vcad
Shares rank 19 of 27 CAD software by recommenders
Free, open source CAD that runs in the browser or offline, with a Rust kernel compiled to WASM that people find impressively fast to get working. Common caveats are awkward camera controls and unclear feature status.
Free, open source CAD that runs in the browser or offline, with a Rust kernel compiled to WASM that people find impressively fast to get working. Common caveats are awkward camera controls and unclear feature status.
14 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 7
- criticize it
- 7
- approval share
- 50%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: not recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: not recommended
- August 2026: recommended
- September 2026: not recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 7 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- 1 recommender for every criticNeeds 2 to 1 or better, not met.
- Recommended in 4 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
Free and open source
“this is free and open source :) also runs directly in your browser / offline”
Comment from 30 Jan 2026 in “Vcad: Free BRep CAD in the Browser” “a free CAD application with an open source kernel (Rust/WASM)”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (May 2026)” “my open source Rust BRep CAD kernel”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “GenCAD” Rust kernel compiled to WASM
“a free CAD application with an open source kernel (Rust/WASM)”
Comment from 11 May 2026 in “Ask HN: What Are You Working On? (May 2026)” “I implemented a full kernel in rust and compile it to wasm”
Comment from 31 Mar 2026 in “Open source CAD in the browser (Solvespace)” “my open source Rust BRep CAD kernel”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “GenCAD” Runs in browser and offline
“this is free and open source :) also runs directly in your browser / offline”
Comment from 30 Jan 2026 in “Vcad: Free BRep CAD in the Browser” “my open source Rust BRep CAD kernel”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “GenCAD” Impressive and easy to start
“I'm super impressed what you achieved in a very little time.”
Comment from 31 Jan 2026 in “Vcad: Free BRep CAD in the Browser” “Seemed like a great tool to me.”
Comment from 30 Jan 2026 in “Vcad: Free BRep CAD in the Browser” “it worked on the first try”
Comment from 24 Mar 2026 in “Dune3d: A parametric 3D CAD application”
What people warn about
Each mark is one comment
Camera controls confusing
“Why is right/middle click both orbit and pan? Why is scroll wheel vertical orbit?”
Comment from 30 Jan 2026 in “Vcad: Free BRep CAD in the Browser” “The camera controls are all fucked up.”
Comment from 31 Jan 2026 in “Vcad: Free BRep CAD in the Browser” Unclear which features work
“I'm not really sure what is supposed to be working and what isn't.”
Comment from 18 May 2026 in “GenCAD” “I wanted to make a note for anyone else seeing odd behavior”
Comment from 31 Jan 2026 in “Vcad: Free BRep CAD in the Browser”
Other CAD software people recommend
The four most recommended other CAD software, 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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| FreeCAD | 199 | 95 | 68% | 12 | 2 yrs13 owners | Approved |
| OpenSCAD | 173 | 87 | 66% | 12 | 9 yrs4 owners | — |
| Onshape | 65 | 21 | 76% | 12 | — | Approved |
| Autodesk Fusion 360 | 60 | 37 | 62% | 12 | — | — |
| vcadThis page | 7 | 7 | 50% | 4 | — | — |
What people said
17 of the 22 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“I'm not really sure what is supposed to be working and what isn't.”
“it's wired up to Claude so you can vibe CAD”
“the hosted version at https://vcad.io”
“my open source Rust BRep CAD kernel”
“a free CAD application with an open source kernel (Rust/WASM)”
“I implemented a full kernel in rust and compile it to wasm”
“it worked on the first try”
“I tried to import a trivial STEP file, and it crashed my browser tab”
“I wanted to make a note for anyone else seeing odd behavior”
“I'm super impressed what you achieved in a very little time.”
“Damn, even his blog posts sound AI-written”
“The camera controls are all fucked up.”
“this is free and open source :) also runs directly in your browser / offline”
“Seemed like a great tool to me.”
“Why is right/middle click both orbit and pan? Why is scroll wheel vertical orbit?”
“same weakness as OpenSCAD, no relative positioning”
“pretty choppy and I was visual artifacts about 5 seconds into the tutorial”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.