LuaCAD – Parametric CAD Scripted in Lua
LuaCAD models solids in Lua rather than the OpenSCAD language, with operator overloading for CSG (`a + b`, `a - b`, `a * b`). It ships with a CLI and a desktop app, including a preview area and a text editor. I've always been a big fan of OpenSCAD, but the SCAD language itself is unfortunately quite cobbled-together and is a very poorly designed programming language. LuaCAD takes all the good parts of OpenSCAD and combines them with one of the best scripting languages. It has now completely replaced OpenSCAD for me, and I think it provides a better experience than OpenSCAD for all use cases.…
In plain words
LuaCAD is a parametric CAD tool that lets users write 3D and 2D models in Lua instead of OpenSCAD's language. It includes a CLI and desktop application with a preview area and text editor, and exports to formats like STL, 3MF, and OBJ. The software can also open existing OpenSCAD files directly without requiring OpenSCAD installed. It uses operator overloading for constructive solid geometry operations and runs on a Rust engine with Lua 5.4 embedded, making it suitable for designers and engineers seeking a more flexible scripting approach to CAD modeling.
written from the facts on this page · September 2026
From the sources
Scriptable CAD with Lua. Write parametric 2D and 3D models in Lua and export them to 3MF, STL, OBJ, PLY, OFF, AMF, or SCAD, or render them straight to a PNG. Existing OpenSCAD files open too — LuaCAD evaluates the .scad language itself, with no OpenSCAD installation involved. Try it in the playground — the engine runs in the browser as WebAssembly, so there is nothing to install and nothing gets uploaded. LuaCAD embeds Lua 5.4 in a Rust engine that evaluates CSG operations directly (via Manifold ) or generates OpenSCAD code for external rendering. git clone https://github.com/ad-si/LuaCAD.git cd LuaCAD make install Both crates vendor their C/C++ dependencies, so no system libraries…from luacad.ad-si.com
In the maker’s words, at launch
LuaCAD models solids in Lua rather than the OpenSCAD language, with operator overloading for CSG (`a + b`, `a - b`, `a * b`). It ships with a CLI and a desktop app, including a preview area and a text editor. I've always been a big fan of OpenSCAD, but the SCAD language itself is unfortunately quite cobbled-together and is a very poorly designed programming language. LuaCAD takes all the good parts of OpenSCAD and combines them with one of the best scripting languages. It has now completely replaced OpenSCAD for me, and I think it provides a better experience than OpenSCAD for all use cases. I'd love to hear any reasons why LuaCAD shouldn't fully replace OpenSCAD! It’s fully open source and you can find the repo here: https://github.com/ad-si/LuaCAD Tech stack: - It's implemented in Rust and uses mlua (https://github.com/mlua-rs/mlua) to execute the Lua code. - Uses OpenCSG (https://opencsg.org) for fast and correct rendering of the 3D models (like OpenSCAD) - Uses Manifold (https://github.com/elalish/manifold) to create the manifold triangle meshes - Native support for all BOSL2 functions (i.e. implemented in Rust for better performance)
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