Installing DX-CAD

DX-CAD comes four ways: from PyPI for anyone with Python 3.12, and as a build for each desktop that needs no Python. Each GitHub release carries the builds. Whichever you take, dxcad doctor (or dxcad.exe doctor on Windows) tells you it worked, ending with a line starting SMOKE OK.

With Python

pip install dxcad
dxcad doctor
dxcad gui

The OpenCASCADE kernel and Qt come with it as pinned dependencies.

Windows

The release carries DX-CAD-<version>-windows-x64-setup.exe, an installer that adds DX-CAD to the Start menu and opens its part, assembly and drawing files, and DX-CAD-<version>-windows-x64.zip, a portable build. Unzip that anywhere and run DX-CAD.exe in the DX-CAD folder it makes.

macOS

The release carries DX-CAD-<version>-macos.dmg, for Apple silicon. Open it and drag DX-CAD into Applications. The build is not signed by Apple yet, so the first time macOS says it cannot check it for malicious software. Right-click (or Control-click) DX-CAD in Applications, choose Open, and then Open in the dialog; macOS remembers the choice. Or, in a terminal, take the download's quarantine mark off it once:

xattr -dr com.apple.quarantine /Applications/DX-CAD.app

Linux

The release carries DX-CAD-x86_64.AppImage, one file that runs on most 64-bit distributions. A download is not executable, so mark it so once, then run it:

chmod +x DX-CAD-x86_64.AppImage
./DX-CAD-x86_64.AppImage

dxcad associate, from a pip install, adds the desktop entry and the part, assembly and drawing file types for your user.

What changed between one version and the next is in the changelog.