OpenCutList, explained: the free cut list extension SketchUp should have shipped with
682,000 downloads, zero dollars, and one honest limitation you should know before you commit. Here is what it actually does — and the four gotchas the video tutorials skip.
No affiliate links on this page. OpenCutList is free software and we earn nothing from recommending it. We cover it because it is the first thing we install after SketchUp itself.
What it is
OpenCutList is a SketchUp extension that reads your 3D model and produces the three documents every project actually gets built from: a parts list, a cutting diagram, and a cost estimate. It was created by Boris Beaulant, the woodworker behind the French community platform L'Air du Bois, and has been in continuous development since 2017 — 682,000 downloads on the Extension Warehouse and counting.
It is open-source (GPLv3) and genuinely free: no trial, no locked pro tier. Development is funded by donations on OpenCollective, where about 2,400 people keep it alive.
What it does in practice
- Parts list — every component in your model, grouped by material and thickness, with rough (oversized) dimensions. Exports to CSV and XLSX.
- Cutting diagrams — since version 7.0, four packing modes: one-dimensional for lumber, guillotine (through cuts), nested rectangles, and free-form nesting for irregular shapes. Saw kerf (Blade Thickness) and edge trim (Trimming Size) are configurable, and the result reports efficiency per panel.
- Estimate — cost and weight per material, with pricing by dimension and any currency.
- Labels — a drag-and-drop label editor with QR codes; prints on any label sheet grid or on Dymo/Zebra continuous printers.
- Vector export — diagrams and part drawings out to SVG and DXF, which is the bridge to CNC routers, laser cutters and the Shaper Origin.
The requirement that disqualifies half the internet's advice
OpenCutList runs on desktop SketchUp only — 2017 or newer, Windows or Mac. The official documentation is explicit: it is not available for SketchUp Free in the browser, nor for the iPad app.
That matters, because "use SketchUp Free plus OpenCutList" is common advice in forums, and it is wrong. If you are on the free browser version, this extension is the single best reason to find a desktop license.
Getting a clean cut list: the actual workflow
- Model every part as a Component — not a Group. This is the rule that generates ninety percent of "my parts are missing" complaints. Groups are ignored by design; components nested inside groups are fine.
- Open Extensions → OpenCutList, go to Materials, and define what your parts are made of: type (solid wood, sheet good, dimensional lumber), default thicknesses, oversize allowance, and price if you want estimates. The Smart Paint tool applies materials by clicking parts.
- In Parts, click Generate. No selection means every visible component in the scene; hidden parts stay out.
- On a sheet-good or dimensional material group, open the Cutting Diagram. Set your standard panel size, add any offcuts you have lying around (the engine uses them first), set blade thickness and trimming size, and generate.
- Print it, or export SVG/DXF if the parts are headed to a machine.
The four gotchas that cost people an afternoon
- Dimensions come from the bounding box. Every part is measured as a rectangular solid. Miters, holes and curves do not change the reported size — and a part whose geometry is rotated against its own axes reports wrong dimensions entirely. The fix is correcting the component's local axes (the Smart Axes tool exists for exactly this).
- Grain runs along the red axis. Length is read on the component's red axis, so grain direction is a modeling decision, not a checkbox. For sheet goods with grain across the width, the documented trick is entering the panel with inverted dimensions. Individual parts can be allowed to rotate by disabling grain on that part.
- One standard panel size per material. The engine will not choose between a 4×8 and a 5×5 sheet for you — the documentation states this openly and calls it a complexity trade-off, with the offcuts field as the workaround.
- You cannot drag parts around the diagram. The layout is what the optimizer produces; manual rearranging is a long-standing feature request. If a diagram looks suboptimal, the documented answer is trying the other optimization level and cut directions.
What is coming in 8.0
The most-requested feature in the project's history is grain continuity — keeping the figure flowing across adjacent parts, the way a good maker wraps a waterfall edge. That is the headline of version 8.0, currently being crowdfunded (the campaign passed 60% of its $20,000 goal in mid-2026). It is a rare thing: an open-source roadmap steered directly by what woodworkers keep asking for.
Where it fits, and where it does not
| You | Verdict |
|---|---|
| Design furniture or cabinets in desktop SketchUp | Install it today. There is no reason not to. |
| Use SketchUp Free in the browser | It will not work. This extension is worth the desktop upgrade. |
| Run 500-part production batches daily | A dedicated optimizer like MaxCut or CutList Plus fx may serve you better — at the cost of re-entering data outside your model. |
| Don't use SketchUp at all | OpenCutList cannot help; web optimizers like OptiCutter or CutList Optimizer accept typed-in part lists. |
The structural advantage over every web optimizer is simple: OpenCutList reads the model. No retyping sixty part dimensions into a form, no transcription errors — and the moment the design changes, one click on Generate brings the list back in sync. The structural limitation is the same fact reversed: without SketchUp, it is nothing.
Frequently asked
Is it really free?
Yes — GPLv3, no paid tier. If it saves you one sheet of plywood, the $5 backer tier on OpenCollective is fair.
Why are parts missing from my list?
They are Groups, or they were hidden when you clicked Generate. Make them Components and run Generate again.
Can it optimize across different sheet sizes at once?
Not automatically — one standard panel per material, with offcuts as the documented workaround.
Metric shop, imperial plans — or the reverse?
Handled. It will happily show fractional inches in a metric model and vice versa, and the FAQ covers North American nominal-versus-actual lumber sizing directly.
Sources: the official OpenCutList documentation, the GitHub repository, the Extension Warehouse listing, and the project's OpenCollective page — all checked August 2026. Found an error? Tell us and we will publish a dated correction.