XTRUDE CAD
The simple, fast push & pull modeller that Linux makers never had. Draw a face, type a dimension, pull it to size, send it to your slicer.
Not another parametric CAD. No feature tree, no constraint solver, no engineering overhead: just robot parts, brackets, enclosures and PCB mounts, modelled in minutes.
Linux already has excellent parametric CAD for engineering work. What it lacked was a simple, open-source modeller for makers who just want to draw a part and print it. Xtrude CAD fills that gap. It complements parametric tools; it does not try to replace them.
Need design history, constraints or assemblies? FreeCAD is the right tool, and the two work well side by side.
Most functional parts are simple: a bracket, a spacer, a mount, a jig. They need exact dimensions, not a design history. Xtrude CAD is built for makers, robotics hobbyists and engineers who want that part drawn and on the printer bed in minutes.
Draw a face, pull it to size. No feature tree to plan and no constraints to solve, so simple parts stay simple.
Type the dimension as you draw. Millimetre documents and 64-bit geometry keep a 3 mm hole at 3 mm.
Every modelling step is checked for watertightness, so the export slices cleanly without a mesh repair pass.
No account, no cloud, no telemetry, no subscription. Free software, an open file format, and files that stay on your disk.
A complete modelling toolbox in one small native app. No account, no cloud, no subscription. Open it and start drawing.
Draw flat faces with exact dimensions, then build on them.
Turn flat faces into solids with direct, visual operations.
push/pullExtrude faces, cut through-holesoffsetWalls and lips at a fixed distancesweepRun a profile along a pathfilletRound edges to a typed radiusEvery tool reads typed values as you draw. Start a line, type 42.5,
press Enter. Documents are in millimetres by default and geometry is stored
in 64-bit floating point, so a 3 mm hole stays a 3 mm hole.
f64 geometry throughoutA watertightness guard checks that modelling steps keep a solid closed, so what you export is something your slicer can actually print. Combine and cut parts with solid tools, then export a clean STL or 3MF.
Xtrude CAD is a single native binary that starts instantly. Rust keeps the
geometry kernel fast and robust, and wgpu renders on Vulkan, Metal,
DX12 or OpenGL. There is no Python or Qt runtime to install or wait on.
xtrude-convert for batch export$ xtrude-convert bracket.xtrude bracket.stl $ xtrude-convert motor.step motor.stl $ ls bracket.stl bracket.xtrude motor.step motor.stl
Open a servo, a motor or a board modelled in another CAD tool and design the bracket around it. The exact surfaces are tessellated into flat faces you can measure and snap to. Xtrude CAD imports STEP; it does not export it.
A small set of Rust crates. The geometry kernel has no GUI or GPU dependencies, so it can be tested and reused on its own.
xtrude-app
egui interface · tools · inference · value box
xtrude-renderwgpu · WGSL shadersxtrude-modelselection · groups · undo/redoxtrude-io.xtrude · .igz · STL · 3MF · OBJ · glTF · DAE · DXF · .skp · STEPxtrude-core
mesh kernel · f64 · push/pull · offset · booleans · snapping
Yes. It is free and open-source software under the GPL-3.0-or-later license. You can use it for any project, study the code, modify it and share it. There is no account, no subscription and no telemetry.
Anyone who designs small functional parts for 3D printing: makers, robotics hobbyists, and engineers who need a quick jig, adapter or spacer. If the part is a bracket, a mount, an enclosure or a spacer, Xtrude CAD is meant to get you from idea to slicer quickly.
Free modelling tools tend to be powerful but heavy (parametric CAD), precise but code-only (scripted CAD), or easy but tied to a browser and an account (cloud modellers). Xtrude CAD aims at the space in between: direct and visual, exact to the typed millimetre, and fully local, as a native app that runs well on Linux. It is not a FreeCAD clone: it deliberately has no feature tree, no constraint solver and no B-rep kernel, because simple printable parts do not need them.
Xtrude CAD is a direct modeller: you push and pull faces instead of editing a feature tree. That makes simple functional parts (brackets, spacers, enclosures, mounts) very quick to draw and adjust. If you need design history, constraints or assemblies, a parametric tool such as FreeCAD is the better choice. The two complement each other.
Not with a feature tree, which Xtrude CAD deliberately leaves out. Repeatable parts are planned through sandboxed Lua extensions: small generators that build a part from a few values, such as a spacer of a given size or a box with a lid.
No, and it is not planned. Xtrude CAD is a mesh modeller by design: it models with a precise mesh kernel (64-bit geometry, watertight solids), which is what slicers consume. It exports STL, 3MF, OBJ, glTF and COLLADA. Exact-surface (B-rep) editing and STEP export are out of scope.
It does import STEP files (AP203, AP214 and AP242), so you can design
a bracket or an enclosure around a part modelled in another CAD tool. The exact
surfaces are tessellated into flat faces (0.01 mm chord tolerance by default),
and each part keeps its name, placement and colours. The result is a faceted copy
to measure, snap to and model around, and a solid you can print or combine when
the part is closed. It also imports DXF and .skp files.
For responsiveness, robustness and simple distribution. Interactive geometry has to stay smooth on large models, a modeller must not crash or corrupt a part, and a single native binary is easy to install. The geometry kernel has no GUI or GPU dependencies, so it is tested on its own and reused by the command-line converter.
Linux is the primary target. Windows and macOS are expected to work through
wgpu, but get less testing. You need a GPU driver with Vulkan,
Metal, DX12 or OpenGL ES 3 support.
Xtrude CAD is a project derived from
IngeTrazo by Marco Sumari
Tellez and contributors, whose carefully tuned modelling tools made it the best
starting point. It started from IngeTrazo's Python code, removed the
architecture, BIM, GIS and rendering features to focus on printable parts, and
was rewritten in native Rust. It now develops on its own, under the same
GPL-3.0 licence. Xtrude CAD saves its own .xtrude documents. IngeTrazo
.igz documents still open, as a new unsaved document, or can be
imported into the current one; Xtrude CAD never writes .igz.
Build instructions are in the README on GitHub.
Get the source and build instructions on GitHub.
Questions asked in public get answers everyone can find. Email is for what has to stay private.
Ask, report and follow the work in the open.
For reports and requests that cannot be public.
security@xtrudecad.orgVulnerabilities (security policy)conduct@xtrudecad.orgCode of conduct reportshello@xtrudecad.orgPress, licensing, anything else