Overview
Open CAD Studio is a cross-platform application for technical drawing, layout work, and solid modeling. It reads and writes DWG and DXF drawings natively, with a shared editing core across the desktop and browser versions.
The experimental IFCCAD format choice exchanges supported CAD drawings in
.ifccad files. Existing .ifcx drawings remain readable. General IFCX BIM
models are not supported by this drawing route.
This alpha functionality is for testing only: later versions may not reopen
these files, and backward compatibility or migration is not guaranteed. Keep
original drawings and separate DWG/DXF copies. See the
IFCCAD workflow and compatibility guide.
The project is under active development. Keep backups of important production drawings and report reproducible problems through GitHub Issues.
Highlights
- Native drawing workflow — open, edit, recover, and save DWG and DXF files without a conversion service.
- Precise 2D drafting — lines, polylines, curves, splines, hatches, object snaps, tracking, layers, blocks, and external references.
- Documentation tools — text, dimensions, leaders, tolerances, tables, model space, paper space, viewports, and plot styles.
- Kernel-backed 3D modeling — solid primitives, extrusion, revolution, sweep, loft, Boolean operations, and ACIS entity tessellation.
- GPU rendering — accelerated 2D and 3D viewports through
wgpu, with orthographic and perspective cameras.
- Extensible workflows — native plugins, command scripts, headless conversion, and a line-based JSON automation API.
File workflows
| Format or workflow | Support |
|---|
| DWG | Read and write; versioned save targets from R14 through 2018 |
| DXF | Read and write; versioned save targets from R14 through 2018 |
| BAK / SV$ | Open drawing backups and autosave files |
| OBJ | Import polygon meshes |
| SVG / SVGZ | Import vector shapes as a block (SVGIN, or IMPORT) |
| LandXML | Import CgPoint survey points |
| STL | Export 3D mesh data |
| STEP AP203 | Export 3D mesh data |
| PDF | Plot layouts and selected geometry on desktop |
| CSV | Extract entity property data |
| CTB / STB | Load and edit plot style tables |
Desktop or web
Use the web app for immediate access with no installation. Drawings are selected through the browser and saved as local downloads.
Use the desktop application for native file associations, file-manager thumbnails, system printing, PDF output, external plugins, command scripts, and headless automation. Release builds are available for Windows, Linux, and Apple Silicon macOS.
Install
Download the package for your computer from the download page; every link there is the latest release. All files are also on the latest release page.
Windows
Choose one of these signed packages, x86_64 for Intel and AMD processors or arm64 for ARM processors:
OpenCADStudio-*-windows-x86_64-installer.msi / …-windows-arm64-installer.msi — recommended installer with Start Menu shortcuts, DWG/DXF file associations, and drawing thumbnails.OpenCADStudio-*-windows-x86_64-portable.exe / …-windows-arm64-portable.exe — standalone application; no installation required.
Or install via Windows Package Manager:
winget install HakanSeven.OpenCADStudio
Linux
Download the AppImage (linux-x86_64 or linux-aarch64 for ARM), make it executable, and run it:
chmod +x OpenCADStudio-*-linux-x86_64.AppImage
./OpenCADStudio-*-linux-x86_64.AppImage
Or install it as a Flatpak from FlatPark, which installs the official AppImage and follows new releases:
flatpak remote-add --if-not-exists flatpark https://dl.flatpark.org/flatpark.flatpakrepo
flatpak install flatpark io.github.HakanSeven12.OpenCadStudio
The Flatpak opens and saves drawings through the file chooser. External references and underlays that point at other files need home access:
flatpak override --user --filesystem=home io.github.HakanSeven12.OpenCadStudio
Each release also carries a snap. It is not in the Snap Store yet, so snapd installs it only with --dangerous, and it does not update itself:
sudo snap install --dangerous OpenCADStudio-*-linux-x86_64.snap
macOS
Packages are published for Apple Silicon and Intel Macs:
- Download
OpenCADStudio-*-macos-arm64.dmg (Apple Silicon) or OpenCADStudio-*-macos-x86_64.dmg (Intel).
- Open the image and drag
OpenCADStudio.app into Applications.
- If Gatekeeper blocks the first launch, approve the app from System Settings → Privacy & Security.
The application is ad-hoc signed but is not currently notarized by Apple.
Languages
Open CAD Studio can follow the system language or use any of these 23 interface languages:
Arabic · Brazilian Portuguese · Bulgarian · Czech · Dutch · English · Finnish · French · German · Greek · Hindi · Hungarian · Italian · Japanese · Korean · Lao · Polish · Russian · Simplified Chinese · Spanish · Traditional Chinese · Turkish · Vietnamese
Change the language from the application settings. The browser version also uses the browser's preferred locale when System is selected.
Build from source
Desktop
Requirements:
- Git
- Current stable Rust toolchain
- Platform graphics and font development libraries
On Ubuntu or Debian, install the native dependencies with:
sudo apt update
sudo apt install libgl1-mesa-dev libx11-dev libxcursor-dev libxi-dev \
libxrandr-dev libxkbcommon-dev libwayland-dev libfontconfig1-dev \
libfreetype6-dev
Then build and run:
git clone https://github.com/HakanSeven12/OpenCADStudio.git
cd OpenCADStudio
cargo build --release --bin OpenCADStudio
This is the beginning of the README. Read the rest at the original. Read the full README ↗
