Download

Download the package for your system from the releases. Until the first release, the nightly build has them, made from the latest code.

Linux: the AppImage runs on its own.

chmod +x hackerscad-*-x86_64.AppImage
./hackerscad-*-x86_64.AppImage                       # the application
./hackerscad-*-x86_64.AppImage hcad check model.hcad  # the command line tool

Windows: unzip it anywhere and run hackerscad.exe in the hackerscad folder (the command line tool is bin\hcad.exe). On machines without a recent enough OpenGL, such as virtual machines without 3D acceleration, it draws with the software OpenGL it ships with. The program is not signed: if SmartScreen stops it, choose "More info" and then "Run anyway".

macOS (Apple Silicon, macOS 15 or later): unzip it, move hackerscad.app to Applications and clear the attributes macOS puts on downloaded files (the quarantine). The app is not signed by an Apple developer, so without this macOS says it is damaged or cannot be opened:

xattr -cr /Applications/hackerscad.app
open /Applications/hackerscad.app                                    # the application
/Applications/hackerscad.app/Contents/Resources/bin/hcad check model.hcad  # the command line tool

Something went wrong? About › Logs and crash reports opens the folder with the reports of crashes and, on Windows, the program's log (%LOCALAPPDATA%\hackerscad\logs on Windows, ~/.local/state/hackerscad on Linux, ~/Library/Logs/hackerscad on macOS): attach them to the issue.

The window opens on a small example: Carlo, the mascot, a clip that keeps bags of biscuits closed. Change its parameters, edit its code, right-click its faces. The New button starts a model of your own from a few lines that make Carlo, to replace with yours.

Build it yourself

hackerscad is open source. On Linux or macOS, with LDC and dub, OpenCascade 7.9, GTK 4, libadwaita and GtkSourceView 5 installed:

git clone https://github.com/trikko/hackerscad
cd hackerscad
dub build -b release          # bin/hcad, the command line tool
dub build -b release :gui     # bin/hackerscad, the application

The first build also compiles the part that talks to OpenCascade, so it takes a few minutes. How to run the tests and make the packages for each system (the AppImage, the Windows zip, made on Linux, and the macOS app) is in Building, in the README.