Unofficial guide. Not affiliated with ArtCraft / Storytold, Adobe or Microsoft. Facts from the official READMEs as of 2026-10-12.

Last updated: · Data snapshot: 2026-10-12

Computer-aided design and drafting · In development

CADCraft: Free Open-Source Autodesk AutoCAD Alternative

Looking for computer-aided design and drafting tools? CADCraft is a free Rust app from the ArtCraft team. Check its documented capabilities and gaps before relying on it for your work.

Download options ↓GitHub repository ↗

What is CADCraft?

Its README describes a clean-room Rust reimplementation of the Autodesk AutoCAD workflow. The official listing describes the apps as free, open source and built from scratch in Rust.

GitHub license metadata: Apache License 2.0 (Apache-2.0). The README documents a choice of MIT OR Apache-2.0; GitHub's single-license field does not show that full choice. Read the repository license and asset notices.

GitHub stars: 2,901 at the 2026-10-12 snapshot. Official one-line description: Fast, open-source computer-aided design and drafting in pure Rust. Source: official apps listing

Key features

Draft and annotate

Draw and edit geometry with layers, properties, hatches, blocks and grips. Dimensions, text formatting, tables and geometric/dimensional constraints are documented.

Layouts and plotting

Use paper-space layouts and viewports, page setups and PDF plotting. Automated conversion and command execution are available through the CLI.

File formats

Format Documented behavior
DXF Read R12–2018, ASCII and binary; write R2000.
DWG Read through acadrust; write R2000.
PDF Plotting.
SVG, PNG Export.
.ttf, .otf, .ttc Documented text-font inputs.

Entities not modeled by CADCraft are discarded on save. Keep originals and check exported drawings.

Status and limits

The official status is In development. The README points to separate roadmap and gap documents rather than listing every missing feature. The file-format warning is concrete: unsupported entities do not survive saving. This guide does not infer complete DWG round-trip fidelity or complete AutoCAD coverage.

Download and install CADCraft

Start at CADCraft on getartcraft.com or the official GitHub Releases page. You can also use ArtCraft Launcher to install the desktop apps.

Naming difference in the snapshot: repository metadata points to /apps; the README points to /apps/cadcraft. We retain both official URLs without assuming why they differ.

The latest snapshotted release is v0.5.0, published . These are exact asset names from that release; download them on the official Releases page.

Windows

Match x64, arm64 or x86 to your computer. The MSI is an installer; the portable ZIP is the alternative for running an unpacked build. Follow the README for permissions and portable settings.

Show 6 Windows release files
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-windows-arm64-portable.zip
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-windows-arm64.msi
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-windows-x64-portable.zip
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-windows-x64.msi
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-windows-x86-portable.zip
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-windows-x86.msi

Windows troubleshooting

The README documents graphics-driver startup problems and a backend override. Read its full warning before using the following verbatim commands.

$env:WGPU_BACKEND = "vulkan"
& .\cadcraft.exe
Remove-Item Env:WGPU_BACKEND                     # restore the default for later launches

An explicit `gl` override can bring the driver crash back on affected systems.

Official README, Windows downloads

See the README for additional shader-compiler and renderer-fallback notes, where documented.

macOS

The universal DMG is the desktop app for Apple silicon and Intel. The README labels it signed and notarized. A separate CLI ZIP, where listed, contains the command-line tool.

Show 2 macOS release files
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-macos-universal.dmg
  • cadcraft-cli-0.5.0-macos-universal.zip

Linux

Choose the package for your architecture: AppImage, Debian/Ubuntu DEB, Fedora/RHEL/openSUSE RPM, sandboxed Flatpak or a tarball. RISC-V support and runtime requirements are package-specific. Read the README installation notes.

Show 13 Linux release files
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-linux-aarch64.AppImage
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-linux-aarch64.AppImage.zsync
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-linux-aarch64.deb
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-linux-aarch64.flatpak
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-linux-aarch64.rpm
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-linux-aarch64.tar.gz
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-linux-riscv64.tar.gz
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-linux-x86_64.AppImage
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-linux-x86_64.AppImage.zsync
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-linux-x86_64.deb
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-linux-x86_64.flatpak
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-linux-x86_64.rpm
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-linux-x86_64.tar.gz

FreeBSD

The README provides tarball instructions and required runtime libraries. Read those before unpacking into system directories.

Show 1 FreeBSD release files
  • cadcraft-0.5.0-freebsd-x86_64.tar.gz

Web (WebAssembly)

A web ZIP contains a static WebAssembly build to host on a static server. The official listing also labels browser support.

Show 1 Web (WebAssembly) release files
  • cadcraft-web-0.5.0.zip

Verify your download against SHA256SUMS.txt from the same official release. Compare a locally calculated SHA-256 digest with the entry for the exact file you downloaded. See the checksum guide.

Read the full official download and platform instructions ↗

Build CADCraft from source

The following first-run block is copied verbatim from the official README. Run it from the repository checkout; commands without a clone step assume you already have the code. Read the README for Rust toolchain requirements, operating-system dependencies and optional fonts.

git clone https://github.com/storytold/cadcraft
cd cadcraft
cargo run --release -p cadcraft -- --sample       # opens the sample drawing

CADCraft vs Autodesk AutoCAD

The comparison here covers only CADCraft's documented capabilities. Its README positions it against Autodesk AutoCAD; the official apps listing labels it In development. The feature summary describes documented tools, and status and limits records the gaps. File support is scoped by the format table.

This is a documentation-based review, not a hands-on test or a guarantee of replacement readiness. For your workflow, test a copy of a representative file and check the result before moving important work.

Agent, CLI and MCP features

The CADCraft README documents a command-line tool, a JSON control channel and an MCP server. These expose app operations to scripts and agents; the exact commands and protocol depend on the repository. Read the official automation documentation ↗

Frequently asked questions

Where can I download CADCraft?

Use its official getartcraft.com page or the storytold GitHub Releases page. This guide links to official sources and does not distribute installers.

Is CADCraft safe?

This guide has not audited the binaries. Use official releases, verify the published SHA-256 checksums and read the documented platform warnings. Early software can have bugs.

Which platforms does CADCraft support?

The official listing documents macOS, Windows, Linux, Web. Check the download section for the packages in the latest research snapshot.

Does CADCraft read DWG and DXF?

Yes. The README lists DXF read/write and DWG read via acadrust, with R2000 DWG output. Entities it does not model are not retained on save.

Is CADCraft free?

Yes. It is part of the free, open-source Craft apps. GitHub records Apache-2.0; the README offers MIT OR Apache-2.0.