Switching from AutoCAD to CADCraft: a practical migration checklist.
The move is less about installing an app and more about your drawings, your command-line habits and your clients. Here is the checklist, in the order that loses the least work.
CADCraft is an open-source computer-aided design and drafting app written in pure Rust; its repository describes it as an independent, clean-room, AutoCAD-style app whose command line, object snaps, layers, dimensions, hatches, blocks and DXF drawings follow workflows AutoCAD users know. The official page says it opens DWG files from R13 to 2018 and reads and writes DXF from R12 to 2018. That combination is what makes the move plausible — and the project's own gaps list is what keeps it honest. This checklist turns both into a safe, testable process.
The short answer
quotable summarySwitch by testing, not by believing. Install CADCraft alongside AutoCAD, open five representative drawings from your own archive, verify the layers, dimensions, text and blocks that matter to your work, run two weeks of real jobs in parallel, and only then change your licensing. Keep original files untouched, keep the save-back risk in mind — saving to DWG drops entities CADCraft does not model yet — and treat the first month as a hybrid period where AutoCAD remains the reference implementation.
Before you install anything: the inventory
Write down the answers first — the whole migration is judged against this list.
- The formats you receive and deliver. Most drafting handoffs arrive as DWG or DXF. The official page says DWG opens from R13 to 2018 and DXF reads and writes from R12 to 2018; note that the sources disagree on the DXF write range (README: R2000; file-format notes: 2000 to 2018), so test the version your collaborators use.
- The features you actually touch weekly. Command-line drawing, object snaps, layers, dimensions, hatching, paper-space layouts and PDF plotting are CADCraft's documented surface. 3D modelling, dynamic block authoring, a DIMSTYLE manager dialog, system printing and binary plot styles (.ctb, .stb, .pc3) are documented as missing — those go on the "will not transfer" list by default.
- The handoffs that pay you. Which drawings go to whom, in which format, and who has to reopen them. Migration failures are almost always handoff failures, and the repository records no real-file check in AutoCAD, so every round-trip is yours to verify.
- Your automation and add-on dependencies. AutoLISP files (.lsp) load; Visual LISP ActiveX (vlax-), DCL dialogs and reactors do not. The cadcraft-cli and the MCP server cover a different automation style than AutoCAD's APIs — list what your workflow actually calls before you move it.
Moving your drawings
CADCraft opens DWG and DXF directly, so in the common case your archive comes with you — no batch conversion, no export marathon. The discipline that keeps it safe:
1. Copy, never move. Your AutoCAD-era originals stay exactly where they are, read-only, for at least one full delivery cycle after the switch.
2. Test five drawings before trusting five hundred: the heaviest layer stack, a drawing dense with dimensions, one heavy with text (SHX styles included), one full of blocks and hatching, and the most complex file you own.
3. Inspect layer by layer, not by thumbnail. Check the Layer Properties Manager against expectations — layers keep on/off, freeze, lock, plot, colour and linetype — then confirm dimensions hold their values, hatches keep their boundaries, and text renders in something close to its intended font.
4. Round-trip once. Save a copy from CADCraft, reopen it in whichever tool your collaborator still uses, and compare entity counts, text and dimensions with the original. Remember the documented edge: saving to DWG drops entities CADCraft does not model yet.
5. Note anything that degrades and decide its fate: rebuild it in CADCraft's terms, keep that one drawing in AutoCAD, or restructure the deliverable so the fragile element disappears.
Rebuilding muscle memory
The honest part of a switch: the first week feels slower, and no comparison page can fix that. The repository calls CADCraft AutoCAD-style, and the documented command vocabulary — lines, polylines, arcs, offsets, trims, fillets, arrays — plus object snaps, polar tracking and grips will feel familiar. But menu placements and dialog layouts are their own, and some dialogs do not exist yet: there is no DIMSTYLE manager, so dimension variables are set on the command line or with SETVAR.
Two habits shorten the ramp. First, relearn by task, not by toolbar: for one real job, find each step's new home — draw, dimension, hatch, lay out, plot to PDF — instead of touring every menu. Second, keep notes on anything that took longer than it should; after a week they become your personal command sheet. The ArtCraft Discord and the repository issue tracker are the right places to ask when a step has no obvious new home.
The two-week parallel plan
| Days | What you run | What proves it works |
|---|---|---|
| 1–2 | Install a v0.5.0 build for your platform (macOS, Windows, Linux, FreeBSD and a web build are on the release page; the web build has no DWG support), verify the checksum against SHA256SUMS.txt, open your five test drawings, inspect layer by layer. | A written list of what opened cleanly, what substituted, and what did not appear. |
| 3–5 | Draw one small, low-stakes real job entirely in CADCraft, and export in the format your workflow expects (PDF plotting, SVG and PNG export are listed in the README). | The exported result opens where it needs to; nothing needed a rescue trip back to AutoCAD. |
| 6–9 | Run your normal jobs in both applications: draft in CADCraft, keep AutoCAD as the reference. Compare the steps each task takes, not the seconds. | Per-task notes: where CADCraft matched, where it fell short, where it was genuinely fine. |
| 10–13 | Move the real handoffs: deliver actual drawings from CADCraft, after opening each saved file in the tool your client or reviewer actually uses. | Zero handoff failures across a full delivery cycle. |
| 14 | Decision point: migrate the 2D work, stay hybrid, or stay on AutoCAD. All three are legitimate outcomes of an honest test. | Your inventory list from day zero, answered line by line. |
Scope note: the plan is a testing schedule, not a claim about CADCraft beyond what its official page, README and gaps list state. Your own drawings are the evidence.
Working with clients during and after the switch
Nothing in an editor change obliges you to announce it — a DWG you deliver is still a DWG. But the professional move is to tell collaborators what changed on your side, and to keep the original files untouched so any dispute can be re-verified in the reference tool. If a client's workflow hard-depends on AutoCAD-specific behaviours you cannot honor — dynamic block parameters, plot-style pipelines, or a verified round-trip through AutoCAD itself — that job stays in AutoCAD or that conversation happens early. The switch is yours; the contract is shared.
Evidence and editorial method
checked 2026-10-21Who wrote this: CADCraft Fan Guide editors, independent and unaffiliated with ArtCraft, storytold or Autodesk. How: capability claims come from the official CADCraft product page and the public repository (README, roadmap, gaps list, file-format notes); the migration method is standard editorial practice for tool switches, expressed as tests you run rather than numbers we invent.
What to verify yourself: the current release notes before installing, the behaviour of your own DWG and DXF files, and the terms of your AutoCAD licensing before changing anything.
Questions readers ask
Will my DWG files work in CADCraft?
The official page says CADCraft opens DWG files from R13 to 2018, and reads and writes DXF from R12 to 2018. Which features inside a given drawing survive depends on that file: the repository's file-format notes say entities CADCraft does not model are dropped when a drawing is saved as DWG. Test representative drawings from your own archive before migrating anything important.
Should I cancel my AutoCAD licence on day one?
No. Run both applications through a test period — we suggest two weeks on real work — and change your licensing only when representative drawings, handoffs and automation have all been checked. Commercial terms are Autodesk's to set, so read them before cancelling anything, and treat a short overlap as cheap insurance.
What is the safest way to keep working with clients during the switch?
Keep exchanging DWG and DXF files as before, keep the originals untouched, and verify each saved result reopens correctly in the tool your client actually uses. The repository records no real-file check in AutoCAD yet, so every round-trip is yours to run. Tell collaborators what changed and keep one application as the reference while you test.
What this article does not claim
It does not claim every DWG transfers perfectly, that CADCraft covers AutoCAD's full feature surface, or that any specific schedule suits every workload. It publishes no benchmarks and no prices. It is an editorial checklist from a fan-made guide; the official sources remain the authority.