KetchUp – Open-source SketchUp alternative built with Rust and WebGPU

This is awesome. At the same time I wonder if we are entering an era in which it’s just better to build your own tools

Need a 3D modeler? Use Claude or codex to build the 3D model first, then build the modeler around it as you iterate towards what you want to build

So many times I’ve had to spend hours learning a software, reading docs, doing tutorials, only to later be able to do a small basic idea of what I actually wanted to do in the first place

Now I can just build only the software I need, for the thing I need it for (or, ala REA, maybe either modify or reverse engineer some existing software, to better fit my workflows)

In that sense, it would also be cool to be able to drive KetchUp with an agent. I’m a big fan of what pen.dev has done (although now their tool is not free/open anymore)

Tell your agent to add some showcases of the features on the landing page.

Impressive how good that rust UI feels in a browser though. Even the text rendering is impressive. Maybe rust really is the future of cross platform web+mobile apps.

I love it. I do 3D printing as a hobby, but I really dislike the design phase. I usually need simple shapes: boxes or enclosures for electronics. I can find most of what I need on Thingiverse and similar platforms, but there’s always that 20% of things I need to design myself to adapt them to my specific needs.

SketchUp 8 was the easiest software for me to learn, and it just clicks with me. I really wanted to learn FreeCAD, but there's something about the way it works that I just can't get along with, so I keep going back to SketchUp.

Later, I tried all the alternatives: Onshape, Fusion, Tinkercad, and the new SolidCraft, but SketchUp still feels so simple and intuitive to me.

I've had better luck with OpenSCAD for simple things, and I still need to try it out with LLMs. That's on my TODO list!

Great work!

Feedback: every time I draw a rectangle it asks me to name the object; seems like the wrong default behavior.

Is OBJ a viable form of geometry export here? Not clear what else it can export.

It would benefit from curated examples in the File menu to demonstrate the features and give first time users something to interact with.

That name is really close to ask to be sued... remember the Mikerowsoft vs Microsoft.

See also https://ingetrazo.com/en/ as an alternative vibecoded SketchUp clone.

You spelled length wrong

A pun doesn't make a name not trademark infringement.

I like the idea and the name from the title, but if this is using LLMs, I'm not interested... Good luck to you anyway, I'm sure there's an audience for this. Used to know a guy who used SketchUp quite a bit. He modeled his basement living room with its weird overhangs and then a U desk to fit exactly into a corner by the stairs, then built the desk. I think he had no prior CAD experience.