Octo × Photoshop · research of Oct 31, 2026
Five hundred catalog photos on the same background with the same margin, the brochure converted to the print shop's profile, the old watermark script that needs to become UXP, an archive of years of PSDs. Adobe Photoshop automated with actions and droplets, scripts and plugins, the Photoshop API in the cloud and checks of the generated images. Octo reads, writes the script, generates into an output folder and shows the result by content. Final images, color proofs and the use of generative AI stay with people.
One task from request to approval, at a fictional company. The arms measure, plan and execute; the person in charge checks and approves. Each tab is one front of the field and links to its page.
Front pageActions and batch →Color and print →
The current desktop version of Photoshop is 27.11, from September 2026, for Windows and macOS. It is sold only as a Creative Cloud subscription, monthly or annual, on its own or within plans with several apps. In the cloud, the Photoshop API v2 is generally available within Firefly Services.
27.11
September 2026 version, according to the official what's new page, updated on Oct 5, 2026. Versions 27.9.1 (July) and 27.10 (August) came before, with editing by text prompt, generative editing by mask and a choice between Adobe and partner AI models.
.js, .jsx), VBScript and AppleScript, with the Script Events Manager; UXP .psjs scripts (23.5+) and UXP .ccx plugins (22.0+) under active development.helpx.adobe.com · scriptsdeveloper.adobe.com · PhotoshopWith what each stage offers, how it is automated by action, script, plugin or API, where Octo can help and what is confirmed in a published source.
Actions, droplets, the Image Processor, the Batch command and variables with data sets. Octo can build the action, the variables spreadsheet and the check of what came out.
Open the page →ExtendScript (JSX), UXP .psjs scripts, plugins and batchPlay. Octo can read the team's old script and propose the migration to UXP, with what changes in each section.
The Firefly Services REST API: background removal, product cutout, smart objects, remote actions, credentials, costs and limits. Octo can write the pipeline on the server, with a log of every call.
Open the page →Standardized cutout, background, size and margin, names by product code and a check. Octo can measure each image and set aside the one that strayed from the standard before it goes up to the store.
Open the page →ICC profiles, RGB and CMYK, soft proofing, batch conversion and checking the embedded profile. Octo can list images with no profile or the wrong profile before the file goes to the print shop.
Open the page →Generative Fill and Firefly, Content Credentials (C2PA), terms of use and human approval. Octo can log which images AI was used on and check whether the credential was written.
Open the page →PSD and PSB, layers and smart objects, psd-tools, archive inventory and export. Octo can list each file's layers, fonts and objects without opening Photoshop.
Open the page →GIMP (Script-Fu and Python), Krita, ImageMagick and darktable, only what has a source. Octo can show which part of the batch runs on a server with no license, and what still requires Photoshop.
Open the page →The same Octo cycle, applied to photos, PSD documents, product spreadsheets and API calls. Each arm has a narrow role; the ones who approve the image, the color proof and the use of AI are people.
Image folders, embedded profiles, actions and scripts in use, installed plugins, product spreadsheets and PSD archives.
Each product's code, catalog size and margin, the print shop's color profile and which file is the approved version.
API credentials outside the code, photos with a face or a document (LGPD, Brazil's data protection law), client images that don't leave the machine without an agreement.
Action or droplet, UXP script on the workstation, Photoshop API on the server or a free tool, depending on the task and the contract.
Action, UXP script, API call or external script, with a log, a separate output folder and the source of each operation noted.
Measures size and margin, reads the embedded profile, builds the contact sheet. The image merely existing is not enough.
Only with your OK, it places the images in the approval folder. The store, the print shop and social media stay with whoever approves.
Action, script, color profile, AI use, checked sample, sources and what was decided are written down for the next session.
The criteria Octo uses to choose. From what needs Photoshop open on a workstation to what runs on a server.
| Path | Used for | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Actions, droplets and Image Processor | The same edit on many images, without code | In the official help; the Image Processor converts, resizes, embeds a profile and runs an action |
| ExtendScript (JSX) | The team's old scripts, Script Events Manager | Supported, but no longer in active development; end date not found on an official page |
UXP script (.psjs) | A repeated task, run once, with minimal dialog | Photoshop 23.5 or newer; batchPlay where the DOM doesn't reach yet |
UXP plugin (.ccx) | A panel with the team's routine inside the program | Photoshop 22.0 or newer |
| Photoshop API v2 | Cutouts, smart objects and actions on a server, at volume | Enterprise contract with Firefly Services; price by contract; usage limits published in the technical notes |
| Check outside Photoshop | Size, margin, profile and name of each generated image | A script over the exported images, without the program open |
| psd-tools, ImageMagick and GIMP | Read PSD and convert without Photoshop | Mentioned only; fidelity covered in the field pages |
Three steps. Each one only makes sense after the previous one has shown results on your team.
A proposal, not a promise
Octo shows what exists: images by size and profile, actions and scripts in use, plugins, PSD archives and product spreadsheets.
Cutouts, standardization and conversions come from actions, scripts or the API, into an output folder, with a check report.
The month's photo session, the brochure and the social media pieces run the same way, with who approved and what changed.
Only what has a published source goes into the field's pages: every point carries its reference, and every page closes with its own list of sources.
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points with a published source across the field's eight pages, each with its reference on the page itself.
Octo prepares everything, but it does not sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.
Surveys, calculates, organizes and produces the documents: processed files, proofs, reports and spreadsheets.
Deliverable: material ready to checkThe client or the art director checks what Octo delivered before approving. If something doesn't add up, it goes back to Octo with the correction.
Step: checked by the person who approvesOcto does not approve the artwork. Artwork carries no legal signature: approval of the artwork and the proof stays with the client or the art director.
Approval: client or art directorPrimary sources, consulted on Oct 31, 2026. Each page in the field closes with its full list.
.psjs scripts and batchPlayThe assessment starts by reading the images, actions, scripts and spreadsheets your team already has, without changing anything. You get the inventory and the map of what can be generated or checked in batch, with a trial on a known case, and you decide with that in hand.