CadQuery
Hacker ApprovedRanked 2 of 4 code-based CAD libraries by recommenders
Free Python library for writing parametric 3D CAD models as code, with a real B-rep kernel that is easy to version in git. Caveats: not always easy to write, and rendering can be slow.
Free Python library for writing parametric 3D CAD models as code, with a real B-rep kernel that is easy to version in git. Caveats: not always easy to write, and rendering can be slow.
46 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 40
- criticize it
- 6
- approval share
- 87%
Recommended in 12 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it carries the badge
- 40 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, met.
- 6.7 recommenders for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 12 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Parametric, versionable Python code
“Being able to parametrize everything and version it like any other Python project is a huge win”
Comment from 20 Apr 2026 in “CadQuery is an open-source Python library for building 3D CAD models” “Python, so leverage your Python skills and existing libraries.”
Comment from 17 Apr 2026 in “CadQuery is an open-source Python library for building 3D CAD models” “I've been looking for an intuitive cad-as-code system to check into git instead. So this would be awesome!”
Comment from 17 Apr 2026 in “CadQuery is an open-source Python library for building 3D CAD models” Works well with LLM code generation
“I've been having excellent success with prompts like "use cadquery and build x" for moderately simple stuff”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “GenCAD” “I've had pretty good success with using LLMs to generate basic shapes using python and cadquery”
Comment from 9 Jun 2026 in “Unified Controllable and Faithful Text-to-CAD Generation with LLMs” “For a lot of stuff, you might have better luck getting it to generate something like cadquery”
Comment from 26 Mar 2026 in “FreeCAD Version 1.1 Released” - Comment from 29 Apr 2026 in “Claude for Creative Work”
- Comment from 20 Feb 2026 in “FreeCAD is an open-source parametric 3D modeler”
- Comment from 17 Apr 2026 in “CadQuery is an open-source Python library for building 3D CAD models”
- Comment from 18 Jun 2026 in “Launch HN: Adam (YC W25) – Open-Source AI CAD”
- Comment from 24 Mar 2026 in “Dune3d: A parametric 3D CAD application”
Solid B-rep kernel and STEP export
“it has a proper bRep kernel, so it can represent vertexes, edges, arcs and faces”
Comment from 13 Sep 2026 in “Benchmark: CadQuery vs. OpenSCAD for agentic CAD work” “CadQuery can export STEP files, and is overall much nicer to use in my opinion.”
Comment from 17 Apr 2026 in “CadQuery is an open-source Python library for building 3D CAD models” “you can use CadQuery/Build123D and generate STEP files for some of it”
Comment from 26 Dec 2025 in “Ask HN: What skills do you want to develop or improve in 2026?” - Comment from 10 Oct 2026 in “OpenSCAD the Programmers Solid 3D CAD Modeller”
Cleaner, more expressive than OpenSCAD
“I find the latter be effectively the same but with a cleaner more expressive syntax and some helper functions that people would commonly expect to be there.”
Comment from 11 Oct 2026 in “OpenSCAD the Programmers Solid 3D CAD Modeller” “It's a similar idea to OpenSCAD, but embedded in Python and using a better geometry kernel.”
Comment from 10 Oct 2026 in “OpenSCAD the Programmers Solid 3D CAD Modeller” “solved a lot of OpenSCAD's issues by having all offsets be relative by default but also introduces a few issues of its own”
Comment from 20 Dec 2025 in “OpenSCAD is kinda neat”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Not always easy to write
“CadQuery is not always that easy to write.”
Comment from 17 Apr 2026 in “CadQuery is an open-source Python library for building 3D CAD models” “I find it incredibly painful.”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “GenCAD”
Other code-based CAD libraries people recommend
The three most recommended other code-based CAD libraries, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| build123d | 53 | 9 | 85% | 11 | 1 yr3 owners | Approved |
| CadQueryThis page | 40 | 6 | 87% | 12 | — | Approved |
| BOSL2 library for OpenSCAD | 22 | 3 | 88% | 8 | — | Approved |
| Cadova | 5 | 0 | 100% | 2 | — | — |
What people said
40 of the 56 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“was able to mechanically translate most, but not all, of the OpenSCAD to cadquery”
“I find the latter be effectively the same but with a cleaner more expressive syntax and some helper functions that people would commonly expect to be there.”
“It's a similar idea to OpenSCAD, but embedded in Python and using a better geometry kernel.”
“something built on the open-source Open Cascade geometry kernel”
“CadQuery is perfect fit for such organic modeling.”
“I think it's quite neat, and I think it could work”
“it has a proper bRep kernel, so it can represent vertexes, edges, arcs and faces”
“for engineering applications NURBS are decidedly more powerful”
“Building iteratively on the basis of existing geometry is inherently more verifiable, because stuff that can't work won't work.”
“It used CadQuery to generate a STEP file.”
“I've also had a good experience with Claude Code and CadQuery”
“cadquery is great for this sort of thing for whatever reason”
“I've had pretty good success with using LLMs to generate basic shapes using python and cadquery”
“I've been having excellent success with prompts like "use cadquery and build x" for moderately simple stuff”
“I find it incredibly painful.”
“the recent progress of FreeCAD and its spin-off libraries cadquery and build123d will be better to push”
“I've actually found good results with using Claude to output 3d models via CadQuery”
“Being able to parametrize everything and version it like any other Python project is a huge win”
“Build123d (and CadQuery) are fantastic...”
“Selecting model geometry by relation to other geometry is way more resilient to changes ealier in the model's history”
“LLMs + CadQuery is a powerful combo, this will be more and more common I think.”
“I've been looking for an intuitive cad-as-code system to check into git instead. So this would be awesome!”
“It literally saved me days of manual work.”
“CadQuery is not always that easy to write.”
“CADQuery gives better results, especially if a single design needs to be recreated in a range of sizes”
“very handy for prototyping stuff for 3d printing”
“Python, so leverage your Python skills and existing libraries.”
“CadQuery can export STEP files, and is overall much nicer to use in my opinion.”
“For a lot of stuff, you might have better luck getting it to generate something like cadquery”
“I've had better luck telling it to use CadQuery.”
“I recommend using https://github.com/CadQuery/cadquery as the CAD language instead”
“This time everything just installed, and Claude Code turned out to be pretty good.”
“Finding Cadquery less of a hurdle for casual use.”
“you can use CadQuery/Build123D and generate STEP files for some of it”
“they all have facilities to operate on generated geometry such as edges, faces and vertices”
“I really recommend you look at CadQuery/Build123D”
“it lets you easily specify surfaces as the basis for manipulation”
“solved a lot of OpenSCAD's issues by having all offsets be relative by default but also introduces a few issues of its own”
“worth also looking at cadquery, build123d and similar”
“It's especially nice that CadQuery has come full circle (having started as a workbench).”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.