[ 00.00, 00.00 ] · ORIGINv1.0 · MVP · BETA

CAD → Structured JSON · Developer API

Turn CAD drawings into structured vector JSON.

Upload a DWF, DWG, or DXF file. Get back clean polylines, layer metadata, and a preview image — through one simple API.

Join the beta · Free 50/mo →Read the docs

API status · operationalP50 parse · 2.4s·p99 · 11.8s·Schema 2024-01

~ /jobs/job_lH9k2c · live

$ curl -X POST api.cadlens.co/v1/parse \
   -H "Authorization: Bearer ck_•••••" \
   -F "[email protected]"

RESPONSE · /v1/jobs/job_lH9k2c/result—

awaiting result

1,284 entities·6 layers·PNG preview

01 — PROBLEM

Every team that touches CAD eventually writes a parser. They regret it.

DWG/DXF parsing is a graveyard.

Proprietary binary format, decades of revisions, license headaches. Off-the-shelf libraries fall over on real-world drawings.

Image-only converters are dead-ends.

A PNG of a floor plan can't tell you which polyline is a wall, which layer it belongs to, or how long it is in millimeters.

Building it in-house burns quarters.

CAD parsing infrastructure is a 6-month detour from your actual product. You don't want to maintain a parser farm.

What other tools give you vs. what cadlens gives you

OPTION AImage-only converters

You get a flat picture.

✕No layer information

✕No coordinates or units

✕Can't measure anything

✕Can't query individual entities

→

OPTION B · CADLENSresult.json

You get queryable data.

RESULT.JSON

{
"units": "mm",
"layers": ["wall", "door", "fixture"],
"vectors": [
{
"type": "polyline",
"layer": "wall",
"points": [[10,20], …]
},
// ×1283 more
]
}

✓6 named layers (wall, door, fixture…)

✓Coordinates in real units (mm)

✓Per-entity bbox + measurable

✓Filter, transform, render anywhere

02 — API

One `POST`. That's it.

Push a CAD file, get back a job. Poll, subscribe to a webhook, or run synchronously for small drawings. Authentication is a single bearer token.

POST /v1/parse2.4s avg

# 1. Submit a parse job
curl -X POST https://api.cadlens.co/v1/parse \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CADLENS_KEY" \
  -F "[email protected]"

# 2. Poll for completion (or use a webhook)
curl https://api.cadlens.co/v1/jobs/job_lH9k2c \
  -H "Authorization: Bearer $CADLENS_KEY"

# 3. Fetch the structured result
curl https://api.cadlens.co/v1/jobs/job_lH9k2c/result -H ...

POST· billable

/v1/parse

Submit DWF/DWG/DXF for parsing

GET

/v1/jobs/{id}

Status, timing, failure reason

GET

/v1/jobs/{id}/result

Structured vector JSON

GET

/v1/jobs/{id}/image

Preview PNG (signed URL)

03 — RESULT

Every entity, every layer, every coordinate.

The JSON schema is versioned and stable. Hover a field on the right to highlight it in the response.

GET /v1/jobs/job_lH9k2c/result200 OK · application/json

2 "jobId": "job_lH9k2c",

3 "status": "COMPLETED",

4 "metadata": {

5 "filename": "floor-plan.dwf",

6 "format": "DWF",

7 "units": "mm",

8 "boundingBox": { "width": 12000, "height": 7200 }

9 },

10 "layersJson": [

11 { "name": "wall", "colorHex": "#00ff00", "entityCount": 842 },

12 { "name": "door", "colorHex": "#ffaa00", "entityCount": 96 }

13 ],

14 "vectorJson": [

15 {

16 "type": "POLYLINE",

17 "layer": "wall",

18 "vertices": [{ "x": 10, "y": 20 }, { "x": 40, "y": 20 }],

19 "closed": false

20 },

21 // … 1,283 more entities

22 ],

23 "imageUrl": "https://cdn.cadlens.co/job_lH9k2c.png",

24 "createdAt": "2026-04-25T10:00:00Z"

25}

SCHEMA · 2024-01 · STABLE

metadata

File-level info: filename, format, units, drawing bounding box.

layersJson

Each layer with its name, color, and entity count.

vectorJson

Every entity: lines, polylines, arcs, text — with coords & layer.

imageUrl

Signed URL to the rendered PNG preview.

VECTOR TYPES

line · polyline · arc · circle · ellipse · spline · text · insert

04 — FORMATS

Supported today.

.dwf

Recommended

Design Web Format

First-class input. Clean, predictable parse path.

.dxf

Native

Drawing Exchange Format

ASCII & binary, AutoCAD R12 through 2025.

.dwg

Native

AutoCAD Drawing

Versions R14 → 2025 via licensed conversion path.

.pdf

Beta

Vector PDF

Vector-layer extraction from architectural PDFs.

.dwfx

Beta

Design Web Format X

XPS-based DWF package format.

.dgn

V7 only

MicroStation Design

V7 format only. V8 files are rejected with a clear error.

05 — SECURITY

Your drawings stay yours.

CAD files often contain confidential engineering and architectural data. Here's how we handle them.

Encrypted at rest

Stored encrypted, accessible only via short-lived signed URLs — never via public links.

Auto-deleted after 7 days

Originals are purged automatically. Configurable down to 1 hour on paid plans.

Delete on demand

Call DELETE /v1/jobs/{id} at any time to remove the file and all results immediately.

No AI training

Your drawings are never used to train models or improve any third-party AI system.

Private deployment available

Enterprise plans include a private VPC deployment with the same API surface, full data residency control, and custom retention policies.

06 — PRICING

Pay per successful parse.

Status checks, result downloads, webhooks, and system-side failures are never billed.

FREE FOREVER

50parses per month

Testing CADLens. No credit card required.

50 parses / month

10 MB max file size

DWG, DXF, DWF support

Vector JSON + PNG preview

Community/email support

Get your API key

STARTER

Starter

$19/mo

Small apps / prototypes

500 parses / month

25 MB max file size

7-day result retention

Webhook callbacks

Email support

MAX FILE: 25 MB

RETENTION: 7 days

OVERAGE: $0.05/request

Start with Starter

POPULAR

GROWTH

Growth

$49/mo

Early production

2,000 parses / month

50 MB max file size

14-day result retention

Webhook callbacks

Priority email support

MAX FILE: 50 MB

RETENTION: 14 days

OVERAGE: $0.035/request

Start with Growth

PRO

Pro

$149/mo

Higher-volume apps

10,000 parses / month

100 MB max file size

30-day result retention

Webhook callbacks

Priority support

MAX FILE: 100 MB

RETENTION: 30 days

OVERAGE: $0.02/request

Start with Pro

BUSINESS

Business

$399/mo

High volume

40,000 parses / month

250 MB max file size

30-day result retention

Webhook callbacks

Priority support

MAX FILE: 250 MB

RETENTION: 30 days

OVERAGE: $0.015/request

Start with Business

ENTERPRISE

Custom pricing for production workloads

Higher volumes, larger files, SLA guarantees, private deployment.

Custom volume

Custom file size

Custom retention

SLA + private deployment

Dedicated support

HOW BILLING WORKS

Only successful parses count toward your limit. Failed uploads, status checks, result downloads, and webhooks are always free. System errors never consume your quota.

07 — FAQ

Questions, answered.

Forge is powerful but heavyweight and viewer-oriented. Open-source libraries (LibreDWG, ezdxf) get you started but break on real-world drawings and don't ship a hosted, billable API. CADLens is a single REST endpoint with a stable schema, fair pricing per parse, and zero infra to maintain.

File metadata (units, layers, drawing extent), a versioned vector array (polylines, arcs, circles, splines, text, hatches, inserts) with coordinates and per-entity layer/color/bbox, plus a signed URL to a rendered PNG preview. Schema is versioned (currently 2024-01) and we never make breaking changes within a version.

Both. POST /v1/parse returns a job ID immediately. Poll GET /v1/jobs/{id} or register a webhook URL on the request. For files under ~2 MB you can pass wait=true to block on the response.

Originals are stored encrypted, accessible only via signed URLs, and deleted after 7 days by default (configurable down to 1 hour on Builder+). You can issue a delete via the API or dashboard at any time.

No. System-side failures (parser crash, timeout, infra error) are never billed. User-caused errors that we detect early (invalid file, unsupported version, oversized) also don't bill. Only successful parse jobs count against your plan.

Enterprise plans include a private VPC deployment with the same API surface. Talk to us about volume, SLA and data residency.

Turn CAD drawings into structured vector JSON.

Every team that touches CAD eventually writes a parser. They regret it.

DWG/DXF parsing is a graveyard.

Image-only converters are dead-ends.

Building it in-house burns quarters.

You get a flat picture.

You get queryable data.

One POST. That's it.

Every entity, every layer, every coordinate.

Supported today.

Your drawings stay yours.

Encrypted at rest

Auto-deleted after 7 days

Delete on demand

No AI training

Pay per successful parse.

Custom pricing for production workloads

Questions, answered.

Get an API key. Parse your first drawing today.

One `POST`. That's it.