What is openscad-packer?

OpenSCAD Packer is a command line tool that takes a 3D model written in OpenSCAD, a programming language for describing shapes for 3D printing, and combines it with all of the separate library files it depends on into one single file. Instead of sharing a project as a folder full of files that require the recipient to have the same libraries already installed, this tool bundles everything together, and it only keeps the parts of each library that are actually used, so the result stays reasonably small even when pulling from large libraries. The reason this matters is that popular 3D printing model sites like Printables, Thingiverse, and MakerWorld let people upload a single OpenSCAD file and let visitors adjust its parameters through a built in customizer, without needing OpenSCAD installed themselves. The problem is that these sites only accept one file, so any design that uses a separate library such as BOSL2 or NopSCADlib cannot be uploaded as is. OpenSCAD Packer solves this by automatically combining everything into one file ready to upload, while keeping the special comments in the file that OpenSCAD's customizer reads to build things like sliders and labeled sections. To install it, you need Python 3.11 or later along with a tool called uv, and then you can install the packer globally with a single command. Using it is a matter of running the pack command on your main OpenSCAD file, optionally saving the result to a file and pointing it at any extra folders where your libraries live. The project also includes its own test suite and development setup for anyone who wants to contribute to the tool itself, using the same uv tool for managing the Python environment. OpenSCAD Packer is released under the GNU Affero General Public License version 3.