The simplicity of OpenSCAD. The full power of Python.

Write parametric 3D models in real Python, see them live, and export them for 3D printing and manufacturing.

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A fork, and a superset of OpenSCAD

PythonSCAD is a fork of OpenSCAD that stays closely synced with upstream. Everything OpenSCAD can do, PythonSCAD can do too: your .scad files, libraries, and habits carry over unchanged.

On top of that, it adds features that don't fit OpenSCAD's deliberately minimal design: a full programming language, fillets, SDFs, point-cloud surfaces, and more. Those live here, so you don't have to choose between the two.

What PythonSCAD adds

Fillets and rounded seams

Round edges with fillet(), or round only the seams of a boolean with union(a, b, r=2).

fillet

Sweep along any path

path_extrude() sweeps a profile along a 3D path, with twist, scaling, and rounded corners.

path_extrude

SDF and implicit modeling

Built-in libfive for smooth blends and organic shapes that plain CSG cannot produce.

F-Rep / SDF

Lattices from a formula

Write a gyroid or any other implicit surface as a single math expression and get a printable lattice.

Gyroid example

The whole pip ecosystem

pip is Python's free package library with hundreds of thousands of ready-made add-ons. One pip install and they work in your model: this QR code comes straight from the pyqrcode package.

Example script

Shapes from a point cloud

organic() wraps a cloud of points into a smooth, watertight solid — sketch a knob, a grip, or a figure from a few coordinates.

Knob example

One app, three languages

PythonSCAD runs your model in whichever language you prefer: plain Python, classic OpenSCAD .scad code, or build123d once you import its module. Here is the same desk organizer, sized automatically from a list of slots, in each of them.

PythonOpenSCADbuild123d

from pythonscad import *

# A desk organizer, sized from your own data
slots = {"pens": 14, "markers": 18, "ruler": 30}
wall = 6

length = sum(slots.values()) + wall * (len(slots) + 1)
tray = cube([length, 40, 20]).fillet(2, fn=8)

x = wall
for name, width in slots.items():
    tray -= cube([width, 40 - 2 * wall, 20]) + [x, wall, 4]
    x += width + wall

tray.show()

Ordinary Python: a dictionary, a for loop, sum(), and a one-line fillet().

slots = [14, 18, 30];   // no dictionaries: the names are gone
wall = 6;

// no built-in sum(): write a recursive helper
function sum(v, i = 0) = i < len(v) ? v[i] + sum(v, i + 1) : 0;
function pos(i) = wall + sum([for (j = [0:1:i-1]) slots[j]]) + i * wall;
length = sum(slots) + wall * (len(slots) + 1);

difference() {
  // no fillet(): approximate with a (slow) minkowski sum
  translate([2, 2, 2])
    minkowski() { cube([length - 4, 36, 16]); sphere(2, $fn = 16); }
  for (i = [0 : len(slots) - 1])
    translate([pos(i), wall, 4]) cube([slots[i], 40 - 2 * wall, 20]);
}

Existing .scad files open and render as they always did, but plain OpenSCAD needs workarounds for the sum and the rounded edges.

from pythonscad import *
from build123d import *
from pybuild123d import build123d   # ships with PythonSCAD

@build123d   # turns the B-rep result into a PythonSCAD solid
def organizer(slots, wall=6):
    length = sum(slots.values()) + wall * (len(slots) + 1)
    with BuildPart() as tray:
        Box(length, 40, 20, align=Align.MIN)
        fillet(tray.edges(), radius=2)
        x = wall
        for width in slots.values():
            with Locations((x, wall, 4)):
                Box(width, 40 - 2 * wall, 20,
                    align=Align.MIN, mode=Mode.SUBTRACT)
            x += width + wall
    return tray

organizer({"pens": 14, "markers": 18, "ruler": 30}).show()

Install build123d with pip, and its models appear in the PythonSCAD viewer, ready to combine with everything else.

Made for real workflows

Runs in your browser	The full kernel compiled to WebAssembly. Try it without installing anything. Open the Playground ↗
Jupyter notebooks	Model, document, and iterate inside a notebook next to your analysis. Jupyter setup
Your OpenSCAD libraries	Load existing .scad libraries such as MCAD with osuse() and call their modules from Python. osuse
Read any data format	Import STL, 3MF, OBJ, DXF, parse CSV, JSON, or even chip layouts (GDS) with plain Python and turn the data into geometry. GDS example
Handles and align	Attach named reference frames to parts and assemble them with align() instead of computing transformations by hand. Handles

How does it compare?

	OpenSCAD	CadQuery / build123d	PythonSCAD
Languages	OpenSCAD language	Python	Python, OpenSCAD, build123d
Variables, classes, dicts, file I/O	limited	✓	✓
pip packages (free Python add-ons: NumPy, qrcode, …)	–	✓	✓
Edge fillets	workarounds	✓	✓
Reuse existing .scad libraries	✓	–	✓
Built-in editor, live preview, customizer	✓	separate tools	✓
SDF / implicit modeling	–	–	✓
Runs in the browser	✓	–	✓
Geometry kernel	mesh	B-rep (STEP export)	mesh

Need exact B-rep geometry and STEP files for mechanical CAD exchange? CadQuery and build123d are great choices. Want OpenSCAD's quick, script-to-print workflow with a real programming language behind it? That's PythonSCAD.

Is PythonSCAD for you?

A great fit if you…

• think in code and want precise, repeatable parametric models
• already know Python — or want to learn Python or programming through something tangible
• have OpenSCAD designs and libraries but keep hitting the limits of its language
• need models for 3D printing, CNC, or engineering workflows

Probably not the right tool if you…

• need organic sculpting, animation, or VFX → Blender
• prefer click-to-design CAD → FreeCAD

Learn more

1. Download for your platform — or use the button above
2. Installation — APT/YUM repos, AppImage, PyPI, and build options
3. Getting Started tutorial — hands-on walkthrough
4. Coming from OpenSCAD? — what changes and what stays
5. Cheat sheet, Examples gallery, and API reference

Community

• PyForge — share and remix PythonSCAD designs
• r/OpenPythonSCAD
• Google Group
• Community wiki
• IDE and type-checker setup
• Contact & support

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PythonSCAD is open source on GitHub. It builds on the solid foundation of OpenSCAD and stays closely synced with upstream; Python-specific features are developed here. See Upstream sync.