Build parametric 2D/3D CAD models in VSCode with the CadQuery library.
- update preview when saving;
- reasonably fast (ie. a fraction of a second for basic models);
- reasonably easy to install (the CadQuery server can be installed via docker);
- type checking and code completion.
From the CadQuery readme:
CadQuery is an intuitive, easy-to-use Python module for building parametric 3D CAD models. Using CadQuery, you can write short, simple scripts that produce high quality CAD models. It is easy to make many different objects using a single script that can be customized.
When reloading the view, the VSCode extension sends the current Python script on a CadQuery server, that executes its and returns a low-level threejs object representing the model (since the server loads the CadQuery module at start, the response time is acceptable).
The viewer is based on the three-cad-viewer (the same used in jupyter-cadquery) and display the object returned by the server.
Type checking and code completion is made using CadQuery stubs bundled in the extension, generated with MyPy (so it works even if you don't have a local CadQuery installation).
The extension works both on VSCodium or VSCode.
In VSCode, search for cadquery in Extensions tab in the sidebar.
The extension is available in:
Alternatively, you can manually install the extension in VSCode by downloading the vsix file from one on both registries.
Eventually create a virtual environment first:
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate
Install cadquery if not installed on your system:
pip install cadquery2
Install cadquery server:
pip install cadquery-server
You can configure the server url in the VSCode extension settings (which is http://127.0.0.1:5000 by default).
source venv/bin/activate # required if you used a virtual environment
cq-server
Hit Alt+V to enable the viewer. Alternatively you can use the VSCode command palette (Ctrl+Shift+P) and search for Open CadQuery viewer.
The preview should be updated each time your CadQuery Python script is saved.
You should use a language server to activate code completion, such as Pylance. Note that in order to make it work on VSCodium, you must set the nameLong value to Visual Studio Code in your product.json (located at /usr/share/codium/resources/app/product.json on Linux).
You can make the UI lighter by enabling VSCode Zen mode by hitting Ctrl+K then Z.