Frequently asked questions
These are the questions people actually ask, answered in plain language and kept honest by the build: the two answers that matter most — what happens when you stop paying, and what happens if CoCAD itself goes away — are decided policy, and the build fails rather than publish this page without them.
What is CoCAD?
A parametric CAD application for Windows with a real B-rep kernel, built so that an AI assistant and a human can work on the same model at the same time — the AI through a command interface, you through the mouse and keyboard, both editing one history tree.
How do I get the download?
Yes. The Windows installer is on the download page. It runs as CoCAD Free, with no account, for personal, non-commercial use. After you buy CoCAD Pro, we email your License File to the address you paid with.
Which platforms does it run on?
Windows first. macOS and Linux are planned, not promised — the kernel is portable, but a date we cannot keep is worse than no date.
How is it priced?
CoCAD Free costs nothing and is for personal, non-commercial use. CoCAD Pro is paid once and needs no subscription or account. Prices are on the pricing page. CoCAD Pro is on sale on the pricing page. It is not on sale yet in Canada, Mexico, France, Belgium or Switzerland.
What happens when I stop paying?
Once you have paid, the app never stops working because you stop paying; when your Download Year ends, updates and support stop. Releases dated before it ended keep running in full, your files are never locked, and nothing is crippled. Two things do change it. A refunded or charged-back purchase sends its copy back to CoCAD Free, which still opens your files. And if you materially break the License Agreement and do not fix it within 30 days of our written notice, we can end the license, and you must then stop using the software (section 14).
What happens if CoCAD goes away?
A paid copy keeps working without us. It needs no account or license server to run, your documents live on your own disk, and the app never needs a server to run, so no company's death, ours included, can brick it. Without a license the app still runs as CoCAD Free and opens your files.
What does CoCAD send home?
An update check. After a notice the first time you run it, the app checks updates.cocad.ai for a new version each time it starts, unless you turn that off in Settings > Updates. The check sends your IP address, update channel and updater version, not your files. A copy with a License File also fetches the public list of refunded licenses each time it starts, even with the update check turned off; CoCAD Free never does. If you connect an outside AI service, what you send goes to that service, not to us. The full posture is in the privacy policy.
How does an AI actually control CoCAD?
Through MCP, the Model Context Protocol. Every modelling command in CoCAD is on a JSON command bus, and the MCP server exposes that whole registry to any agent that speaks the protocol — the same commands the UI itself uses, so an agent has full parity with a person by construction. The MCP command reference lists every command in the shipping build.
Do I need an AI to use CoCAD?
No. CoCAD is a complete parametric CAD application on its own — sketching, constraints, dimensions, solid modelling, an editable history tree. The AI is a user of the app, not a dependency of it: everything an agent can do, you can do at the screen, and the other way round.
Which AI assistants work with it?
Any client that speaks MCP, an open standard with a growing list of assistants and agent tools behind it. CoCAD ships an MCP server, not its own chatbot — you bring the agent you already use, and no vendor is locked in.
Can I undo what an AI did?
Yes, step by step. Every change — human or AI — lands in the same history, each step attributed to whoever made it, so you can undo exactly the one thing the agent did and keep your own work. Working at the same time, each of you sees the other’s changes as they land.
What file formats does it use?
CoCAD saves its own .cocad files, and a document is savable at any time. It imports STEP, IGES, DXF, IDF, STL, 3MF, OBJ, PNG and JPEG. CoCAD Free exports STEP, STL, 3MF, OBJ and glTF, and saves a sketch or flat face as DXF. CoCAD Pro adds IGES and SVG export, flat patterns and drawing DXF.
Who is building CoCAD?
One person, working with AI as a genuine collaborator — which is also why the product looks the way it does.
My question is not here — where does it go?
The support page is the triage: docs first, quick answers, then email to a human who actually answers. Bug reports are welcome — what you did and what you expected is the whole template.
Can I buy CoCAD in Canada, Mexico, France, Belgium or Switzerland?
No. CoCAD Pro is not on sale yet in Canada, Mexico, France, Belgium or Switzerland.