CAD QuickLook

App 06 / 0110 · Finder utility

Available

Preview 3D CAD models, 3D art and 2D drawings right in Finder, in their real colors.

CAD QuickLook adds QuickLook previews and Finder thumbnails for 3D CAD and mesh files, 3D art, point clouds, toolpaths and 2D DXF drawings, shown in the colors and textures stored in the file. Press Space on a supported file to open an interactive view — rotate, zoom, and pan a model, or pan and zoom a drawing — without launching a heavy CAD application. Thumbnails appear automatically in Finder's icon and gallery views.

Interactive 3D preview on Space — rotate, zoom, and pan
Finder thumbnails in icon and gallery views
2D DXF drawings shown flat — lines, arcs, splines, blocks, dimensions, text, and hatch fills
Real colors: painted surfaces, colored parts, per-face colors, and image textures stored in the file
Z-up models shown upright; choose Z up or Y up for STEP, IGES, AMF, XYZ, PCD, and VTK, which don't record an up direction
19 formats, from STEP, IGES, 3MF, glTF, FBX, Rhino 3DM, and DXF to Blender, LDraw, MagicaVoxel, Tilt Brush, G-code, and point clouds
Native STEP and IGES tessellation via OpenCASCADE; Rhino 3DM via openNURBS
Sandboxed Finder extension — no network requests, no analytics, no tracking

Platforms macOS

Minimum macOS 26 · Apple silicon

A CAD QuickLook preview of a STEP CAD model rotating as an interactive 3D render inside a macOS window

2D drawings

A 2D DXF opens flat, viewed from above, with pan and zoom. Lines, arcs, circles, polylines, splines, blocks, dimensions, text, and solid and patterned hatches are drawn. Embedded images, leaders, and 3D solids are not drawn yet.

A CAD QuickLook preview of a 2D DXF drawing of a dimensioned plate, shown flat with its dimensions and angles

Which way is up

3MF, Rhino 3DM, and DXF files are Z-up, and CAD QuickLook turns them upright. glTF and FBX carry their own orientation, and the other formats follow their own format's rule. STEP, IGES, AMF, XYZ, PCD, and VTK don't say which way is up, so the CAD QuickLook app has a setting for them: Z up (the default, and what most CAD software uses) or Y up.

Supported formats

3MF — 3D Manufacturing Format, including embedded thumbnails and materials
STEP / STP — ISO 10303 CAD exchange (B-Rep tessellated for preview)
IGES / IGS — legacy CAD exchange
AMF — Additive Manufacturing File format
glTF / GLB — Khronos transmission format
FBX — Autodesk exchange
3DM — Rhinoceros 3D (NURBS tessellated for preview)
DXF — AutoCAD exchange: 2D drawings (lines, arcs, polylines, splines, blocks, dimensions, text, hatches) and 3D faces and meshes
Blender (.blend) — scenes and meshes, including compressed files
LDraw (.ldr, .mpd) — brick models, drawn with the bundled LDraw parts library
MagicaVoxel (.vox) — voxel art in its palette colors
Tilt Brush / Open Brush (.tilt) — VR paintings
3D Studio (.3ds) — classic 3D models
VRML (.wrl, .vrml) — VRML 2.0 / 97 worlds
Draco (.drc) — Google's compressed meshes and point clouds
VTK (.vtk) — legacy VTK simulation and scientific meshes
G-code (.gcode, .gco) — 3D-printer and CNC toolpaths
XYZ and PCD — 3D scan point clouds

Colors and textures are shown when they are stored inside the file. Textures kept as separate image files next to a model can't be read, because macOS lets Quick Look open only the file being previewed. OBJ, STL, PLY, USDZ, and Collada files are previewed by macOS itself.

Open source & licensing

CAD QuickLook is built on open-source libraries, including Open CASCADE Technology (OCCT) for STEP and IGES, and openNURBS for Rhino 3DM, and bundles the LDraw.org parts library for brick models. OCCT is licensed under the GNU LGPL v2.1; the app links it dynamically, and you are free to rebuild it and run a modified copy. Open-source notices, source, and rebuild instructions →

Privacy

CAD QuickLook makes no network requests and collects no analytics, identifiers, or telemetry. It reads only the file you preview. Read the full privacy policy →