Open 2D Studio

A comprehensive, cross-platform 2D CAD application. Built with modern technologies for performance, extensibility, and ease of use.

Overview

Open 2D Studio is a free, open-source 2D CAD (Computer-Aided Design) application that provides professional-grade drawing tools for technical drawings, floor plans, mechanical designs, and more. It aims to be a lightweight, fast alternative to commercial CAD software.

Key Features

• Drawing Tools: Line, Rectangle, Circle, Arc, Polyline, Ellipse, Text
• Precision Tools: Snap to grid, object snaps (endpoint, midpoint, center, intersection)
• Layer Management: Multiple layers with visibility, lock, and color controls
• Pan & Zoom: Smooth navigation with mouse wheel zoom and middle-button pan
• Selection: Click, box selection, shift-click to add to selection
• Properties Panel: Edit stroke color, width, and line style
• Command Line: CAD-style command input
• File Support: Native JSON format, DXF import/export (via Rust backend)
• Cross-Platform: Runs on Windows, Linux, and macOS

Technology Stack

Why These Technologies?

Technology	Purpose	Why We Chose It
Tauri 2.0	Application framework	~10MB app size, ~30MB RAM usage, native performance
React 18	UI framework	Component-based architecture, huge ecosystem, TypeScript support
TypeScript	Language	Type safety, better tooling, catch bugs at compile time
Canvas 2D	Rendering	Fast 2D rendering, simple API, handles 10k+ elements smoothly
Zustand	State management	Lightweight, simple API, works great with React
TailwindCSS	Styling	Rapid UI development, consistent design system
Rust	Backend (Tauri)	Memory safety, native performance for file I/O and geometry
dxf-rs	DXF support	Native Rust library for reading/writing DXF files

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│                    Tauri (Rust Shell)                    │
│  - Native window management                             │
│  - File system access                                   │
│  - DXF import/export via dxf-rs                         │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                    React + TypeScript                    │
│  - Component-based UI                                   │
│  - Zustand state management                             │
│  - TailwindCSS styling                                  │
├─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
│                    CAD Engine                            │
│  - Canvas 2D rendering                                  │
│  - Shape primitives & geometry math                     │
│  - Selection & hit testing                              │
│  - Snap system                                          │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+
• Rust 1.70+ (for Tauri backend)
• npm or pnpm

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/open-2D-studio.git
   cd open-2D-studio

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Run in development mode:

   # Frontend only (without Tauri)
   npm run dev
   
   # Full application with Tauri (requires Rust)
   npm run tauri dev

4. Build for production:

   npm run tauri build

Usage

Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
V	Select tool
H	Pan tool
L	Line tool
R	Rectangle tool
C	Circle tool
Delete	Delete selected
Ctrl+A	Select all
Ctrl+D	Deselect all
Ctrl+Z	Undo
Ctrl+Y	Redo
G	Toggle grid
S	Toggle snap
+ / -	Zoom in/out
F	Zoom to fit

Drawing

1. Select a drawing tool from the toolbar or press its shortcut
2. Click to start drawing
3. Drag to define the shape
4. Release to complete

Navigation

• Zoom: Mouse wheel (zooms toward cursor)
• Pan: Middle mouse button drag, or select Pan tool (H)

Project Structure

open-2D-studio/
├── src/                      # Frontend source code
│   ├── components/           # React components
│   │   ├── Canvas/          # Drawing canvas
│   │   ├── Toolbar/         # Top toolbar
│   │   ├── ToolPalette/     # Left tool palette
│   │   ├── Panels/          # Properties & Layers panels
│   │   ├── StatusBar/       # Bottom status bar
│   │   └── CommandLine/     # Command input
│   ├── engine/              # CAD engine
│   │   └── renderer/        # Canvas rendering
│   ├── hooks/               # React hooks
│   ├── state/               # Zustand store
│   ├── types/               # TypeScript types
│   └── styles/              # Global styles
├── src-tauri/               # Rust backend
│   └── src/
│       ├── main.rs          # Tauri entry
│       └── commands/        # File I/O commands
├── public/                  # Static assets
└── package.json

Roadmap

Phase 1 - Foundation ✅

• Project setup (Tauri + React + TypeScript)
• Basic application layout
• Canvas rendering with pan/zoom
• Grid system
• Basic shapes (Line, Rectangle, Circle)

Phase 2 - Core Features (In Progress)

• Undo/Redo system
• More drawing tools (Arc, Polyline, Spline, Text)
• Object snaps (endpoint, midpoint, intersection)
• Box selection

Phase 3 - Advanced Features

• Dimensions and annotations
• Modify tools (Trim, Extend, Fillet, Offset)
• Blocks/Symbols
• DXF import/export

Phase 4 - Polish

• Command line interface
• Customizable keyboard shortcuts
• Settings/Preferences
• PDF export

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit a Pull Request.

1. Fork the repository
2. Create your feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
3. Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add some amazing feature')
4. Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
5. Open a Pull Request

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

Acknowledgments

• Inspired by professional CAD software
• Built with Tauri, React, and Rust
• Icons by Lucide

Support

If you find this project useful, please consider:

• Starring the repository
• Reporting bugs or suggesting features
• Contributing code or documentation