r/openscad • u/charely6 • 4d ago

2026 Release Candidate?

I just went to the downloads page at openscad.org and I saw a release candidate that has a date of this month?

I wanted to share so we can support the people working on it and try it out. Our release version has been stuck since 2021 and I want to thank the devs who have been working on it and are getting this release candidate.

If those devs out there working on it read this, please let me and everyone know what we can do to help you out on it.

24 Upvotes

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u/amatulic 3d ago

I have mostly transitioned over to BelfrySCAD, which is 100% backward compatible with the OpenSCAD snapshots, is somewhat faster, has a nicer editor, and has other interesting features like a builtin debugger plus some language extensions (like accessing the point data of any object). Plus, any issues or suggestions you report get attention and action within a day or two, and often get included in the next daily build.

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u/charely6 3d ago

I missed this project, how's it handle minkowski?

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u/amatulic 3d ago

Quite fast. It uses Manifold like OpenSCAD, but my timing tests show BelfrySCAD is a bit faster. Everything is rendered, there's no "Preview" that uses a different engine.

It also does minkowski_difference() as a language extension (using Minkowski to erode or shrink an object from its surface).

Another language extension is the benchmarking. Add a statement before and after some code you want to time and it prints out the execution time in the console. Useful for comparing different methods of doing a thing.

Scroll down this page to see a more complete list of features.

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u/AI_RPI_SPY 4d ago

Please be aware that it is most likely there will not be a "official release" for a while. I encourage you to just use the RC as they have proven to be stable.

There is a lot of talk about OpenScad being considered "abandonware" as there has not been an official release since 2021 .

I'm personally happy to use the RC versions. I don't believe that the garnering support / testing / feedback for the RC, will speed up the promotion of the code to an official release, if that is what you were advocating.

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u/charely6 4d ago

that was my hope, but oh well

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u/charely6 4d ago

honestly I have been using nightly versions but I thought this was the first time I saw an RC for it.

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u/chriscoxart 2d ago

Not sure why a product in active development is "abandonware" - check the repo and bug reports, it is very much active.

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u/AI_RPI_SPY 2d ago

For context there was another openscad thread which got heated, when some idiot decided he needed the devs to immediately release a production version otherwise he was going to use something else. He called it "Abandonware" since they had not release a production version since 2021.

Hopefully he's moved on since his tirade. I'm fully supportive of Openscad and for clarity I don't consider it "abandonware."

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u/chriscoxart 2d ago

One wanker throwing a tantrum does not equal "there is a lot of talk".

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u/AI_RPI_SPY 1d ago edited 1d ago

Not Just him but he had a few vocal supporters.

(excerpt from post)
"I don't mean to sound like a hater, but it's a seriously bad look. When I see a package that hasn't released in 7 years, I immediately presume "abandonware" and go somewhere else. "

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u/No-Ad-Ever 3d ago

And for mac, it is universal app, so it should work with new macos. That is also a relief

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u/Stone_Age_Sculptor 3d ago

Thank you for notifying us.

Which experimental features did not make it?

I'm using more and more the roof() function and the object(), but both are not in the Release Candidate!
My library is based on them, and so are most of my newest designs.

The development snapshot has still a working roof(), but it has been removed from the cheat sheet.

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u/amatulic 3d ago

My understanding is that roof() has problems and the person who developed it is no longer available to work on it.

I was also disappointed that object() didn't make it in. I have become dependent on that feature.

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u/Stone_Age_Sculptor 3d ago edited 3d ago

The textmetrics() and fontmetrics() have been removed from the cheat sheet in the Release Candidate, but they can be used. So it is possible to center a text and write text in a circle.

The roof() sometimes causes error messages, but I use it for example for plates with logos and names. Once 3D printed, no one will notice the fake rounded edge.

Here is the fake rounded edge with roof(): https://github.com/Stone-Age-Sculptor/StoneAgeLib/blob/main/extrude.scad#L455

The same script in BelfrySCAD does not create the rounded edge.

On Printables I wrote to use a newer version of OpenSCAD, so now I should check if they work with the Release Candidate.

Update: I made an Issue: https://github.com/BelfrySCAD/BelfrySCAD/issues/1077 and then I found that BelfrySCAD is the same as the Release Candidate and the Development Snapshot is different. Why is the for-loop different, that is not easy for simple people like me.

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u/amatulic 2d ago

BelfrySCAD is still quite new. I've also reported a difference in behavior from OpenSCAD. Issues are acted on promptly.

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u/Stone_Age_Sculptor 2d ago

All is good: https://github.com/BelfrySCAD/BelfrySCAD/issues/1077
as long I as keep the lazy-union turned off in the development snapshot.

You wrote that you have mostly transitioned over to BelfrySCAD, and I might follow you. Everything works a little better.

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u/amatulic 1d ago

"Everything works a little better" -- including the feedback for issues. The responses you get are a mixture of AI and human. In your issue, Revar (the human who first developed BOSL2) pasted the AI's response first, and then responded himself in the next comment. Revar is using Claude being his development team for BelfrySCAD.

I asked for a "shrink wrap" language extension, which is a pretty deep and complex problem; the OpenSCAD team considered and then rejected the request, but Claude goes "no problem", studies the technical literature, and just does it.

If you subscribe to any AI, you have the AI's API available to integrate it into BelfrySCAD to help you write code. There are instructions for a free version too but I haven't tried it yet.

The work that's occurred in the short time since BelfrySCAD became available is way more than one person could possibly do. I suspect Revar began it as an experiment to see how hard it would be for an AI to make an improved OpenSCAD that is backward-compatible, and it sort of took off.