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Installation

CadFlow currently ships as a source-built Python package. Install the matching OpenCascade runtime first so CMake can discover the OCCT 7.9.3 headers and shared libraries during the package build.

Requirements​

The full build is tested with:

  • Linux x86-64
  • Python 3.10 through 3.13
  • CMake 3.16 or newer
  • A C++17 compiler
  • Python development headers
  • OpenCascade 7.9.3, supplied by cadquery-ocp==7.9.3.1
Platform scope

Current CMake discovery targets Linux .so libraries. Windows and macOS need platform-specific discovery support and are not part of the tested full-build matrix yet.

Install system tools​

On Ubuntu or Debian:

sudo apt update
sudo apt install build-essential cmake python3-dev

Confirm that Python is in the supported range:

python3 --version
cmake --version

Build in a virtual environment​

git clone https://github.com/yhz5613813/CadFlow.git
cd CadFlow

python3 -m venv .venv
source .venv/bin/activate

python -m pip install --upgrade pip setuptools wheel
python -m pip install "cadquery-ocp==7.9.3.1"
python -m pip install --no-build-isolation .

Installing cadquery-ocp before CadFlow makes the matching OCCT files visible inside the active environment. --no-build-isolation lets the source build discover those files instead of compiling in an isolated environment that cannot see them.

Verify the backend​

Run a geometry operation and check its measured volume:

python - <<'PY'
import cadflow

with cadflow.Model() as model:
    box = model.box(2, 3, 4)
    print("CadFlow", cadflow.__version__)
    print("kind:", box.kind)
    print("volume:", box.volume)
    print("topology:", box.topology)
PY

The version should be 0.1.0 and the volume should be 24.0.

Optional features​

Install only the extras required by your workflow:

# PNG rendering and image inspection
python -m pip install vtk pillow

# Collision checks
python -m pip install "python-fcl>=0.7.0.11"

# Inspection plots
python -m pip install "matplotlib>=3.7.0"

The core package already includes NumPy, Rich, JSON Schema support, the sketch solver, and the Gordon-surface helper.

Next step​

Continue to the Quickstart to build a mounting plate and export STEP and GLB artifacts.