CutStock

Minimize waste. Maximize every board, bar, and panel.

Enter parts, choose material, optimize — CutStock calculates the best cutting plan in seconds. For panels and bars, with grain direction and blade kerf. As a desktop app (macOS, Windows) and self-hosted web app (Docker) — no internet required.

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Cutting Panels

26 parts for a wardrobe, spread across 2800 × 2070 mm chipboard panels? CutStock calculates the cutting plan in seconds — color-coded, with a numbered cutting sequence to follow at the saw. Blade kerf, edge trim and grain direction are included; rotated parts are marked with “R”.

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Cutting Bars to Length

Battens, square timber, tubes, aluminium profiles: for bars, CutStock solves the split exactly as an integer optimization problem (ILP) — so as few bars as possible get cut. Parts on each bar are sorted from long to short, and the remaining offcut is shown with its length.

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Not Enough Material? CutStock Creates the Shopping List.

Not enough panels in stock? CutStock instantly shows which parts are missing and how many panels or bars you need for them. One click on “Add to stock” books the requirement in — so you buy exactly what you need.

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Features

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Materials & Stock

All materials with image, dimensions, grain and stock at a glance. CutStock deducts used pieces when cutting and books reusable offcuts back in. With several identical boards, the expandable piece list shows which board has which defect.

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Working Around Defects

Knot hole on board #1? Once recorded, CutStock plans around it: the defect appears hatched in red in the cut plan and no part is placed on it. The piece number in the plan header tells you which board to pull from stock.

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Projects

Organize parts by project — with label, material, dimensions, quantity and grain. Duplicate projects, copy parts into other projects and import lists via CSV or JSON. The progress bar shows what has already been cut.

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Workshop Mode

Tablet next to the saw, workshop mode on: one panel per page, large touch targets, overall progress and an “Up next” marker. Every part you tick off updates progress and stock immediately.

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Web App via Docker

The web app brings the same optimization core to any browser on your network — ideal for a NAS, home server, or Raspberry Pi (amd64 + arm64). All assets are bundled in the image; no internet connection is needed at runtime.

services:
  cutstock:
    image: ghcr.io/orohde/cutstock:latest
    container_name: cutstock
    restart: unless-stopped
    ports:
      - "8420:8000"
    volumes:
      - ./data:/data
    environment:
      - CUTSTOCK_DB=/data/cutstock.db

docker compose up -d — then CutStock is up at http://localhost:8420. Details in the guide on GitHub.

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REST API

The web app exposes a full REST API under /api/. All endpoints accept and return JSON. If an API key is set, external programs send it as a Bearer token — the web UI and requests from the same machine need no key.

Endpoints (excerpt)

Area	Endpoints
Materials	GET/POST/PUT/DELETE /api/materials
Stock	GET/POST/PUT/DELETE /api/stock, individual pieces, defects
Projects & Parts	GET/POST/PUT/DELETE /api/projects, /api/parts
Optimization	POST /api/optimize, /api/optimize/confirm
Export	POST /api/pdf, POST /api/labels
System	GET /api/version, /api/settings, backup/restore

The complete endpoint list with examples is in the API documentation on GitHub.

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Why Guillotine Cuts?

All CutStock algorithms use guillotine cuts — every cut runs completely from edge to edge. This is a deliberate choice:

Approach	Material utilization	Remnants	Tools
Guillotine (CutStock)	~85–95%	Always rectangular	Table saw, circular saw
Free-Cut	~93–98%	L-shaped, T-shaped	CNC router required

Guillotine cuts can be made with any standard saw. The remnants are always clean rectangles that can be stored and reused.

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Technology

CutStock deliberately relies on a few proven open-source building blocks. Everything runs locally — no internet connection is needed at runtime.

Library / tool	Used for
Python 3.12+	Application logic and custom optimization algorithms (guillotine, nested guillotine, genetic algorithm)
FastAPI · Uvicorn · Pydantic	Web backend, REST API and data validation
SciPy (milp / HiGHS)	Exact bar optimization as an integer linear program (ILP)
reportlab	PDF generation: cut plans, parts lists, labels
cryptography	Ed25519-signed license keys
python-multipart	File uploads: material images, import, backup restore
SQLite	Local database in a single file — no database server; synced via iCloud Drive on macOS
SAP Fundamental Styles	Horizon design (light/dark) with the “72” typeface, fully bundled for offline use
Vanilla JavaScript · HTML5 Canvas	Framework-free UI, cut plans drawn on canvas
PyInstaller	Standalone desktop apps for macOS and Windows — they open CutStock in your default browser
Docker	Web app image for amd64 and arm64 (ghcr.io/orohde/cutstock)
pytest	Automated tests for the optimization core

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Download

Desktop app for macOS and Windows, web app as a Docker image (ghcr.io/orohde/cutstock). Source-available under the PolyForm Noncommercial 1.0.0 — free for private, non-commercial use.

Would you like to use CutStock in your business — in a joinery, cabinet shop, or workshop? A commercial license is available on request — contact details in the imprint.

Note: The desktop builds are not code-signed. macOS: right-click → Open. Windows: “More info” → “Run anyway”.

Request a Commercial License

Want to use CutStock in your business? Fill out the form and we will get back to you with a quote.