LibreCAD

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LibreCAD is a 2D CAD drawing tool based on the community edition of QCAD. LibreCAD uses the cross-platform framework Qt, which means it works with most operating systems. The user interface is translated in over 30 languages. https://translate.librecad.org

LibreCAD is free software; you can redistribute it and/or modify
it under the terms of the GNU General Public License version 2 (GPLv2)
as published by the Free Software Foundation.
Please read the LICENSE file for additional information.

The master branch represents the latest pre-release code.

The 2.2.2 branch requires Qt 6.4.0 or newer.

The 2.2.1 branch requires Qt 5.15.0 or newer.

The 2.2 branch requires Qt 5.2.1 or newer.

The 2.1 branch will be the last to support Qt4.

The 2.0 branch will be the last to support the QCAD toolbar.

(https://travis-ci.org/LibreCAD/LibreCAD.svg?branch=2.0)](https://travis-ci.org/LibreCAD/LibreCAD)

Command-Line Converters

Run librecad <command> [options] <input files> to convert drawings without opening the editor:

DXF input	DWG input	Output
dxf2pdf	dwg2pdf	PDF document
dxf2png	dwg2png	PNG raster image
dxf2svg	dwg2svg	SVG vector image
dxf2dwg	dwg2dxf	DWG or DXF drawing, respectively

DWG input and output require a build with DWGSUPPORT enabled. By default, each output is saved beside its input with the same base name and the new extension. Use -t <directory> to choose an output directory, or -o <file> to name the output file; these options cannot be combined. -o requires a single input, except for PDF conversion, where multiple inputs are combined into one PDF.

Format-specific options include:

• PDF: -a fits and centers the drawing on the page; -p <WxH> sets paper size in millimeters; -r <DPI> sets print resolution.
• PNG: -r <WxH> sets image dimensions in pixels.
• DWG output: -V <version> selects r2000 (default), r2004, r2007, r2010, r2013, or r2018.
• DXF output: -V <version> selects r12, r14, r2000, r2004, r2007 (default), r2010, r2013, or r2018.

For example, convert a DWG drawing to a DXF R2018 file:

librecad dwg2dxf -V r2018 -o drawing.dxf drawing.dwg

Convert a DXF drawing to a PDF, fitted and centered on the page:

librecad dxf2pdf -a -o drawing.pdf drawing.dxf

Use librecad <command> -h for the full list of options. On systems without a display, set QT_QPA_PLATFORM=offscreen for PDF, PNG, and SVG conversion.

Releases and Milestones

Quick Downloads

• Latest stable release
• Latest build from stable branch 2.2.1
• Latest build from master

Releases

• Releases and Prereleases

The macOS build is a universal (Apple Silicon + Intel) app. CI verifies the app's ad-hoc code signature both before packaging and from the mounted DMG, and release assets include a .sha256 file that can be checked with:

shasum -a 256 -c LibreCAD-*.dmg.sha256

Ad-hoc signing does not provide an Apple Developer ID or notarization, so macOS blocks the first launch with "Apple could not verify LibreCAD is free of malware". Drag LibreCAD to Applications, open it once and dismiss that dialog, then open System Settings → Privacy & Security, scroll to the Security section and click "Open Anyway" next to LibreCAD. On macOS 14 and earlier, right-click → Open on the app is enough. If macOS still refuses, clear the download quarantine attribute only (#2162):

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/LibreCAD.app

A different message, "LibreCAD is damaged and can't be opened", means the app's code signature is invalid. The v2.2.1.5 Apple Silicon build had that problem (#2574); later builds from both branches are signed correctly.

Built with libdxfrw

libdxfrw is an associated project that allows LibreCAD to read DXF and DWG files.

ESRI Shapefile (.shp) Import

LibreCAD can natively import ESRI Shapefiles (.shp/.shx/.dbf), built with shapelib. Points, polylines/arcs, and polygons are imported as native entities (Z preserved), with DBF-driven layers and per-entity styling (color, linetype, width) where the corresponding fields are present. Import is read-only; there is no Shapefile export.

Requests and Bug Reports

• GitHub Issues (preferred)
• SourceForge tickets (disabled)

Users Documentation

• Users Manual
• Wiki Main Page

Questions or Comments

• LibreCAD's Forum
• IRC: #librecad at libera.chat

Building

Requirements

• Qt 6.4.0+ (MinGW version on Windows)
• Boost 1.55.0+

More information: Build from source

Plugin Installation

CMake accepts -DLIBRECAD_PLUGIN_INSTALL_DIR=lib/librecad/plugins to override the plugin installation directory. Relative destinations use CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX; absolute destinations are also accepted. The resulting absolute path is compiled into LibreCAD and added to the runtime plugin search locations, so plugins are found there in addition to the default locations. macOS packaging expects plugins in LibreCAD.app/Contents/PlugIns/LibreCAD.

With qmake, pass an absolute destination, for example qmake6 librecad.pro "LIBRECAD_PLUGIN_INSTALL_DIR=/usr/lib/librecad/plugins". This enables plugin installation with make -C plugins install without changing the build-output directories. As with CMake, the destination is also added to the runtime plugin search locations. Omitting the variable keeps the existing behavior.

Pixi CI runs pixi run check-plugin-install, reusing the compiled sample plugin to check default and custom destinations. qmake checks run on Linux and macOS; Windows CI continues using CMake.

Building Unit Tests

To build unit tests (e.g., for rs_math.cpp), enable the BUILD_TESTS flag:

cmake -DBUILD_TESTS=ON ..
make
./build/librecad_tests

Contributing

Git and GitHub

Becoming a developer

There is a resources repository for people that want to indirectly
contribute to the project by supplying icons, stylesheets, documentation, templates...

Associated downloads: https://sourceforge.net/projects/librecad/files/Resources/