FreeCAD-dev (Native Host Build, Full Dev Environment)

This project provides a complete FreeCAD development setup using:

• Native Linux build (Linux Mint 21.3 / Ubuntu 22.04 base)
• Python 3.12 with system-wide Shiboken2 & PySide2
• Local source clone of FreeCAD
• Full VSCode integration with build + debug support

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✅ Prerequisites

• VSCode with the C++ and CMake extensions
• Your FreeCAD fork cloned into: FreeCAD-dev/FreeCAD
• Python 3.12 installed via APT (not virtualenv)
• CMake ≥ 3.22 recommended

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🛠 Folder Structure

FreeCAD-dev/
├── .vscode/
│   ├── launch.json       # F5 launches debug build
│   └── tasks.json        # Manual build/run tasks
├── run.sh                # (optional) launch helper
└── FreeCAD/              # ← Your forked source

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🚀 Getting Started (Host Native)

sudo apt install build-essential cmake ninja-build git \
  qttools5-dev qttools5-dev-tools libqt5svg5-dev \
  libboost-all-dev libeigen3-dev libgl1-mesa-dev \
  libglu1-mesa-dev libfreetype-dev libjsoncpp-dev \
  libhdf5-dev libxerces-c-dev libvtk9-dev libmedc-dev \
  libyaml-cpp-dev libocct-*-dev libshiboken2-dev libpyside2-dev \
  python3.12-dev

1. Configure

cmake -S FreeCAD -B FreeCAD/build/debug \
  -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Debug \
  -DPYTHON_EXECUTABLE=/usr/bin/python3.12 \
  -DFC_VERSION_SUFFIX="+longracks"

2. Build

cmake --build FreeCAD/build/debug --parallel 8

3. Run

LD_LIBRARY_PATH=FreeCAD/build/debug/lib ./FreeCAD/build/debug/bin/FreeCAD

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🐞 Debugging in VSCode

• F5 launches your build with GDB and environment setup
• Build FreeCAD (host) and Run FreeCAD (host) tasks available
• Breakpoints, watch, memory views fully supported

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📌 Notes

• Docker-based development was deprecated due to OpenGL/Qt GUI failures (xcb context issues)
• Native build offers full integration, OpenGL support, and faster dev cycles
• Your FreeCAD fork remains untouched — all tooling lives in FreeCAD-dev/

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🔄 Syncing with Upstream

cd FreeCAD
git fetch upstream
git merge upstream/main
git push origin main

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🧼 Cleanup

rm -rf FreeCAD/build/debug

Or use ./clean.sh if you've kept script-based tooling.

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🛠️ Maintainer Notes

• Current build uses Python 3.12 — be sure Shiboken2/PySide2 are ABI-matched
• Custom version suffix (+longracks) appears in splash/About dialog