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Text-to-CAD

An open-source plugin that adds CAD modelling to coding agents and generates 3D models locally, MIT-licensedOpen source

About Text-to-CAD

text-to-cad is an open-source plugin that gives coding agents CAD modelling: it generates STEP-first 3D models locally from plain-language or image requests, exports STL, 3MF and GLB, and adds design-for-manufacturing checks, engineering drawings and skills that connect to 3D printing, sheet metal and CNC fabrication services. It officially supports Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini and Grok, and its runtime, cadgen, is built on build123d. It is MIT-licensed with Thompson Labs LLC as copyright holder, and the homepage calls it 100% open source and free.

EditorialUpdated 7 min read

What problem it solves

The GitHub description and the homepage title both pitch the project as giving agents CAD superpowers. The homepage says the text-to-cad plugin gives agents local workflows for generating 3D models as STEP, GLB, STL or 3MF files, and that it also does design for manufacturing checks, generates engineering drawings and connects to popular 3D printing, sheet metal and CNC fabrication services.

Problem and approach. text-to-cad is not standalone modelling software but a set of plugins and skills that go into existing agent apps: the agent writes a model script from a plain-language or image request, the cadgen runtime builds and validates the model, and the result appears as a viewer card in the chat or in the CAD Viewer in a browser.

How it runs. The terms of service say prompts, models and files are processed on the user's own computer, and Thompson Labs LLC claims no rights in any of them.

History. The repository was created 2026-04-22 09:09 (UTC+8). In GitHub Releases the earliest, 0.1.16, came out on 2026-05-30 13:40 (UTC+8); the latest, v0.7.26, on 2026-10-21 03:07 (UTC+8), after v0.7.25 on 2026-10-20 15:24 (UTC+8) and v0.7.24 on 2026-10-19 04:34 (UTC+8).

Publisher: Thompson Labs LLC. The terms of service say text-to-cad is provided by Thompson Labs LLC, covering the plugin and its skills, the cadgen software, the step.parts part library and the texttocad.dev website; the LICENSE copyright line reads Copyright (c) 2026 Thompson Labs LLC.

Give your agent CAD superpowers. 100% open source and free.

text-to-cad homepage

Core capabilities

CAD modelling. The CAD skill creates and edits CAD models from plain-language or image requests, with STEP as the main output and export to STL, 3MF and GLB.

Part library. The step.parts skill finds off-the-shelf STEP parts such as screws, bearings, motors and connectors; the step.parts site title says it offers 16,000+ open source STEP parts (as reported by the vendor).

Drawings and 2D output. The Engineering Drawing skill produces dimensioned engineering drawings from a part as a PDF, with views, hidden lines, dimensions, hole callouts and a title block; the DXF skill creates 2D DXF drawings such as profiles, templates, gaskets and cut layouts.

Robot and simulation descriptions. The URDF skill writes robot structure files with links, joints, limits, inertials and meshes; the SRDF skill adds MoveIt planning groups, end effectors, poses and collision rules to a URDF; the SDF skill creates simulator models and worlds with frames, physics, sensors and lights.

Manufacturing checks and hand-off. The DFM skill reviews a part for sheet metal, CNC machining or injection molding, with measured evidence and the cited rule behind every finding; DfAM Check measures wall thickness, overhangs, support volume and build orientation per printing process; the SendCutSend skill checks DXF and STEP files before upload; the G-code skill slices with OrcaSlicer using the user's own printer presets; the Bambu Labs skill sends prints to Bambu Lab printers through Bambu Connect or Bambu Studio.

Runtime. The cadgen pyproject.toml lists build123d (>=0.11.1,<0.12) and cadquery-ocp-novtk as dependencies and requires Python 3.11 or later.

Who uses it

As of 2026-10-26 the GitHub API shows 23,117 stars, 2,246 forks and 20 contributor accounts; the GitHub API's open_issues_count (which includes open issues and PRs) is 39.

Supported agent apps. The homepage says text-to-cad is supported by all popular agents that support plugins or the skills framework, including Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini and Grok. The README also gives an MCP server configuration for Claude Desktop and says Codex can install it from its plugin directory.

How it compares

Against Zoo: the Zoo page says its conversational CAD agent, Zookeeper, is built into Zoo Design Studio and was developed on top of its Text-to-CAD experience; Zoo Design Studio is available for Mac, Windows and Linux, with a browser trial. text-to-cad shares the name, comes from Thompson Labs LLC, and runs locally as a plugin inside existing agent apps such as Claude Code and Codex.

Against CadQuery: CadQuery is a Python parametric CAD scripting framework based on OCCT; its LICENSE opens by licensing it under the Apache Public License v2.0, and GitHub detects it as NOASSERTION. text-to-cad does not offer a modelling library of its own; it adds agent skills, viewers and manufacturing checks on top of one.

Against build123d: build123d is a Python CAD programming library under the Apache License 2.0; the cadgen pyproject.toml lists it as a dependency, while text-to-cad itself is MIT.

Who it's for / Not for

Good fit:

  • Developers already on Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Gemini or Grok who need the agent to produce CAD files such as STEP, STL and 3MF directly.
  • Individuals and small teams doing 3D printing, sheet metal or CNC work who need manufacturability checks and engineering drawings before ordering.
  • Robotics developers writing URDF, SRDF or simulation SDF files.
  • Users who need models, prompts and files kept on their own machine: the privacy policy says the plugin and cadgen never send prompts, models, drawings, file names or paths off the user's computer; when the agent is asked to find a part, the step-parts skill sends the search terms and requested parts to step.parts.

Not a fit:

  • Work that needs full graphical CAD software and a manual modelling interface: text-to-cad relies on an agent app to drive modelling.
  • Environments that accept no usage reporting at all: the homepage says text-to-cad sends usage stats and crash reports by default, and they have to be turned off by hand.
  • Work that needs vendor warranties on generated output: the terms of service say the software is provided as is, without warranty of any kind, and generated models, drawings and manufacturing files need checking before fabricating, ordering or relying on them.

Getting started

Prerequisites. The README says CAD runs through uv, which has to be set up first, and the first start downloads the CAD runtime, so it needs a network connection. cadgen requires Python 3.11 or later, and a README badge also lists Node.js 20+.

Setup. The route the homepage and the README lead with is to send an install request to the agent and let it do the setup. For a manual setup, Claude Code adds and installs the plugin through its plugin marketplace; Codex can take it from its plugin directory; Cursor clones the repository's latest branch into its local plugin folder; Gemini installs it as an extension; agents without plugin support take the skills alone through the Skills CLI (npx skills add). The README says an app takes the plugin or the standalone skills, not both, since two copies list every skill twice.

Claude Desktop. The README gives an MCP server entry for the Claude Desktop config that runs a pinned cadgen mcp through uvx; updating means changing the version in that config.

Viewing models. Agent apps that can show app views display models as viewer cards in the chat; terminals and apps that show tool results as text, such as Grok Build and Gemini, return a link that opens the model in the CAD Viewer in a browser.

Pricing & license

Price: free. The homepage says 100% open source and free, and the privacy policy says it has no accounts.

Licence: the LICENSE is MIT, with the line Copyright (c) 2026 Thompson Labs LLC; the GitHub API detects MIT, and the terms of service say the software is released under the MIT License. The packages/cadgen and apps/web directories and the 12 skill directories under skills each carry their own LICENSE, all MIT with Thompson Labs LLC as copyright holder. On PyPI, cadgen carries the licence expression MIT.

Dependency licence: the underlying CAD library, build123d, is under the Apache License 2.0.

Risks & limits

Telemetry on by default. The homepage and README say text-to-cad sends usage stats and crash reports by default, tagged with a random ID and never including files, paths or prompts, and that uvx cadgen telemetry off turns them off. The privacy policy says sending starts once cadgen has given its notice, and nothing is sent by default in CI or from a development install; PostHog stores the data for as long as the plan keeps events, currently one year, and turning telemetry off deletes everything stored under the install ID.

Network components. The privacy policy says cadgen asks api.texttocad.dev for the newest release at most once a day, which CADGEN_UPDATE_CHECK=0 turns off; when the agent is asked to find a part, the step-parts skill sends the search terms and requested parts to step.parts; the host, Vercel, keeps request logs with IP address, time and user agent and deletes them within 30 days.

Windows 11 compatibility. The README says the wheel for the CAD kernel, OCP, ships an unsigned native module, so on Windows 11 machines with Smart App Control on, cadgen commands fail with a DLL load error; the feature has no per-app exception, leaving the options of turning it off or running under WSL.

Viewer issue. Issue #680, filed 2026-10-24, reports that the inline CAD viewer fails to open in the Claude desktop app with IPC not available for MCP tool call, and it is still open as of 2026-10-26.

No warranty. The terms of service say the software and step.parts are provided as is, without warranty of any kind.

Our verdict

What sets text-to-cad apart: it bundles modelling, part lookup, engineering drawings, manufacturing checks and printer hand-off into a plugin for coding agents that runs locally, MIT-licensed and free.

Its limits: telemetry is on by default and has to be turned off by hand; the CAD kernel cannot run on Windows 11 with Smart App Control on; and generated models and manufacturing files carry no warranty and need checking before fabrication.

Sources

Official

  1. text-to-cad | Give your agent CAD superpowerstexttocad.dev · Accessed Oct 26, 2026
  2. Terms of Service | text-to-cadtexttocad.dev · Accessed Oct 26, 2026
  3. Privacy Policy | text-to-cadtexttocad.dev · Accessed Oct 26, 2026
  4. text-to-cad READMEGitHub · Accessed Oct 26, 2026
  5. text-to-cad LICENSE (MIT)GitHub · Accessed Oct 26, 2026
  6. cadgen package LICENSE (MIT)GitHub · Accessed Oct 26, 2026
  7. cadgen pyproject.tomlGitHub · Accessed Oct 26, 2026
  8. text-to-cad repository on GitHubGitHub · Accessed Oct 26, 2026

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