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Devlog 1: why I am building NekoCAD

Parametric CAD for makers, that you buy once, that works offline, and that keeps your files on your own computer.

2 min read

I design things to print, cut, and mill. For years the CAD tools that I used asked for one of two things: a subscription that never ends, or my files on somebody else's server. Often they asked for both.

NekoCAD is my answer. It is parametric CAD for makers:

  • Buy once, own it forever. The license does not stop when a payment stops.
  • It works offline. No account is necessary to open the app or your files.
  • Your files stay on your computer. A .nko file is yours, and NekoCAD promises that each future version opens it.

The NekoCAD workbench in Part mode, with a plate that has two countersunk holes

What works today

Sketches with constraints, extrudes, fillets, holes from the standard tables, threads, and assemblies with mates. The screenshot above is the real app, not a render from another tool.

What this devlog is

Each post shows one part of the work: what works, what broke, and what comes next. There are parts that I do not show, and I say so when that happens.

What comes next

The first build is for Windows and Linux. The Founders License comes first: 1,000 numbered licenses, with commercial use and a renewal price that stays the same for life.

If that sounds like the tool you want, join the waitlist below. You get one email when pre-sales open, and one when the first build ships.

Get the first build

NekoCAD is parametric CAD for makers: buy once, own it forever, and it works offline. Join the waitlist, and we send you an email when it is ready.

One email when pre-sales open, one when the first build ships. Unsubscribe in one click.