cadcraft/ROADMAP.md

# CADCraft roadmap

**Stage: pre-alpha** · next: alpha, ~2 points (38% → 40% ready for real work) and ~125–190 Opus 5.5 hours away (the four failing core workflows of the [alpha gate](docs/roadmap.md#alpha-gate))

> **Last reviewed:** 2026-10-10 · **Last updated:** 2026-10-10 · **Change:** minor (hours to ~95% for each readiness number) · **Target:** Autodesk AutoCAD 2027

CADCraft targets full parity with AutoCAD (2D drafting first, then annotation, layouts and
plotting, DWG, parametrics and 3D), plus what AutoCAD doesn't have: agent control over MCP, a
scriptable CLI, a web build, Linux and FreeBSD builds, and a free licence.

**Why pre-alpha:** four of AutoCAD's five core workflows fail the [alpha gate](docs/roadmap.md#alpha-gate).
Precise drafting lacks object snap tracking and has stubbed TRIM/EXTEND/OFFSET options; blocks
can't be edited (no block editor, REFEDIT or xrefs); plots ignore plot styles; and a DWG saved by
CADCraft drops everything it doesn't model and has never been checked in
AutoCAD. Dimensioning passes. Ready for real work (≈ 38%) is also under the ~40% alpha bar. Beta
is ≈ 600–930 h away.

## Headline numbers

| Number | Value | Kind |
|---|---|---|
| Feature breadth (AutoCAD for Mac menu items with a live command) | **50%** (245 / 491; 2D menus only ≈ 65%) | measured ([parity-checklist.md](docs/parity-checklist.md) + UI-only commands) |
| Ready for real work | **≈ 38%** | estimated ([target-app-parity.md](docs/target-app-parity.md)) |
| Mainstream practitioner (2D drafter) | **≈ 28%** (lower than the full number: file exchange, stability and interaction discounts multiply) | estimated ([target-app-parity.md](docs/target-app-parity.md#mainstream-practitioner)) |
| Essentials user | **≈ 46%** | estimated ([target-app-parity.md](docs/target-app-parity.md#essentials-user)) |
| Remaining to alpha | **≈ 125–190 h** (the gate rows) | estimated |
| Remaining to beta | **≈ 600–930 h** (≈ 150–250 h elapsed with 4–6 agents) | estimated |
| Remaining to full parity | **≈ 1,300–2,100 h** (≈ 330–550 h elapsed) | estimated |

### Readiness by audience

| Audience | Ready % | Opus 5.5 agent wall-clock hours to ~95% | Work that dominates |
|---|---:|---|---|
| Full target (ready for real work) | ≈ 38% | ≈ 1,150–1,850 h (≈ 70% parallelises across 4–6 agents: ≈ 300–480 h elapsed) | 3D kernel (300–450 h), DWG/DXF and other formats, AutoLISP and ecosystem, blocks/xrefs/dynamic blocks, localization |
| Mainstream practitioner (2D drafter) | ≈ 28% | ≈ 570–880 h (≈ 70% parallelises: ≈ 150–240 h elapsed) | lossless DWG exchange and a real-file corpus, precision input (tracking, dynamic input), 2D geometry precision, blocks/xrefs, annotation depth, stability backlog |
| Essentials user | ≈ 46% | ≈ 140–225 h (≈ 50% parallelises across 3 agents: ≈ 60–110 h elapsed) | stubbed options in basic draw/modify commands, opening DWGs people send, launch/stability fixes, plot dialog, context menus and dynamic input |

Hours are subsets (essentials ⊂ mainstream ⊂ full) and use the calibration in [target-app-parity.md](docs/target-app-parity.md#remaining-effort-and-how-it-was-calibrated): ≈ 25 commands
per agent-hour at presence quality in the first build (≈ 11.5 agent-hours), 0.3–0.7 h per option
or bug fix (≈ 60 such fixes on 2026-10-10), 2–5 h per moderate feature, 15–100 h per subsystem.

Hours are Opus 5.5 agent wall-clock hours, calibrated on this repo's own build: the first version
(51k lines, 290 commands) took ≈ 11.5 agent-hours at presence quality, while depth work runs at
0.3–0.7 h per option or bug fix (≈ 60 such fixes landed on 2026-10-10). Details:
[target-app-parity.md](docs/target-app-parity.md#remaining-effort-and-how-it-was-calibrated).

## By dimension

| Dimension | Parity | Remaining (h) | Doc |
|---|---:|---|---|
| Features (depth, weighted by use) | 41% | 735–1,115 | [target-app-parity.md](docs/target-app-parity.md#by-feature-area-the-features-dimension) |
| UI/UX fidelity | 43% | 100–160 | [ui-parity.md](docs/ui-parity.md) |
| File formats | 30% | 170–280 | [file-format-parity.md](docs/file-format-parity.md) |
| Hardware | 45% | 15–25 | [hardware-parity.md](docs/hardware-parity.md) |
| Localization | 5% | 60–100 | [localization-parity.md](docs/localization-parity.md) |
| Performance | 60% | 20–40 | [hardware-parity.md](docs/hardware-parity.md#performance-on-hardware-internal-numbers-only) |
| Stability | 35% | 30–50 | [gaps.md](docs/gaps.md#stability) |
| Platforms | 75% | 15–25 | [gaps.md](docs/gaps.md#platforms) |
| Ecosystem and automation | 10% | 120–200 | [gaps.md](docs/gaps.md#ecosystem-and-automation) |
| AI features | 20% | 40–80 | [gaps.md](docs/gaps.md#ai-features) |

## Features

| Area | Parity | Remaining (h) | Doc |
|---|---:|---|---|
| Draw (2D) | 60% | 15–25 | [gaps.md](docs/gaps.md#features) |
| Modify | 50% | 40–60 | [gaps.md](docs/gaps.md#features) |
| Geometry precision | 40% | 70–110 | [geometry-parity.md](docs/geometry-parity.md) |
| Layers and properties | 70% | 10–15 | [gaps.md](docs/gaps.md#features) |
| Dimensions | 45% | 25–35 | [gaps.md](docs/gaps.md#features) |
| Text and MTEXT | 35% | 30–45 | [gaps.md](docs/gaps.md#features) |
| Leaders, tables, fields | 25% | 25–35 | [gaps.md](docs/gaps.md#features) |
| Hatch and gradients | 35% | 15–25 | [gaps.md](docs/gaps.md#features) |
| Blocks, attributes, xrefs, groups | 25% | 80–120 | [gaps.md](docs/gaps.md#features) |
| Layouts, viewports, plotting | 35% | 35–50 | [gaps.md](docs/gaps.md#features) |
| Inquiry and utilities | 30% | 30–45 | [gaps.md](docs/gaps.md#features) |
| Parametric constraints | 50% | 20–30 | [geometry-parity.md](docs/geometry-parity.md) |
| 3D modelling and rendering | 2% | 300–450 | [gaps.md](docs/gaps.md#features) |
| Collaboration and cloud | 5% | 40–70 | [gaps.md](docs/gaps.md#features) |

## Languages

AutoCAD 2027 for Mac ships 8 interface languages; CADCraft ships English plus partial
Ukrainian and German. Detail: [localization-parity.md](docs/localization-parity.md).

| Language | Status | UI translated |
|---|---|---:|
| English | full | 100% |
| Simplified Chinese | none | 0% |
| Spanish | none | 0% |
| Hindi | none | 0% |
| Arabic | none | 0% |
| French | none | 0% |
| Portuguese | none | 0% |
| Indonesian | none | 0% |
| Japanese | none | 0% |
| German | partial | ≈ 100% of the catalog (989 rows) |
| Korean | none | 0% |
| Vietnamese | none | 0% |

Other languages shipped: Ukrainian and German, both partial (989 catalog rows each; Ukrainian landed with #36; engine messages stay English).

## Upcoming

Ranked; detail and the full beta checklist in [docs/roadmap.md](docs/roadmap.md).

1. Gate and land: fix fmt on main, run `cargo xtask ci` on every PR, land the 47 open PRs (15–25 h).
2. Stop losing data on save; native MULTILEADER; save DWG/DXF at a chosen version (30–45 h).
3. Real-file DWG/DXF corpus and a black-box check in AutoCAD (10–15 h + owner).
4. Precision input: object snap tracking, extension/parallel snaps, FROM/M2P/TK, snap overrides,
   editable dynamic input (25–35 h).
5. Unstub prompt options in TRIM/EXTEND, OFFSET, ROTATE, PLINE, SPLINE, MTEXT, MLEADER (15–25 h).
6. Autosave, recovery, AUDIT, RECOVER (10–15 h).
7. Exact ellipse/spline geometry and correct polyline offsets (30–50 h).
8. Xrefs, block editor, groups, then dynamic blocks (80–120 h).

## Progress log

| Date | Entry |
|---|---|
| 2026-10-10 | Merged main: Ukrainian interface (#36, first string catalog), Dynamic Input pointer boxes with Tab and relative entry (#60), press-drag selection windows (#63), WIPEOUT and hatch gradients kept through DXF/DWG save (#147, #162), SETVAR DIM* as style overrides (#129), UNITS dialog (#38), close-window save prompt (#47), DIMANGULAR on circles (#20), cargo fmt fixed on main. UI/UX 40% → 43% (dynamic input 15% → 45%), localization 3% → 5%; ready for real work ≈ 37% → 38% (weighted 37.2% → 37.7%), mainstream 27% → 28%, essentials 45% → 46%. Beta is now ~37 points away; hours unchanged within rounding. |
| 2026-10-10 | Added mainstream practitioner (≈ 27%) and essentials user (≈ 45%) numbers; ready for real work unchanged at ≈ 37%. User evidence: 2 praise comments, 0 "switched from AutoCAD" reports, 27 of 37 open issues on the core path. |
| 2026-10-10 | Stage re-normalized from alpha to **pre-alpha** under the craftrules core-workflow gate: drafting with tracking, blocks, plotting and lossless DWG save fail; dimensioning passes. Alpha is ≈ 125–190 h away. |
| 2026-10-10 | Full re-measure against AutoCAD 2027 for Mac in the craftrules progress-docs format: menu breadth 245/491 (50%), ready for real work ≈ 37%, stage alpha. Remaining estimates rose (≈ 570 h → 1,300–2,100 h) on new evidence: behaviour audits found tracking/extension/parallel snaps and dynamic input are not real, saves drop unmodelled content, DWG saves as R2000, and the old estimate had no localization, ecosystem, stability, platform or AI rows. New docs: target-app-parity, gaps, roadmap, architecture, localization, file-format, hardware, UI and geometry parity; `docs/parity.md` became `docs/parity-checklist.md`. |
| 2026-10-10 | About 60 community PRs merged in a day: DXF fidelity (transparency, LWPOLYLINE elevation, frozen VP layers, dimension text rotation, arc-length dims, non-ASCII escapes), CJK font fallback, Save/Don't Save on close, Light/System themes, F2 history, trackpad pan, Linux XWayland drag-and-drop, correctness fixes across draw/modify/constraints. Release v0.4.0. |
| 2026-10-08 | Releases v0.1.0–v0.3.0: Flatpak, AppImage updates, signed macOS universal, Windows x64/x86/arm64, Linux, FreeBSD and web builds. |
| 2026-10-07 | Old assessment: menu breadth 233/491 (47%), ≈ 29% weighted parity, 2D drafting ≈ 55%, ≈ 570 h remaining; milestones as reported then: M1 ~85%, M2 ~65%, M3 ~75%, M4 ~50%, M5 ~35%, M6 ~55%, M7 ~55%, M8 ~20%, M9 ~60%, M10 ~70%, M11 0%, M12 ~25%, M13 ~10%. |
| 2026-10-07 | First version built in one session (≈ 6.9 h elapsed, ≈ 11.5 agent-hours): M0 vertical slice, dimensions, hatch, blocks, DWG bridge, layouts and PDF plotting, GPU canvas, R-tree, constraints, Layer Properties Manager, QSELECT, release pipeline. |

## Revision history

| Date | Change | Summary |
|---|---|---|
| 2026-10-10 | minor | Merged main's changes (Ukrainian catalog, dynamic input pointer boxes, DXF fixes); UI/UX and localization numbers updated |
| 2026-10-10 | minor | Readiness-by-audience table with hours to ~95% for each number |
| 2026-10-10 | minor | Mainstream practitioner and essentials user headline numbers |
| 2026-10-10 | minor | Stage alpha → pre-alpha under the core-workflow gate; banner, why, headline row |
| 2026-10-10 | major | Restructured to the progress-docs standard (stage, two numbers, dimensions, features, languages, upcoming, log); full re-measure; milestone detail moved to docs/roadmap.md, parity assessment to docs/target-app-parity.md |
| 2026-10-07 | major | Alpha checklist, milestone table, ≈ 29% weighted parity estimate |

## Shared UI workspace integration

Tool Sets, Layers and Properties use shared docking with persisted layouts, keyboard focus and compact toolbar overflow. No milestone percentage change.