Draw, set type, paint, animate and score in one plain, fast Mac app, and hand any of it to Claude.

Download Basel 0.3 (.dmg) universal · 7 MB The command picks up updates too: run it again any time. The .dmg isn't notarized yet, so the first time, right-click Basel ▸ Open. SHA-256

Design

A vector editor that keeps out of the way: pen and shapes, real type, pixels when you need them, and a grid that everything snaps to.

Vectors and type

Pen, shapes, stars and paths with pathfinder and outlines. Type in any installed font, set on the grid.

Pixels

Pixel layers with brush, eraser and fill. Rasterize vectors, apply effects and paint over them.

Layers and masks

Container layers with blend modes and opacity. Any layer can be an alpha or luminance mask.

Artboards

Several boards per project, same size, each with its own layers and paper.

PDF and Illustrator

Open .pdf and .ai files as editable layers: paths, type, images, clipping and opacity masks.

Materials

Grain, halftone, paper, scratches or your own textures. Distress wears the ink away like an old print.

Motion and sound

Switch to Motion and the same document moves. Every property can be keyframed, and the timeline holds sound as well as layers.

Keyframes

With Record on, every change is a keyframe at the playhead. Edit curves and parameters from the timeline.

Transitions

Fades, slides, scale, pop, spin and write-on, tied to each layer's in and out points.

Sequences

Place artboards in time and the video cuts between them, each with its own animation.

Record

Voice-over from the microphone, with a metronome count-in that starts the take on the downbeat.

Edit sound

36 non-destructive edits and filters: trim, cut, noise reduction, de-hum, compressor, loudness, EQ, reverb, pitch.

Export

MP4, MOV (H.264, HEVC, ProRes), PNG and PDF, with the sound mixed in.

Agents

Basel serves the Model Context Protocol while it's open. An agent edits the window you're looking at, every change is undoable, and render lets it see its own work.

Claude beside the canvas

View ▸ Claude (⌥⌘C) docks Claude Code next to the editor, already connected.

Scripts

run_script runs JavaScript with every tool as a function, for grids and generative work.

Play with Phase

Link to the Phase synth studio and both apps play in sync on one clock.

# Claude Code
claude mcp add --transport http basel http://127.0.0.1:4051/mcp

# stdio clients (launches Basel if needed)
{ "mcpServers": { "basel": { "command": "/Applications/Basel.app/Contents/MacOS/basel-mcp" } } }

// run_script: twelve discs around the color wheel
for (let i = 0; i < 12; i++)
  basel.add_shape({ type: 'ellipse', x: 40 + i * 80, y: 300, width: 60, height: 60, fill: `hsb(${i * 30}, 80, 95)` })

add_shapeadd_pathadd_textplace_mediaset_keyframesset_transitionpathfinderset_materialpaintsequence_artboardsedit_soundrecord_soundsync_phaserenderexportrun_script…