OpenSCAD Tools

Q: Can I use OpenSCAD online without installing it?

Yes. The OpenSCAD Playground runs the OpenSCAD engine in your browser with WebAssembly, so you can write code, preview in 3D, and export STL, 3MF, SVG, or DXF without installing the desktop app.

Q: Is OpenSCAD good for 3D printing?

Yes. OpenSCAD is widely used for functional, parametric 3D-printed parts because dimensions are variables. Model in millimeters, render, and export STL or 3MF for your slicer.

Q: Where is the official OpenSCAD documentation?

The OpenSCAD project publishes a cheat sheet at openscad.org/cheatsheet and a full User Manual on Wikibooks. Our cheatsheet complements them with complete, runnable examples.

Q: How do I learn OpenSCAD?

Start with the beginner lessons: primitives, 2D profiles, extrusion, transform order, and boolean operations. Each opens an editable model with parameters to change, and the cheatsheet covers the syntax.

OpenSCAD is a free, code-based CAD tool: you describe a solid model with a short script, and changing a number regenerates the part. That makes it well suited to parametric parts for 3D printing, laser cutting, and customizable designs.

Start in the browser playground, which runs OpenSCAD locally in your browser. Then learn by editing a guided example and keep the cheatsheet open while you work.

Open OpenSCAD Playground Browse lessons

Choose a starting point

Tools and learning

OpenSCAD PlaygroundWrite OpenSCAD in your browser, preview in 3D, tune Customizer parameters, and export STL, 3MF, SVG, or DXF. No install required.
OpenSCAD examples and lessonsGuided, editable models from first primitives to enclosures, threads, and BOSL2 gears.
OpenSCAD cheatsheetPrimitives, transforms, booleans, extrusion, modules, loops, and Customizer syntax, each runnable in the playground.
AI assistant in the playgroundAsk for a model, explain code, or fix compiler errors. Suggested edits are compiled before you apply them.

Start here: beginner lessons

What do you want to make?

Each lesson opens an editable model ready to export.

Common OpenSCAD patterns

Three building blocks behind most models. See the OpenSCAD cheatsheet for more.

Drill a hole with difference()

difference() {
  cube([40, 30, 5]);
  translate([20, 15, -1]) cylinder(h = 7, d = 8, $fn = 48);
}

Reusable part with a module

module peg(h = 10, d = 6) cylinder(h = h, d = d, $fn = 32);
for (x = [0 : 10 : 40]) translate([x, 0, 0]) peg(h = 5 + x / 4);

Extrude a 2D profile

linear_extrude(height = 10)
  offset(r = 3) square([30, 20]);

OpenSCAD Tools

Choose a starting point

Tools and learning

Start here: beginner lessons

What do you want to make?

Common OpenSCAD patterns

Official documentation and libraries

FAQ

Can I use OpenSCAD online without installing it?

Is OpenSCAD good for 3D printing?

Where is the official OpenSCAD documentation?

How do I learn OpenSCAD?