Octo for PSD and PSB archives

Ten thousand PSDs on the server, and nobody knows what's in them. The one who decides what stays is you.

PSD has a public specification from Adobe, which makes it possible to read an entire archive without opening Photoshop: header, layers, smart objects, whether a composite image was saved or not. Octo does the screening, the inventory and the link check, and says when a preview generated outside Photoshop can't be trusted. The artwork, what gets discarded and image rights stay with people.

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Maximum PSD side30,000 pxand 300,000 in PSB, per Adobe's specification

Specification readNov. 2019the public version of the format

psd-tools1.26.0from Oct 21, 2026, MIT license, according to PyPI

Sources10listed at the end of the page

What Octo does with your archive.

Six possible deliverables, drawn from the research. All of them only read the archive, all of them write to a new folder, and all of them go to review by whoever answers for the files.

Header screening

PSD or PSB, dimensions, mode, bit depth and whether a composite image was saved, read from 26 bytes and one resource, with nothing to install.

Deliverable: triagem.csv for the whole archive

Layer inventory

Layers by type, hidden layers, repeated names, embedded and linked smart objects, file by file.

Deliverable: inventory per file and per layer

Links checked

Each linked smart object is looked for in the folder that will be delivered. If one is missing, the delivery stops.

Deliverable: objetos.csv with what is missing

Previews with their origin marked

Saved composite or recomposed outside Photoshop: the difference shows up in the manifest instead of staying hidden.

Deliverable: PNG per piece and a manifest with sha256

Visual catalog

Thumbnails and contact sheets with ImageMagick, with a memory limit for large PSBs.

Deliverable: thumbnails, contact sheet and a log

Hidden layers flagged

An old price, a photo without a valid release, a person's name: the inventory lists it, the person in charge decides.

Deliverable: list for whoever is in charge of the archive

Eight arms, an archive read without being touched.

The same Octo cycle, applied to PSD and PSB. Each arm has a narrow role; the ones who decide about the artwork, the rights and what gets discarded are people.

Discovery
Surveys the archive

Where the files are, how much space they take, which Photoshop versions saved them, who uses them and for what.
Data
Writes the formats

Screening and inventory columns, output naming pattern, what counts as a duplicate.
Security
Protects the archive and the data

Read-only, a memory limit, a local copy with sha256, hidden layers and portraits flagged (LGPD, Brazil's data protection law).
Architecture
Chooses the reading level

Header, psd-tools or Photoshop itself, depending on the question and the fidelity required.
Development
Writes the readers

Screening, inventory, links and previews, with the source of each rule noted.
Review
Checks by content

A sample of previews against Photoshop and counts against the inventory. "It generated the CSV" is not a check.
Release
Prepares the catalog and report

Catalog, link report and archive summary. The delivery is made with a person's approval.
Documentation
Records what applies to your environment

What was measured and who approved each archiving, re-save or discard.

Octo reads the archive without changing it. It does not re-save files, does not delete duplicates and does not decide whether a preview represents the artwork.

Each question, its own reading level.

The criteria Octo uses to choose, with the documented limit of each path.

Task	Path	Notes
Screening thousands of files	Python, standard library	Header and resource 1057; no pixels
Layer inventory	psd-tools	Read-only; memory limit per file
Missing linked files	psd-tools	Links folder as input
Extract embedded objects	psd-tools	Copy in a new folder, with sha256
Thumbnails and contact sheet	ImageMagick 7	Uses the composite; resource limits
Faithful export with text and effects	Photoshop, by action or script	Program open, a license and a person
Manifest and object replacement in the cloud	Photoshop API v2	Contract, credentials and the file leaving the network
Re-save with maximum compatibility	Photoshop	Human decision, with a checked copy

From an unknown server to a cataloged archive.

Three steps. Each one only makes sense after the previous one has shown results on your team.

A proposal, not a promise

1 Today

Screening

Octo reads the header of the whole archive, without installing anything on the server.

PSD, PSB and errors
Composite saved or not
Space per folder

Gain: knowing what exists

2 Next

Inventory and links

Layers, smart objects and links checked before each delivery.

Inventory per layer
Missing links
Hidden layers flagged

Gain: deliveries with no missing files

3 Later

Catalog

Thumbnails and exported layers, with the origin of each preview marked.

Contact sheets
Checked sample
Manifest with sha256

Gain: finding the piece without opening a hundred files

Confirmed by a source.

Every point below has a source published by the vendor, by the project or by the responsible agency. The sources are in the next section.

points with a published source, each with its reference shown alongside.

ConfirmedFive sections in a fixed order: A 26-byte header with 8BPS and version (1 PSD, 2 PSB), color mode, resources, layers and composite image; without maximum compatibility, the composite is not created.Source: adobe.com, Photoshop File Formats Specification (Nov. 2019)
Confirmedpsd-tools reads well and composites little: Reading and writing the structure, pixel export; limited compositing and editing; text, shapes and smart objects are not editable.Source: pypi.org, psd-tools 1.26.0
ConfirmedPhotoshop API v1 shut down: v2 is generally available, accepts files up to 5 GB, and v1 reached end of life on Jul 31, 2026.Source: developer.adobe.com, Photoshop API

What Octo does, and what stays with you.

Octo prepares everything, but it does not sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.

Octo prepares

Surveys, calculates, organizes and produces the documents: processed files, proofs, reports and spreadsheets.

Deliverable: material ready to check

Your team checks

The 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 approves

Who approves

Octo 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 director

Sources.

The format specification and Adobe developer pages, plus psd-tools, ImageMagick and Krita documentation, consulted on Oct 31, 2026.

Photoshop File Formats SpecificationSections, limits, keys, resource 1057
Photoshop API (Firefly Services)v2, end of v1, 5 GB
UXP reference, Layer classkind, bounds, layers
Photoshop 27.11 announcementSeptember 2026 version
psd-tools on PyPI1.26.0, MIT, support
psd-tools, referenceopen, descendants, has_preview
psd-tools, SmartObjectkind, filename, confined open
ImageMagick, formatsPSD and PSB, read and write
ImageMagick, security policyResource limits
Krita, PSDWhat it loads and saves

Your PSD archive, counted and checked.

The assessment starts by screening a folder that already exists. You get what is there, what doesn't open, what depends on Photoshop to be seen and the questions only your team can answer, and you decide with that in hand.

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