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CADCraft: a free, open-source Autodesk AutoCAD alternative

What CADCraft 0.5.0 is, what it already does, and where it still falls short of Autodesk AutoCAD. Based only on the official CADCraft README and docs.

Updated 2026-10-11 · CADCraft 0.5.0

Looking for a free alternative to Autodesk AutoCAD? CADCraft is one option. Its README describes it like this:

Computer-aided design and drafting; an open-source, clean-room reimplementation of Autodesk AutoCAD, rebuilt in pure Rust.

It's made by the ArtCraft team, licensed MIT OR Apache-2.0, and published for macOS, Windows, Linux and FreeBSD, plus a web build. The latest version is v0.5.0.

What it does well

According to the README:

  • The workflow you know: the command line with clickable keywords, AutoComplete, object snaps, polar tracking, ortho, direct distance entry, grips and right-click-to-repeat.
  • Draw and modify: LINE, PLINE, CIRCLE, ARC, RECTANG, POLYGON, ELLIPSE, SPLINE, TEXT, MTEXT; ERASE, MOVE, COPY, ROTATE, SCALE, MIRROR, OFFSET, TRIM, EXTEND, FILLET, CHAMFER, ARRAY and more.
  • Annotation and blocks: DIM* commands with DIMSTYLE, associative dimensions, MLEADER, TABLE, hatches, BLOCK/INSERT and attributes.
  • Files: DXF read (R12–2018) and write (R2000); DWG read via the open-source acadrust library and write (R2000); PDF plotting, SVG and PNG export.
  • Layouts and parametrics: paper-space layouts and viewports, PLOT and EXPORTPDF, geometric and dimensional constraints.
  • Built for agents: an MCP server, a JSON control channel and cadcraft-cli.

How far along it is

The README describes CADCraft as "in early, fast development". Measured parity numbers and the stage are kept in the project's ROADMAP.md rather than the README, so we don't quote a percentage here.

What's still missing

From the README's status table:

  • entities CADCraft doesn't model yet are not kept when a DXF/DWG is saved
  • the interface is available in English and Ukrainian only

The full, ranked list is in the project's docs/gaps.md.

Should you switch?

Try CADCraft if you want a free, open-source CAD and drafting app that feels familiar to Autodesk AutoCAD users, runs on Linux or in a browser, or can be scripted. For client work, test your own files first. The project describes itself as early-stage software.

Autodesk AutoCAD is a trademark of Autodesk. It is named here only to describe what CADCraft is modeled on.

Sources

Every factual claim in this article is taken from these upstream files. If something here disagrees with them, the upstream source wins.

PhotoCraft Hub is an unofficial community site. PhotoCraft is made by the ArtCraft team; screenshots are from the PhotoCraft repository (MIT OR Apache-2.0) and show public-domain artwork.