.

TBH, most pro features need a server, and servers cost money especially for good background removal. Client-side works for basic use, but quality drops on complex images 😂 Maybe free tier runs in-browser, pro tier is server-side HD removal funded by credits based usage, but then it will need user tracking (no subscription). Omo For AI features, bring your own API key, abeg

Signing up for Cloudflare in 2026...

I no get choice but to buy it with my money na 🤧

Wake up, babe. New Avnac.design landing page is dropping soon.