Furrow CAM
Open source, web-based 2.5D CAM. Turn 2D vector designs into G-code for CNC routers, right in your browser.
Try it at app.furrow.cam: no account needed, projects stay in your browser until you sign up. See the releases for what changed.
Desktop app
Furrow CAM also runs as a desktop app for macOS, Windows and Linux. It works offline with no account, and saves projects as .furrow files on your computer, versions included. A .furrow file also opens in the web app (Import), and a web export opens in the desktop app.
Download the newest version:
Older versions are on the desktop releases page.
The installers aren't code-signed, so your system warns you the first time you open the app:
- macOS: "Furrow CAM can't be opened because Apple cannot check it for malicious software." Open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll down to the message about Furrow CAM and click Open Anyway, then confirm. Alternatively, run
xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine "/Applications/Furrow CAM.app" in Terminal.
- Windows: SmartScreen shows "Windows protected your PC". Click More info, then Run anyway.
- Linux: make the AppImage executable (
chmod +x furrow-cam-*.AppImage) and run it, or install the .deb with sudo apt install ./furrow-cam-*.deb, or the .pacman package on Arch with sudo pacman -U furrow-cam-*.pacman. On Arch, the AppImage needs fuse2.
On Windows and Linux the app offers to download and install a new version itself. On macOS it tells you about it and links to the release: download it from the links above. Projects saved by a newer version may not open in an older one.
What is it?
Furrow CAM is a Computer-Aided Manufacturing tool for 2.5D machining: operations where the tool moves in X/Y at a series of fixed Z depths. That covers most hobby and small-shop CNC router work:
- Profiling: cutting parts out along a contour (inside / outside / on the line), with depth passes, ramp entry, holding tabs, dogbones at inside corners and a chosen start point
- Pocketing: clearing material inside closed shapes (or outside, or on the line), with offset, linear or peel strategies
- Drilling: plunging holes at circle centres or points, or at spots clicked in the viewport with snapping
- Engraving: following lines at a fixed depth, or a fixed line width with a V-bit
- V-carving: variable-depth carving with a V-bit, for crisp lettering and sharp corners
- 3D relief: roughing in Z levels and parallel, waterline or spiral finishing on STL and STEP models or terrain made from a map, with rest machining for a smaller bit
- Two-sided jobs: flip the stock on locating pins and cut the bottom side too, with one G-code file per side
It is not a full 3D CAM (relief only: no undercuts, 4th axis or tool tilting), and it is not a CAD tool. You design elsewhere, import here.
Features
- Import SVG and DXF drawings, several per project, then move, size, rotate, mirror, centre or fit each one to the stock; and one STL or STEP model for relief carving, in the same project, so a relief and the profile that cuts it out live together
- Terrain from a map: find a place, draw a rectangle, square, circle, ellipse or freehand area, preview the relief in 3D while choosing its size, exaggeration and base, and machine it like any model, with its outline as a drawing to cut it out; or download it as an STL
- Text: type text with bundled fonts (including a single-stroke font for engraving) or your own, then cut it or convert it into a drawing
- Zero point on any of the stock's 9 anchors, a typed position, or a point picked in the viewport with snapping
- Tool library and machine profiles saved to your account, with presets for popular hobby routers: V1 Engineering LowRider v4 and MPCNC Primo, Maslow 4, Sienci LongMill MK2, SainSmart Genmitsu 3018; a project offers to update its copy of a machine you have edited since
- Preview: toolpaths in a 2D/3D viewport, rapids and cuts shown apart, an estimated machining time per operation, plus a simulator that plays the exported G-code line by line on the stock
- Touch-off pad on the stock top, where the machine stops at each tool change to re-zero Z
- G-code export for GRBL-compatible controllers (GRBL, grblHAL, FluidNC), with optional custom start, end and tool-change blocks per machine
- Projects saved to your account, with undo/redo, and export/import as a file
- Metric and imperial units, light and dark theme, English, Italian, French, German, Spanish, Dutch, Portuguese, Greek, Turkish, Chinese and Japanese
- AI assistants: a local MCP server lets Claude, VS Code or another MCP client import files, add operations, check toolpaths and export G-code on your
.furrow projects, with each change showing live in the desktop app (Help → Set Up AI Assistants…)
- Installable from Chrome, Edge and Safari, or as a desktop app that works offline
Goals
- Runs in the browser: no install, works on any OS.
- Your workshop, everywhere: projects, tool library and machine profiles saved to your account.
- Fast feedback: all toolpath computation happens in your browser, instantly.
- Correct, predictable toolpaths: what you preview is what the machine cuts.
- Hackable: clear architecture, documented decisions, pluggable post-processors.
Documentation
| Folder | Contents |
|---|
| docs/prd/ | Product Requirements Documents: what we build and why |
| docs/adr/ | Architecture Decision Records: how we build it and the reasoning behind each choice |
| apps/mcp/ | The MCP server: setting up an AI assistant to work on your projects |
Development
Requirements: Node.js 24 (see .nvmrc), pnpm 11 (corepack enable) and Docker.
pnpm install
cp apps/web/.env.example apps/web/.env # then set BETTER_AUTH_SECRET (openssl rand -base64 32)
pnpm db:up # start local PostgreSQL (docker compose)
pnpm db:migrate # apply database migrations
pnpm dev # start the web app at http://localhost:3000
Without RESEND_API_KEY, verification and password reset emails are printed to the dev server console.
Other commands:
pnpm email:dev # preview the email templates
pnpm test # unit tests (Vitest)
pnpm typecheck # TypeScript across all packages
pnpm check # lint + format check (Biome); pnpm check:fix to apply fixes
pnpm build # production build
pnpm db:studio # browse the database (Prisma Studio)
pnpm demos # record the website demo videos (needs ffmpeg)
Deployment
The web app deploys to Vercel with Neon PostgreSQL (ADR-0005). Set the project's root directory to apps/web and configure the variables listed in apps/web/.env.example. Vercel runs the vercel-build script, which generates the Prisma client (prisma generate) and applies pending migrations (prisma migrate deploy) before building, so the build does not depend on install scripts running on a cached install. With storage configured, set CRON_SECRET too: apps/web/vercel.json schedules a monthly sweep (/api/cron/sweep-assets) that deletes abandoned and orphaned uploads. Other hosts can call that route with Authorization: Bearer <CRON_SECRET>.
Repository layout
apps/web/ Next.js app: routes, accounts, server code (organised by feature, ADR-0021)
apps/desktop/ Electron desktop app (ADR-0044)
apps/download/ Cloudflare Worker behind download.furrow.cam (ADR-0049)
apps/mcp/ local MCP server for AI assistants, published to npm as @furrow-cam/mcp (ADR-0067)
apps/demos/ Playwright scripts that record the website demo videos (ADR-0075)
packages/workspace/ the CAM workspace UI shared by web and desktop
packages/ui/ shadcn/ui components
packages/document/ project document schema (Zod), migrations and machine presets
packages/cam-core/ framework-agnostic geometry and toolpath generation
packages/post/ post-processors (toolpaths → G-code)
docs/ PRDs and ADRs
See ADR-0011 for the reasoning and the rules between packages.
Contributing
The most useful contributions right now:
- Try it on your machine and open an issue for anything that cuts wrong or is confusing.
- Machine presets: add your router to
packages/document/src/presets/machine-presets.ts, with a source for every value.
- Feedback on the docs: PRDs say what we build and why, ADRs how and why we build it that way.
Work is tracked in GitHub issues, grouped into the MVP and Post-MVP milestones. For code changes:
- Branch off
dev as <type>/issue-<number> (feat, fix or chore), e.g. feat/issue-9.
- Open a PR to
dev (the default branch) with Closes #<number> and a changeset (pnpm changeset) if the change affects behaviour.
- Releases are cut by merging
dev into main; see ADR-0012.
License
MIT © 2026 Federico Vezzoli
