Get started

This section takes you from nothing to a saved, dimensioned drawing printed to PDF. If Musa CAD is new to you, read the pages in order. If you already use AutoCAD, start with Coming from AutoCAD. It tells you which habits work straight away.

The pages in this section

1. What Musa CAD is: what it does well, and what it does not do.
2. Install it on Windows, Linux or macOS (preview). You can also build it from source.
3. Your first drawing: a plate with two holes and two dimensions, saved and printed to PDF.
4. A tour of the interface: the names of the parts of the window, so the rest of the wiki makes sense.
5. Coming from AutoCAD: what carries over, what is different, and what is missing.

Check your graphics first

The drawing area needs a graphics driver that supports OpenGL 4.5. Up-to-date drivers for Intel, AMD and NVIDIA graphics on Windows and Linux all do. macOS does not, which is why the Mac version is only a preview for now.

If your computer cannot run the drawing area, Musa CAD does not just show a black window. It tells you what it found and what it needs, and then closes.

Download pageThe newest release on GitHub: Windows installer, AppImage, Flatpak bundle and Mac disk image.

Musa CAD on FlathubThe easiest Linux install. Updates arrive with your other apps.