# text-to-cad: Agent Skills for CAD, Robotics, and Hardware Design > text-to-cad is an open-source library of agent skills for generating, inspecting, slicing, and handing off CAD and robot-description artifacts from natural language. It installs through the Skills CLI and supports CAD model generation in STEP, STL, 3MF, and GLB formats alongside URDF, SRDF, SDF, DXF, and G-code workflows. **earthtojake/text-to-cad** — A collection of agent skills for CAD, robotics and hardware design. - Repository: https://github.com/earthtojake/text-to-cad - Website: https://www.cadskills.xyz - Stars: 16,422 · Forks: 1,699 - Language: JavaScript - License: MIT - Published: 2026-08-08 · Updated: 2026-08-18 · Language: en - Canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/earthtojake-text-to-cad ## What text-to-cad Does and Who Uses It text-to-cad is a library of agent skills for CAD, CAE, and CAM workflows. It gives AI agents focused capabilities for generating CAD models from plain-language or image requests, writing robot description files, checking parts for manufacturing constraints, slicing meshes for 3D printing, and preparing files for fabrication services. The README describes it as giving agents workflows for CAD, fabrication, robot description files, simulation, and local review. The target users are engineers and hardware teams who already work with AI coding agents and want to extend those agents into physical design tasks, rather than users of standalone CAD applications like Fusion 360 or FreeCAD. ## The Skill Library: Thirteen Focused Workflows The `skills/` directory contains thirteen individual skill packages. Each skill addresses one domain: - CAD: generates and edits 3D models from text or images, with STEP as the primary output and optional STL, 3MF, and GLB export. - CAD Viewer: shows local browser previews for CAD and robot files. - step.parts: finds off-the-shelf STEP parts such as screws, bearings, motors, and connectors. - Engineering Drawing: produces dimensioned PDF drawings from a part, with views, hidden lines, dimensions, hole callouts, and a title block. - DXF: creates 2D DXF drawings from Python sources or CAD geometry. - URDF: writes robot structure files with links, joints, limits, inertials, and meshes. - SRDF: adds MoveIt planning groups, end effectors, poses, and collision rules to a URDF. - SDF: creates Gazebo simulator models and worlds with frames, physics, sensors, and lights. - SendCutSend: validates DXF and STEP files before upload to SendCutSend. - DfAM Check: measures mesh printability per process, checking wall thickness, overhangs, support volume, and build orientation. - DFM: reviews parts for sheet metal, CNC machining, or injection molding with measured evidence and cited rules. - G-code: slices supported mesh files into validated FDM G-code using real slicer CLIs. - Bambu Labs: dry-runs, uploads, and cautiously starts Bambu Lab print jobs from validated G-code. ## Installation: Skills CLI and Plugin Paths The README documents two installation paths: the Skills CLI and provider-native plugin installs. The Skills CLI is the preferred path and installs individual skills directly for supported agents: ```bash npx skills add earthtojake/text-to-cad ``` The README notes that `add` also handles updates: it re-fetches the package and overwrites existing skills, so the same command both installs and updates. `npx skills update` only refreshes skills already in the lockfile and silently misses new skills added in newer releases, which matters because releases do add skills. For agent-native plugin installs, the repository provides manifests for Claude Code and Codex: ```bash claude plugin marketplace add earthtojake/text-to-cad claude plugin install cad@text-to-cad ``` For Codex: ```bash codex plugin marketplace add earthtojake/text-to-cad codex plugin add cad@text-to-cad ``` The Codex path requires Codex 0.142.0 or newer. On older versions the plugin is silently skipped. Grok Build uses the existing `.claude-plugin/marketplace.json` file in the repository root and does not require a separate manifest. The README advises restarting the agent if newly installed skills do not appear. ## Repository Layout and the cadgen Dependency The repository root contains `.claude-plugin/` and `.codex-plugin/` directories with the plugin manifests for those agents. The `skills/` directory holds each skill's source, with each subdirectory containing a `SKILL.md` that documents the skill's behavior and a `requirements.txt` that pins the `cadgen` release it was published with. The README states that `main` is the source tree and that every skill's `requirements.txt` pins the `cadgen` release it was built against. The `models/` directory arrives as small LFS pointers and is not needed to use the skills: it contains the fixture corpus used for testing. The `packages/` directory at the root holds the JavaScript packages for the web application and documentation site under `apps/`. The `skills/cad/SKILL.md`, `skills/urdf/SKILL.md`, `skills/srdf/SKILL.md`, and the other skill-level markdown files are what agents actually read and execute. Each one is a self-contained instruction document for the agent, specifying what tools and APIs to call for that workflow. ## CAD Skill: STEP Output and Format Options The CAD skill creates and edits 3D models from plain-language or image requests. STEP is the primary output format, described in the README as the main output. The skill also supports exporting to STL (for 3D printing slicers), 3MF (for Bambu and other modern printers), and GLB (for web-based visualization). The CAD Viewer skill complements the CAD skill by showing local browser previews for CAD files and robot description files. The step.parts skill adds a search capability for off-the-shelf STEP parts, covering screws, bearings, motors, and connectors. This combination covers the typical mechanical design workflow: generate a custom part, find standard fasteners in STEP format, and assemble them in a downstream CAD tool. The SendCutSend skill validates DXF and STEP files against SendCutSend's upload requirements before submission, catching issues that would cause a quote to fail or a part to be rejected during manufacturing review. ## Limitations and What text-to-cad Is Not text-to-cad is not a standalone CAD application. It has no graphical user interface of its own and no interactive modeling environment. It works by giving AI agents structured workflows: the agent reads the SKILL.md, calls the appropriate backend (cadgen or a slicer CLI), and returns a file or a check report. Teams who need a standalone desktop or browser-based CAD tool are looking for a different category of software. The library requires an AI agent that supports the Skills CLI or one of the supported plugin interfaces (Claude Code, Codex, Grok Build). Teams using other agent frameworks or tools that do not support the Skills CLI will need to integrate skills manually or wait for support to be added. FreeCAD is an open-source alternative for users who need an interactive parametric CAD application. FreeCAD has its own Python API for scripting, while text-to-cad is designed for natural language agent workflows rather than scripted parametric design. The use cases are different: FreeCAD for manual or script-driven parametric modeling, text-to-cad for agent-driven generation from text descriptions. ## Version, License, and Release Cadence The package version in `package.json` is 0.7.2. The three most recent releases (v0.7.0, v0.7.1, and v0.7.2) all shipped on 2026-09-27, indicating a rapid iteration cycle. The `VERSION` file at the repository root tracks the current version. The last push was on 2026-09-27. The repository is licensed under the MIT license, which permits commercial use, modification, and distribution without requiring source disclosure. The `SECURITY.md` file documents the security disclosure policy for the project. The `.githooks/` directory contains hooks for local development quality checks. The `AGENTS.md` and `CLAUDE.md` files at the repository root document agent-specific configuration for working with the repository source itself. ## Conclusion text-to-cad is the right tool for engineers who use AI coding agents (Codex, Claude Code, or Grok Build) and want to add CAD model generation, robot description file authoring, DFM checking, and fabrication prep to their agent workflows. The library is under active development: v0.7.2 was released on 2026-09-27, the day before this writing, and v0.7.0 through v0.7.2 all shipped within two days. Teams that do not use AI agents with a supported plugin interface, or who need a standalone CAD application rather than an agent skill library, will find this repository does not address that use case directly. The MIT license permits commercial use without restriction. ## FAQ ### Is text-to-cad free? The text-to-cad library is open-source under the MIT license and free to use commercially. Some skills depend on `cadgen`, a backend library whose own licensing is documented in its repository. The SendCutSend skill connects to the SendCutSend fabrication service, which has its own pricing for actual parts orders. ### What is text-to-cad? text-to-cad is a library of agent skills that gives AI coding agents (Claude Code, Codex, Grok Build) the ability to generate CAD models from text or images, write robot description files (URDF, SRDF, SDF), create DXF drawings, check parts for manufacturing constraints, and slice mesh files for 3D printing. ### How do I install text-to-cad? Run `npx skills add earthtojake/text-to-cad` using the Skills CLI. This installs all skills directly for supported agents and handles updates with the same command. For Claude Code specifically, you can also use `claude plugin marketplace add earthtojake/text-to-cad` followed by `claude plugin install cad@text-to-cad`. ## Sources - [Official documentation](https://www.cadskills.xyz) - [Official README](https://github.com/earthtojake/text-to-cad#readme) - [Project repository](https://github.com/earthtojake/text-to-cad) - [Release notes](https://github.com/earthtojake/text-to-cad/releases) --- Hysen Labs editorial analysis, written from the project's own repository and release notes. Cite the canonical page: https://hysenlabs.com/projects/earthtojake-text-to-cad