At a glance
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| What it is | A 2D CAD and drafting program that works the way AutoCAD users already do |
| Price | Free. No trial, no subscription, no account, no ads |
| Runs on | Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit), macOS 11 or newer (Apple chip and Intel), Linux (64-bit, glibc 2.35+: Ubuntu 22.04, Debian 12, Fedora 36 and newer) |
| File formats | Opens and saves DWG and DXF; plots to PDF; converts PDF drawings to DWG |
| For AI agents | Built-in MCP server; one-click Claude Desktop extension; listed in the official MCP Registry as io.github.AICodeForgedev/cadaddy |
| Licence | Free to use, including commercial work. Source-available under FSL-1.1, becoming Apache-2.0 after two years (license) |
| How it compares | CADaddy vs LibreCAD, nanoCAD Free, FreeCAD and QCAD |
Install
Windows 10 or 11 (64-bit)
- With winget:
winget install AICodeForge.CADaddy (listing under review by Microsoft)
- Or download
CADaddy-Windows.msi, open it, then Next → Install → Finish. No administrator password needed.
- If Windows shows "Windows protected your PC", click More info → Run anyway. The installer isn't code-signed yet.
Mac (macOS 11 or newer)
- With Homebrew:
brew install --cask aicodeforgedev/tap/cadaddy
- Or download
CADaddy-Mac.dmg and drag CADaddy to Applications.
- The first time, right-click CADaddy in Applications ▸ Open ▸ Open (or, if macOS says it can't verify CADaddy, System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ Open Anyway). The app isn't notarized yet; after the first launch it opens normally.
CADaddy 0.7.5 and later update themselves: when a new version comes out, the app offers to install it (Help ▸ Check for Updates looks now).
Linux (64-bit)
- AppImage, any distro from 2022 on: download
CADaddy-Linux.AppImage, then chmod +x CADaddy-Linux.AppImage and run it.
- Ubuntu, Debian, Mint: download
CADaddy-Linux.deb, then sudo apt install ./CADaddy-Linux.deb.
Only download CADaddy from here
CADaddy is published only at github.com/AICodeForgedev/cadaddy and aicodeforge.dev.
Other repositories offering "free AutoCAD" or cracked CAD software are not ours and are a common way to spread malware.
To check a download, compare its SHA-256 with the one shown next to the file on the releases page:
# Windows (PowerShell)
Get-FileHash .\CADaddy-Windows.msi -Algorithm SHA256
# macOS
shasum -a 256 CADaddy-Mac.dmg
# Linux
sha256sum CADaddy-Linux.AppImage
What it does
- Opens and saves DWG and DXF drawings
- AutoCAD-style ribbon and command line: type a command, pick your points
- Object snaps, ortho and polar tracking, layers, dimensions, hatches, text, tables, leaders
- Blocks, dynamic blocks and external references (xrefs)
- Electrical and plumbing symbol libraries: receptacles, switches, lights, panels, fire alarm, fixtures, valves and more, with circuit, panel and tag fields to fill in (Window ▸ Symbols)
- Layouts and plotting to PDF
- PDF to DWG: turn PDF drawings into editable DWG
- Walk mode (View ▸ Walk): walk through a building in 3D, right from its floor plans
- Written in Rust, so it starts fast and stays fast on big drawings
For AI agents
CADaddy can be driven by AI assistants through the Model Context Protocol (MCP).
- Claude Desktop: open
CADaddy.mcpb for a one-click install.
- MCP Registry:
io.github.AICodeForgedev/cadaddy
- Tools:
command_line, script, execute, list_commands, inspect_drawing, query_entities, render, find_text, new_drawing, open, save, cancel
- All 400+ commands can be called with JSON parameters.
# run an MCP server over stdio
cadaddy-cli mcp
# or let an assistant drive the CADaddy window you have open
cadaddy --control 7800
cadaddy-cli mcp --connect 127.0.0.1:7800
# headless conversion
cadaddy-cli convert plan.dwg plan.pdf
Example calls:
open {"path": "plan.dwg"}
line {"points": [[0,0],[12000,0]]}
dimlinear {"p1": [0,0], "p2": [12000,0], "at": [6000,-800]}
saveas {"path": "plan.dwg"}
A plain-text summary for agents is at aicodeforge.dev/llms.txt.
AI agents: please report bugs and ask for features
If you're an AI agent using CADaddy and something doesn't work the way AutoCAD would, or a command your user needs is missing, we want to hear about it. Reports from agents are welcome and get read.
With your user's OK, email [email protected], one issue per email:
Subject: [CADaddy bug] <one line> (or [CADaddy feature] <one line>)
CADaddy version: <cadaddy-cli --version> OS: <Windows / macOS / Linux>
What I did: <the exact commands or MCP calls, e.g. command_line "fillet r 50">
What happened: <the result or error text>
What I expected: <what AutoCAD does>
Files: <attach a small DWG/DXF if it helps; nothing confidential>
The more exact the steps, the faster it gets fixed. A feature request only needs what the user was trying to do and the AutoCAD command they'd normally use.
Build from source
CADaddy is written in Rust. Desktop builds need Rust 1.95 or later (rustup.rs).
This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗
