FreeCAD is an open-source parametric 3D modeler made primarily to design real-life objects of any size.
Parametric modeling allows you to easily modify your design by going back into your model history and changing its parameters.
FreeCAD allows you to sketch geometry constrained 2D shapes and use them as a base to build other objects.
It contains many components to adjust dimensions or extract design details from 3D models to create high-quality production ready drawings.
FreeCAD is a cross-platform (Windows, Mac and Linux), highly customizable and extensible software.
It reads and writes to many open file formats such as STEP, IGES, STL, SVG, DXF, OBJ, IFC, DAE and many others, making it possible to seamlessly integrate it into your workflow.
FreeCAD is designed to fit a wide range of uses including product design, mechanical engineering and architecture.
Whether you are a hobbyist, a programmer, an experienced CAD user, a student or a teacher, you will feel right at home with FreeCAD.
Use FreeCAD AppImage version
AppImages works on almost all Linux distributions. Download FreeCAD AppImage from the link below.
To use an AppImage file, go to its properties and enable the “Allow executing file as a program” option.
Click here to add an AppImage in the menu on Linux mint or Ubuntu.
Install from Software Manager
Almost all linux distributions comes packed with a built in software manager. You can install FreeCAD directly from there.
Just search for FreeCAD in the Software manager. Also, note that on Linux mint / Ubuntu is called Software manager on other Linux distributions, the name could be different.
Install FreeCAD in Ubuntu 20 / Linux mint 20
You can install FreeCAD on Linux mint or Ubuntu 20 either by using the software manager or terminal.
To install FreeCAD via terminal; open the terminal and enter this command.
sudo apt install freecad
Install FreeCAD via PPA on Ubuntu 20 / Linux mint 20
You can also install FreeCAD by adding the official PPA repository to your system.
To add FreeCAD PPA to your system and install it, open the terminal and enter this command:
Add the PPA to your system.
sudo add-apt-repository ppa:freecad-maintainers/freecad-stable
Retrieve the updated package lists.
sudo apt update
Now install FreeCAD along with its offline documentation.
sudo apt install freecad freecad-common
Install FreeCAD on Debian / Other Debian based systems
To install FreeCAD on debian or other debian based systems, open a terminal and enter the command given below.
sudo apt-get install freecad
Install FreeCAD on openSUSE
To install FreeCAD on openSUSE, follow the command below in your terminal.
First add the package repository to your system:
zypper addrepo https://download.opensuse.org/repositories/openSUSE:Leap:15.2/standard/openSUSE:Leap:15.2.repo
Now refresh the package list:
zypper refresh
Finally, install FreeCAD package:
zypper install FreeCAD
Alternatively, visit openSUSE software website from the link below and click on Instant Download.
Gentoo
Install FreeCAD on Gentoo using the command below.
emerge freecad
Fedora
FreeCAD has been included in the official Fedora packages since Fedora 20. It can be installed from the command line with:
sudo dnf install freecad
For older releases of Fedora use:
sudo yum install freecad
Arch and Manjaro
Installing FreeCAD on Arch Linux and derivatives (ex. Manjaro):
pacman -S freecad
Drop your opinions for FreeCAD and tell us about your experience in the comments.
