Pascal Editor

1. What is Pascal Editor?

Pascal Editor is a 3D building design tool that runs in your web browser. You draw walls, add doors, place furniture, paint surfaces with materials, and then walk through the house at eye level. The project describes it as a free, open-source 3D building editor (MIT licence) with no heavy tools and no steep learning curve.

There are two ways to use it:

• The web version at https://editor.pascal.app : nothing to install, sign in and start, projects saved in the cloud.
• The local version, started from a command line: projects stay on your own computer, and you can connect an AI agent (an AI program that works on its own, such as Claude Code or Codex) to build for you.

Everything you build, edit and share yourself is free. Only the AI features of the web version (the chat assistant, image and video renders, generated materials and items) spend "credits", and credits are bought or come with a paid plan.

A good fit if:

• You want to sketch a house or a room and try furniture layouts without learning CAD software.
• You need a 3D model to take into Blender or a game, or a floor plan as a PDF.
• You are a developer who wants an AI agent to build and edit building models.

Not a good fit if:

• You need technical drawings for permits or construction. The official site does not claim to replace professional tools.
• You only have a phone: every action in the documentation uses a mouse and keyboard.
• You want the local version on Windows: at the time of writing, Pascal's command-line tool officially supports macOS only.

2. What you need

For the web version (the easy route):

• A computer with a mouse and an up-to-date browser.
• A Google account or an email address to sign in. Pascal does not use passwords.
• An internet connection.

For the local version:

• Operating system: the documentation says the initial command-line release supports macOS; Linux and Windows are not verified yet.
• Node.js 22.13 or newer: the runtime that Pascal's command-line tool needs. Download it from https://nodejs.org
• npm: the package installer that ships with Node.js, so there is nothing extra to install.
• A browser to open the editor.
• No Pascal account and no API key for local use.

	Web version	Local version
Installation	None	Node.js and one command
Account	Needed to create and save projects	Not needed
Where projects live	In the cloud, in your account	The file ~/.pascal/data/pascal.db on your machine
Operating system	Any, through the browser	macOS (Linux and Windows unverified)

3. Step-by-step installation

Option A: Use the web version, nothing to install

Step 1: Open the site and sign in

Go to https://editor.pascal.app and sign in. You have two choices:

• Google: click "Continue with Google" and pick your account.
• Email: type your address and click "Email me". Pascal sends a message containing a sign-in link and a 6-digit code; click the link or type the code. Both expire after 5 minutes.

It worked if you land on your list of projects.

Step 2: Create a project

Click Create a new project and name it. Under Starting point, keep Blank project or choose a ready-made template. Pick Public or Private, then click Create project.

It worked if the editor opens on an empty grid. From here, go straight to section 4.

Option B: Run it locally from the command line

Step 1: Check Node.js

node --version

You should see v22.13 or higher.

Step 2: Start Pascal

npx @pascal-app/cli editor

The first time, the tool prepares its data folder, downloads the editor, finds a free network port, starts the editor and an MCP service (the bridge for AI agents) in the background, and opens your browser. Each stage is shown on screen.

It worked if your browser opens an address of the form http://pascal.localhost: followed by a port number, and the command line prints the commands pascal status, pascal logs --follow and pascal stop.

After a successful first run, Pascal also installs the shorter pascal command for you to use from then on.

Step 3: Check it

pascal status

This summarises the health of the editor and the MCP service.

Alternative: install the pascal command first

npm install --global @pascal-app/cli
pascal editor

Note: Pascal runs in the background, so closing the command-line window does not stop it. It does not start by itself after a reboot, however; run pascal editor again. Your projects and the installed editor are still there.

4. First use

These steps follow the project's own "Your first scene" walkthrough: from an empty grid to a furnished room in about five minutes.

Step 1: Draw a room

Open the Build tab in the left sidebar and, in the Rooms group, pick Rectangle. Click once on the grid for the first corner and again for the opposite corner. When walls enclose a space, Pascal adds a floor and ceiling automatically.

For a room with more corners, pick Polygon, click each corner, then click the first corner again to close the shape. Press Esc to stop drawing and Ctrl + Z (Cmd + Z on a Mac) to undo a mistake.

Step 2: Add a door and a window

In the Build tab, click Door. A door follows your cursor and snaps to walls; click a wall to place it. Do the same with Window on another wall. Press R to flip which way it faces.

Step 3: Place furniture

Open the Items tab (or press F), pick a category and click an item. It follows your cursor; click inside the room to place it. Press R and T to rotate in 45-degree steps, and Esc when you are done.

Step 4: Look around

• Orbit: drag with the right mouse button.
• Pan: drag with the middle mouse button, or hold Space and drag.
• Zoom: scroll.

The toolbar at the top left of the canvas switches between 3D, 2D (floor plan) and Split (both). The Walkthrough button in the top bar lets you walk through the building in first person.

Step 5: Save and export

In the web version, Pascal saves to your account after every change; there is no save button to remember. To take a file elsewhere, open Settings at the bottom of the left sidebar and find the Export section: Export GLB, Export STL and Export OBJ for a 3D model, plus a Floorplan group that produces an A4 PDF floor plan.

Connect an AI agent (optional, for Claude Code or Codex users)

With the local version, add the connector to Codex with:

pascal mcp setup codex

For Claude Code, install the project's skills package from inside Claude Code:

/plugin marketplace add pascalorg/editor
/plugin install pascal-agent-skills@pascal

Use only one AI client per running local Pascal. Details are at https://editor.pascal.app/docs/developers/mcp

5. Common errors and fixes

Symptom	Cause	Fix
npx: command not found, or a message that Node.js is too old	Node.js is missing or older than 22.13.	Install a current Node.js from https://nodejs.org and open a new command-line window.
The first run reports that npm could not install the pascal command	npm lacks permission to write to its global folder. The editor keeps running regardless.	Carry on with the long form, for example npx @pascal-app/cli status, or fix npm's permissions and run npm install --global @pascal-app/cli.
After a reboot the editor will not open	Pascal does not install a startup service.	Run npx @pascal-app/cli editor again.
You asked for a port with --port but Pascal opened on another	That port is in use by another app; Pascal reports the conflict and picks a free one.	Use the address printed on the command line. Nothing needs fixing.
pascal stop does not stop it	The process is alive but not answering its health check.	Look at pascal status --json, then use pascal stop --force.
The editor does not come up and you cannot tell why	You need the diagnostics and the log.	Run npx @pascal-app/cli doctor, then npx @pascal-app/cli logs --lines 200.
Web version: the code in the sign-in email is rejected	The code and link expire after 5 minutes.	Click "Resend code" for a fresh one.
The 3D view is blank or shows no model	The editor draws with WebGPU, a graphics technology found in recent browsers.	Update your browser to its latest version or try a different one. The official documentation does not list supported browsers.
Claude Code shows two Pascal connections	You installed the skills package and also added a connection by hand earlier.	Run claude mcp remove --scope user pascal, then restart Claude Code.

6. Uninstalling and updating

Update the local editor:

npx @pascal-app/cli update

The new version is installed alongside the old one and only activated if it passes a health check; if it fails, Pascal returns to the previous version. Your project file is not replaced. The latest release at the time of writing is v1.0.3, published on 24 September 2026.

The globally installed pascal command is updated separately:

npm install --global @pascal-app/cli@latest

Remove the local version: stop Pascal, then remove the command.

pascal stop
npm uninstall --global @pascal-app/cli

What remains is the .pascal folder in your user folder. The tool has no command that deletes project data. For a complete removal, delete the .pascal folder yourself.

Note: The file ~/.pascal/data/pascal.db holds all of your local projects. Copy it somewhere safe before deleting anything.

The web version has nothing to uninstall. To delete your account, open Settings, scroll to Danger zone, click "Delete account" and type DELETE to confirm. Deletion cannot be undone.

7. Frequently asked questions

Does Pascal cost anything? It is free to use. Building, editing and sharing cost nothing. AI features in the web version spend credits; on the Free plan you buy credits as you go, while Pascal Pro and Pascal Max include monthly credits. Current prices are shown in your account settings.

What can I do without signing in? You can browse public projects on the community page and open shared links to walk through a scene. Creating and saving your own projects in the web version requires signing in.

Where is my data? The web version keeps projects in your account in the cloud. The local version keeps them in ~/.pascal/data/pascal.db, listens only on your own machine and is not exposed to your network. The project also states that the local AI connector does not upload projects automatically.

Does the local version work on Windows? The documentation says the initial command-line release supports macOS, and that Linux and Windows are not verified yet. On Windows, the web version is the safer choice.

Is the "Pascal Next" demo from the videos part of the open-source release? Not yet. The project states that the preview at https://editor.pascal.app/next shows where the editor is heading and is not part of the open-source release so far.