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The plate view edits the selection through the shared PlateEdits and Select tool, recording each edit in its nest tab's undo history under the WinForms labels: - Delete (with any modifiers) removes the selected parts and cut-offs. - Arrow keys nudge by 10; repeated nudges undo as one Nudge. - Shift+arrows, X, Shift+X, Shift+Y and Y push to contact (Ctrl+X does nothing until Cut comes with the place tool). - A middle click (moved under 5 px) turns the selection 90 degrees, a double-click 180; a middle drag still pans, and a middle double-click fits only with nothing selected. - Shift+wheel turns it by 10 degrees per notch, Ctrl+Shift+wheel by 1, away from the user clockwise; with nothing selected the wheel zooms. - Dragging a selected part moves the selection as one Move; losing the pointer mid-drag ends it there, and a middle click during the drag turns the selection without ending it. As in WinForms, each nest keeps a plate manager that keeps one empty plate at the end inside the edit's own step, so deleting every part on the last full plate undoes in one step. Each nest's cut-offs regenerate with its own cut-off settings (saved head lock in the nest's units, then the machine's cut-off defaults), read again before Undo or Redo swaps a nest in. The Plates and Drawings lists rebuild after the step closes when their counts changed, keeping the plate, zoom and selection. While Auto Nest runs on a nest its plate takes no edits, as the WinForms modal progress window prevents them.
OpenNest
A Windows desktop application for CNC nesting — imports DXF drawings, arranges parts on material plates, and exports layouts as DXF or G-code for cutting.
Features
- Import / export — DXF & DWG parts (ACadSharp), Excel BOMs, bend-line detection, built-in parametric shapes; export DXF or post-processed G-code.
- Nesting — automatic multi-plate/multi-material jobs, interlocking pair evaluation, and built-in or plug-in engines. Choose an engine.
- Plate operations — manual sheet cut-offs, plate- or nest-wide automatic scrap cutoffs with a minimum tail-to-keep setting, oversized-part splitting (straight, weld-gap tabs, spike-groove), interactive editing, and spacing-aware pushes that can slide along or away from touching parts.
- Visual overlap check — highlight shared material on the active plate, rechecked automatically after edits, including containment and cutouts, with area shading, pair markers, and hover details through View > Overlap Check. Usage and limitations.
- Cut simulator — Plate > Simulate Cutting replays the active plate in cut order: the torch traces each cut, rapid and pierce at adjustable feed, rapid and pierce settings, with play/pause, scrubbing, 1×–250× speed and previous/next part (Page Up/Down) and cutout (Ctrl+Left/Right) jumps. Parts the torch has not reached stay grayed. It and Calculate Cut Time use separate outside and hole feeds, skip etch-only contours like the CI Fiber post, and apply the chosen machine's acceleration and corner limits from Machine Configuration (placeholder values until you enter the controller's). Timing model.
- CNC output — configurable lead-ins/outs and tabs, contour editing, user-defined G-code variables (
$name→#200+machine variables), plugin post-processors (Cincinnati CL-707/800/900/940/CLX included). Pre-post verification checks overlaps, missing lead-ins, and rapid crossings, with explicit risk acknowledgment required to bypass warnings.
Requirements
- Windows 10+ for the desktop app; the console, API, shared desktop library (
OpenNest.Desktop) and most test projects build on Linux/macOS too.OpenNest.Avaloniais an early cross-platform desktop prototype, not yet a usable replacement. - .NET 8 SDK to build from source.
Prebuilt Windows downloads are on GitHub Releases, or build from source to run the latest code. Release ZIPs are self-contained: extract the entire archive into a new folder and run OpenNest.exe; no separate .NET installation is needed. For automatic updates, install with OpenNest-win-Setup.exe or extract OpenNest-win-Portable.zip instead: those copies download new full releases in the background, from GitHub Releases or, in Database mode, the nest server's mirror of them first (a hand-set feed URL overrides both) and restart only when you agree (auto-update). The plain ZIP does not auto-update; to update it, close OpenNest and extract the new release into a new folder. All nesting engines (Default, Rectangles, Irregular, Circles, FlatBar and the fill strategies) are built in; see nesting engines.
Build, Test, Run
git clone https://github.com/ajisaacs/OpenNest.git
cd OpenNest
dotnet build OpenNest.sln # full solution (Windows)
dotnet test OpenNest.Engine.Tests/OpenNest.Engine.Tests.csproj # cross-platform engine tests
dotnet test OpenNest.Tests/OpenNest.Tests.csproj # core/engine/IO/API tests
dotnet test OpenNest.Desktop.Tests/OpenNest.Desktop.Tests.csproj # shared desktop library tests
dotnet test OpenNest.FrontEnd.Tests/OpenNest.FrontEnd.Tests.csproj # console/MCP/API integration
dotnet run --project OpenNest/OpenNest.csproj # desktop app (Windows)
dotnet run --project OpenNest.Avalonia/OpenNest.Avalonia.csproj # cross-platform prototype
OpenNest.WinForms.Tests (desktop-assembly tests) runs on Windows only; CI runs it on a GitHub-hosted Windows runner, and OpenNest.FrontEnd.Tests on both Linux and Windows, for every master push and pull request.
Quick start
- File > New
- Import DXFs via the CAD Converter (layer/color filtering, per-entity exclude and cut/etch/display-only roles, bend detection, G-code preview) or create built-in shapes
- Define plate size, material, quadrant, spacing
- Fill — the engine arranges parts
- Optionally add cut-off lines, apply Part Sequencing to order crossing cut-offs before their parts, then save
.nest, export DXF, or post-process to G-code
Review part spacing before cutting, especially for interlocking pairs. See pair-spacing checks and current limitations.
Command-Line Interface
dotnet run --project OpenNest.Console -- part.dxf --size 60x120 # fill one plate
dotnet run --project OpenNest.Console -- part1.dxf part2.dxf --size 60x120 --autonest
dotnet run --project OpenNest.Console -- project.zip # re-fill a nest file
dotnet run --project OpenNest.Console -- job.nest --no-fill --plan-cutting --all-plates
| Option | What it does |
|---|---|
--size WxL |
Set the plate size; required for DXF-only input. |
--autonest |
Run validated whole-job nesting; one sheet unless --max-sheets <n> allows more. |
--engine <name> |
Choose a whole-job engine with --autonest, or a fill strategy without it. |
--quantity <n> |
Limit parts placed (0 means unlimited). With --autonest, nest n of each drawing instead of its required quantity. |
--spacing <value> |
Override part spacing. |
--template <path> |
Read plate defaults from a nest file. |
--output <path> |
Set the output nest path. |
--check-overlaps |
Check the result for overlaps. |
--no-fill |
Keep a loaded nest as it is, for example to plan cutting or post it. |
--plan-cutting |
Plan and apply cutting (part order, contours, entries, lead-ins); see cut planning. |
--cutting-params <path> |
Cutting settings JSON for --plan-cutting; otherwise the plates' saved settings are used. |
--post <name> |
Run a post-processor after nesting. |
--no-save |
Skip saving the nest. |
--allow-invalid |
Explicitly keep a representable invalid --autonest result; otherwise it is rejected. |
Run dotnet run --project OpenNest.Console -- --help for the complete options and their defaults.
Project Structure
| Project | Purpose |
|---|---|
| OpenNest | WinForms desktop app |
| OpenNest.Core | Domain model, geometry, CNC primitives; material-overlap diagnostics |
| OpenNest.Engine | Nesting algorithms and whole-job contracts |
| OpenNest.IO | DXF/DWG, .nest, G-code, BOM I/O; CAD import |
| OpenNest.Console | Headless batch nesting |
| OpenNest.Api / .Data | Programmatic pipeline; machine & cutting-parameter data |
| OpenNest.Gpu | GPU-accelerated pair evaluation (ILGPU) |
| OpenNest.Benchmark | Head-to-head engine comparison |
| OpenNest.Mcp | MCP server for AI tool integration |
| Posts/ | Post-processor plugins (Cincinnati CL / CI Fiber lasers, Gravograph IS8000) |
| *.Tests | Cross-platform suites; WinForms tests are Windows-only |
Nesting Engines
Default compares the built-in Irregular, Rectangles and Circles engines and keeps the best valid whole-job layout. Other engines and plug-ins suit particular jobs; see which engine to use. Desktop Auto Nest, console autonest, MCP autonest, and the API share an independent validation pipeline, including for plug-ins. Automatic nesting and validation explains how callers handle invalid results.
File Format
.nest files are ZIP archives containing drawing programs, metadata, plates, and placements. Saved nests retain each part's lead-ins, lead-outs, tab gaps, and locks, plus the plate's cutting settings. Changing a drawing's geometry removes obsolete cutting paths from its parts; name, quantity, and color edits preserve them. See the file-format reference for compatibility and recovery behavior.
Supported Formats
| Format | Import | Export |
|---|---|---|
| DXF | Yes | Yes |
| DWG | Yes | No |
| Excel BOM | Yes | No |
| G-code | No | Yes (post-processors) |
.nest |
Yes | Yes |
Keyboard Shortcuts
Ctrl+F fill area · F zoom to fit · Shift+wheel / middle-click rotate · X/Y push · arrows nudge by the offset increment (F5), or with its calculated distance by the selection's own size plus part spacing, landing tight with no push back (it always moves, even off the plate) · Shift+arrow push.
Status & License
Actively developed; core workflows run end-to-end from DXF import to G-code. Contributions welcome. MIT licensed — see LICENSE.