ChiselCAD

A fast, precise, GPU-accelerated CSG modeler with OpenSCAD-compatible syntax.

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What is ChiselCAD?

ChiselCAD is an open-source 3D CAD modeler for engineers and makers who prefer code-driven design. It reads OpenSCAD-syntax .scad files and renders them with a modern Vulkan renderer — giving you a dramatically faster and better-looking result than legacy OpenGL-based tools.

It is not a drop-in OpenSCAD replacement. It targets the core CSG workflow — primitives, booleans, and transforms — and does that subset extremely well.

difference() {
    cube([50, 35, 7]);
    translate([25, 17.5, -1])
        cylinder(h = 9, r = 5.5);
    translate([6, 6, -1])
        cylinder(h = 9, r = 2.8);
}

ChiselCAD vs OpenSCAD at a glance

	OpenSCAD	ChiselCAD
Renderer	Legacy OpenGL + OpenCSG	Vulkan, PBR shading, SSAO
Boolean backend	CGAL (slow) / Manifold (experimental)	Manifold (always on)
UI responsiveness	Blocks on F6 render	Async — UI never freezes
Editor	Embedded QScintilla	VS Code + LSP + file watch
AI assistance	None	Claude integration (planned)
Language coverage	Full OpenSCAD	Core CSG subset (v1)

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Features

• Vulkan renderer with PBR shading and SSAO — models look like real objects
• Async dual-phase preview — instant primitive display while booleans evaluate in the background
• Manifold boolean backend — 100–1000× faster than CGAL
• OpenSCAD-syntax compatible — .scad files work as-is for the supported subset
• VS Code integration — edit in VS Code, ChiselCAD hot-reloads on save with live error feedback
• ImGui interface — lightweight, dockable, fast
• Cross-platform — Windows and Linux (macOS planned)
• C++20 throughout

Supported Language (v1)

Category	Supported
Primitives	cube, sphere, cylinder
Booleans	union(), difference(), intersection()
Transforms	translate(), rotate(), scale(), mirror()
Quality	$fn, $fs, $fa
Export	Binary STL

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Building

Prerequisites

• CMake 3.25+
• Vulkan SDK 1.3+
• vcpkg
• A C++20 compiler (MSVC 2022, GCC 12+, or Clang 15+)

Windows / Linux

git clone https://github.com/particlesector/chiselcad.git
cd chiselcad
git submodule update --init --recursive

cmake -B build -DCMAKE_TOOLCHAIN_FILE=$VCPKG_ROOT/scripts/buildsystems/vcpkg.cmake
cmake --build build --config Release

The binary will be at build/chiselcad (Linux) or build/Release/chiselcad.exe (Windows).

Dependencies

All resolved via vcpkg:

Library	Purpose
Vulkan + VMA	GPU rendering
GLFW	Window + input
ImGui (docking)	UI
Manifold	CSG boolean operations
GLM	Math
spdlog	Logging
nlohmann-json	Config
ImGuiColorTextEdit	Embedded code editor

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VS Code Workflow

1. Open a .scad file in VS Code
2. Launch ChiselCAD and click File → Watch File (or pass the path as an argument)
3. ChiselCAD monitors the file — every save triggers an instant re-evaluation
4. Errors appear in ChiselCAD's diagnostics panel with file/line/column — click to jump

A full LSP extension for VS Code is planned (see docs/roadmap.md).

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Documentation

Document	Description
docs/architecture.md	Full system architecture, subsystem design, and key decisions
docs/roadmap.md	Planned features and future direction
CONTRIBUTING.md	How to contribute

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Project Status

ChiselCAD is in early development. The architecture is designed, the test model is ready, and the build scaffold is in place. Core subsystems are being implemented.

If you want to follow along or contribute, see CONTRIBUTING.md.

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License

MIT — see LICENSE.

ChiselCAD uses Manifold (Apache 2.0), Dear ImGui (MIT), and other open-source libraries. See docs/architecture.md for the full dependency list.