Documentation

Install the desktop app or the CLI, get a free key, and take one product from screening to patent drawings.

1. Install

Desktop app (recommended)

Download DesignAround for macOS (Apple silicon or Intel, macOS 13.5 or later), Windows 10 and 11 (64-bit) or Linux (64-bit .deb or .rpm). The app bundles the CAD engine, the Assistant and its agent runtime with their own Python and Node.js, so nothing else needs to be installed. On first launch it creates a free account and opens the chat workbench. The download page explains the one-time security prompt for these unsigned builds.

Command line and Skill

Use the CLI if you work in a terminal or want your agent host (Claude Code, Codex, Cursor and others) to drive DesignAround. Requirements:

• macOS, Windows or Linux on x86-64, or macOS on Apple silicon.
• Python 3.11 or 3.12 (the CAD kernel does not support newer versions yet). The uv command below downloads a suitable Python for you.
• Node.js 22.19 or newer, only for the Assistant and agent runs (workbench, terminal chat, CAD Agent, Designer). Host mode does not need it.
• About 1.5 GB of disk space for the CAD kernel and its dependencies.

The CLI and the desktop app can be installed side by side and use the same account.

With uv

Install uv first, then:

uv tool install designaround --python 3.12

This installs from PyPI. Python 3.11 or 3.12 is required. To update later, run uv tool upgrade designaround. The same packages are also published on this site. To use that mirror instead:

uv tool install designaround --python 3.12 --index https://designaround.elidot.com/simple/

With pip

python3.12 -m pip install designaround

If you would rather keep the tool in its own environment, create one with python3.12 -m venv ~/.designaround-venv and run ~/.designaround-venv/bin/pip install designaround. Add ~/.designaround-venv/bin to your PATH, or call the full path.

Agent runtime (for the Assistant)

designaround agent setup     # installs the pinned agent runtime into ~/.designaround/agent-runtime
designaround agent check     # Node version, runtime files, isolation check

The runtime is self-contained. It does not read or change the settings of any other AI tool on your machine.

2. Get a key

designaround onboard --email you@example.com

This creates a free account with 1,500 starter credits and stores the API key in your system keychain. The desktop app does this for you on first launch; on a Mac where the CLI already keeps a key in the Keychain, the app uses that key instead of creating a second account (macOS asks once to allow access). The email is optional; we use it only for account and billing messages. Check the key and balance at any time:

designaround auth status
designaround credits

If you bought a plan on the website, log in with the key from the confirmation page instead:

designaround auth login     # paste the key at the hidden prompt

3. Chat workbench and terminal chat

The workbench is available in Chinese and English: Settings → Language. By default it follows your system language.

designaround ui      # opens the chat workbench in your browser (local, 127.0.0.1)
designaround chat    # the same Assistant in the terminal

Tell the Assistant about your product in plain language, for example: "I want to sell a 30-litre storage box with a lid on Amazon US. Check it and suggest a safer design." It creates the case, runs the steps and shows the results. Before any step that costs credits it tells you the price and waits for your approval. --max-credits caps the Assistant's own model use and --auto-approve N lets steps up to N credits run without asking.

4. Your first case, step by step

Every command prints a short human-readable result in a terminal and one JSON object when the output goes to a script (--json forces JSON).

Create a case and the original design

designaround case create "Cosmetic organizer" --article "cosmetic organizer" --article-zh "化妆品收纳盒" -j US -j CN
designaround case set <case_id> --brief-json '{"use": "lipsticks, brushes and creams on a vanity", "size": "240x160x110mm", "must_have": ["upright brush slots"], "avoid": ["clear acrylic drawers"]}'

There are no product templates: every model is designed for your requirements. For a new product, DesignAround first draws 2D concepts, then builds the one you choose in 3D:

designaround design concepts <case_id> --count 4 --max-credits 680    # distinct directions, each checked by an independent reviewer
designaround design concepts <case_id> --base c2 --feedback "taller brush slots, softer lid" --max-credits 440
designaround design choose <case_id> c2 --person "Your Name"
designaround design build <case_id> --max-credits 3000                 # CAD Agent builds c2 from scratch; a 3D reviewer must accept it

Each concept image costs 25 credits. A reviewer that did not make the image checks it against your requirements (fit, manufacturability, no text, not like the registered designs found so far); failed concepts are redrawn automatically, and the set is checked so the directions really differ. The 3D build is accepted only when an independent reviewer (a different model from the CAD Agent) scores the match with the concept at 7/10 or more with at most one major difference, and the size is within 10% of your requirements; then a manufacturability check runs. If no submission is accepted after 4 tries (--rounds), the command stops, saves the closest model as a draft version and lists the differences the reviewer still sees. You can build again, simplify the concept, or accept the draft yourself with designaround design accept <case_id> <draft> --person "Your Name" (recorded as your decision).

For a product that already exists, import your model with designaround model <case_id> --cad product.step (STEP, IGES or BREP), or a mesh such as a 3D scan: --cad scan.stl (STL, OBJ, GLB/glTF, PLY or 3MF; add --units cm or --up y when the file needs it). Meshes are repaired on import: duplicate and broken triangles removed, small holes filled, normals made consistent, loose fragments dropped, and very large scans simplified; the result lists every fix and whether the model is closed for 3D printing. Or let the CAD Agent build it from labelled photos: --agent --photo front=front.jpg --photo right=right.jpg --known length=320mm.

Not sure where a case stands? designaround case card <case_id> gives a one-line verdict (proceed, redesign, abandon or pending), the reasons, the next steps with their cost and time, and the nearest deadline. designaround report <case_id> writes a risk report PDF in Chinese or English (--lang en). designaround sample creates a free sample case with illustrative data to try everything without credits.

Screen

designaround screen <case_id> --max-credits 50          # quick screen
designaround screen <case_id> --deep --max-credits 350  # deep screen

US design patents come from the USPTO; Chinese and European design documents come from Google Patents and Espacenet. The top results are downloaded with their figures, added to the case as prior art and ranked against your model on your machine. The result lists any source that failed and the known blind spots of the search.

Compare

designaround prior-art list <case_id>
designaround observe <case_id> <version> <prior_id>
designaround evaluate <case_id> <version>

The observer is a separate vision model that only sees the two designs and a fixed rubric. It returns a similarity score from 0 to 10 with reasons. evaluate combines it with the local shape scores into a risk level.

Design around

designaround around <case_id> --depth standard --max-credits 5900   # quick: 1 round; standard: 3; deep: 6

The Designer agent proposes changes to the parametric model. Each candidate must pass the originality check (it must change the features that drive the similarity), the manufacturability check (wall thickness, taper for mould release, undercuts) and the observer score. Review a candidate against the original with designaround cad compare <case_id> <original> <candidate>; designaround cad versions <case_id> lists the versions.

Result guarantee. When a standard or deep run on platform models ends without any qualified candidate, half of the credits it spent are refunded automatically, once per run, together with an account of where it got stuck. Up to 20 refunds and 20,000 credits a month per account. If the refund call could not reach our server, run designaround run guarantee <run_id> later. View packs are made on your machine and cost no credits, so remaking one is always free.

Long runs can go to the background with --detach: designaround --detach around <case_id> --max-credits 5900, then designaround run status|watch|abort <run_id>. designaround config notify --webhook <url> sends a message to a Feishu, WeCom, DingTalk or Slack bot when a long task ends. Many products at once: designaround batch screen products.csv --max-credits 2000 (resumable; results in a CSV).

Drawings and filing package

designaround viewpack <case_id> <version> -o US
designaround viewpack <case_id> <version> -o CN
designaround filing-pack <case_id> <version> -o US --planned-date 2026-12-01
designaround proto <case_id> <version>    # STEP/STL/3MF and notes for the factory

View packs on the free plan carry a "PREVIEW" watermark. Filing packages need Pro or Team. Before filing, send the package to your practitioner through a review gate:

designaround gate create <case_id> --type filing_submission --reviewer-email attorney@example.com

The practitioner opens the review link, enters their name and registration number, and approves or returns the package. The decision is written into the case evidence log.

Freeze what you filed with designaround baseline freeze <case_id> <version> -o US --application-number <no>; later changes can be compared against it.

Share with a factory or a practitioner

designaround share create <case_id> <version> --to "Mould maker" --purpose factory --days 7
designaround share create <case_id> <version> --to "Attorney Smith" --purpose agent
designaround share show <share_id>      # who opened it, when
designaround share revoke <share_id>

A share is a read-only link to the files you choose: the prototype pack for a factory, drawings and the filing package for a practitioner. Images and PDFs are watermarked with the recipient and the share id (3D files cannot be marked). The link stops working after 1 to 30 days, or when you revoke it, and the files are then deleted from our server. Every view and download is logged.

Disclosure timeline and deadlines

designaround disclose <case_id> --kind listing --date 2026-11-15
designaround timeline <case_id>
designaround filing record <case_id> -o CN --filed 2026-11-03 --number 2026301234567
designaround filing notice <case_id> -o CN --kind office_action --date 2026-12-10 --mailed
designaround deadlines <case_id>          # writes calendar/deadlines.ics
designaround deadlines --within 30 --notify

Publishing a listing before filing can destroy novelty in some offices. China has no general grace period; the timeline check warns you. Once you record filings and official notices, deadlines lists every date with its legal basis: the 6-month priority period, grace periods, office-action replies, US issue fee, CN registration and annual fees, EU renewals and Hague milestones. The .ics file reminds you 30, 14, 7 and 1 days before each one. Official notices prevail; your practitioner confirms the dates.

Watch for new designs

designaround rescreen <case_id> --max-credits 50      # repeat the last screen and list what changed
designaround monitor add <case_id> --every 30 --max-credits 50
designaround monitor run --due-only                     # e.g. from cron; the workbench also runs due checks when it opens

A re-screen lists new designs (with their shape score and whether they are among the closest), designs no longer returned, and status changes. New hits are pushed to your chat-bot webhook or a desktop notification.

Complaints and lawsuits

designaround defense intake <case_id> --platform amazon --number <complaint-id> --right "US D1,029,631 S" --notice notice.pdf
designaround defense pack <case_id> <version> --seller "Your company"
designaround gate create <case_id> --type platform_appeal --reviewer-email attorney@example.com

Intake identifies the right and the channel: a design-patent complaint is not handled by Amazon APEX (which is for utility patents), and a Schedule A / TRO lawsuit has an answer due 21 days after service, which goes on the deadline calendar. The pack for your attorney holds a three-way comparison (the asserted design, your product, earlier designs), the earlier-design search record, the design timeline from your evidence log, and an appeal draft. It is material for counsel, not a legal opinion.

5. Use it inside your agent host

designaround skill install claude-code     # or: codex, cursor, gemini-cli, opencode, openclaw, kiro, all
designaround config mode host

The Skill teaches your agent the commands, the JSON output and the credit rules. In host mode your agent supplies the model for design work. The observer score then runs on our isolated observer model (120 credits per score), so the agent that designs is never the one that judges.

MCP server

designaround mcp --print-config        # snippets for Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, Claude Desktop, VS Code
claude mcp add designaround -- designaround mcp

designaround mcp is a Model Context Protocol server on stdio (protocol 2026-07-28, with the older initialize handshake also supported). Tools: case_list, decision_card, screen, design_around (runs in the background), run_status, viewpack and compare. Paid tools require max_credits.

6. Model modes and credits

Screening always runs on our server and uses credits in every mode. Paid commands need --max-credits when they are run by a script or agent, and never spend more than that cap. designaround billing plans lists current prices; see also the pricing page.

7. Plans, billing and cancelling

designaround billing checkout --plan pro            # or --plan team, --annual, --credits 21k
designaround billing portal --open                  # manage or cancel the subscription, receipts

Checkout opens a Creem payment page; a person completes the payment in the browser, never an agent. In the workbench, the footer link "Manage subscription" opens the same portal. Cancelling stops the next renewal; your plan stays active until the end of the paid period. Refunds follow the refund policy.

8. Where your data goes

USPTO drawing sheets are downloaded directly from the USPTO public search by the CLI. Full details are in the privacy policy.

9. Getting help

Every command has --help. Error messages include the next commands to try. For anything else, email support@elidot.com; we reply within 3 business days.