threecrate: 3D scans and meshes for an agent
threecrate
A Rust skill and MCP server: an agent cleans a point cloud, closes holes, builds a mesh and saves a print-ready STL
- 52 ★ on the repository
- Last commit
- MIT
Extended access
Why this level
- The tools read and create files in the workspace folder, and the skill runs Python scripts and installs a package into an environment
- Source scans are not overwritten without an explicit overwrite=true
Install
- Works in
In your terminal, with SkillFoxx CLI
npx skillfoxx add mcp/threecrateDetects the agents on your machine, shows the access level and pins the version.
Other ways to install
Access and checks
How we reviewExtended accessThe tool runs code or makes network calls and only reads external data.
- The tools read and create files in the workspace folder, and the skill runs Python scripts and installs a package into an environment
- Source scans are not overwritten without an explicit overwrite=true
This is third-party code. Review the repository files before installing.
What it does
threecrate is a Rust library with Python bindings for point clouds and meshes. A skill and the threecrate-mcp server are built around it so an agent can handle a scan from a request like making table_scan.ply printable. It removes stray points and the floor, closes holes, adds a base, checks the result against a picture and writes an STL. The server exposes inspect_point_cloud, inspect_mesh, convert, downsample, remove_outliers, estimate_normals, register, transform, segment_plane, extract_clusters, reconstruct, simplify_mesh, smooth_mesh, render and repair_for_print. render draws a cloud or mesh from five views into one PNG with no GPU, with holes and inside-out faces in orange. The skill first measures the scan and sizes voxels and radii from the point spacing. The tools work in a single workspace folder and write results to a new file beside the input, overwriting nothing. They answer with summaries while the points stay in files and do not flood the context.
Who it is for. People who 3D-print from phone or LiDAR scans, and engineers who align and clean point clouds without Blender or MeshLab.
Good fit when
- A smartphone scan fails the slicer because of holes, the table in frame and flipped faces
- Before printing you must check whether the part in part.stl is printable and what is wrong with it
- Two scans of one object must be aligned with no starting pose
- You need to separate a floor or wall from a cloud and split it into objects
- You need a mesh from a point cloud and fewer triangles
Not a fit when
- You need CAD models with parameters and assemblies: threecrate handles scans and meshes and has no parametric parts
- The cloud format is outside PLY, PCD, XYZ and CSV: writing other formats is not stated for the server
- The cloud has more than 50 million points: the server refuses it by default
- You need manual sculpting and textures like in Blender
Example request
Make table_scan.ply printable: remove the table, close the holes, add a base and show a before and after picture.MCP
- Transport
- stdio
- Authentication
- not required
Environment variables
THREECRATE_MCP_ROOT- Workspace folder with scans, same as the --root flag
THREECRATE_MCP_MAX_POINTS- Point count limit, 50 million by default
Limitations
The server reads and writes clouds in PLY, PCD, XYZ and CSV, and meshes in PLY, OBJ and STL. It refuses clouds above 50 million points, and the --max-points flag changes the limit. You need uv or Python 3.10 or newer, the skill needs only Python 3.8, and on first use the agent installs threecrate into a virtual environment.
The 1.5 to 3.4 times advantage over Open3D was measured by the author on Windows, and a Linux container showed a different picture. LAS, LAZ and E57 in the library are enabled by separate build flags. Clients like Claude Desktop and Cursor need an explicit --root with the scans folder.
How to disable. For Claude Code run claude mcp remove threecrate; the plugin is removed with claude plugin uninstall threecrate@threecrate. Scan files stay unchanged because results go to new files.
FAQ
How do the skill and the MCP server differ?
The skill teaches the agent to solve the task with short Python scripts and walks it through guides: cleaning, alignment, printing. The MCP server gives the same operations as ready tools. Pick the server if you do not want the agent running scripts.
How do I install threecrate in Claude Code?
Install the plugin with claude plugin marketplace add rajgandhi1/threecrate and claude plugin install threecrate@threecrate. For the server alone, claude mcp add threecrate -- uvx threecrate-mcp is enough. The README has its own commands for Codex and Gemini CLI.
What does repair_for_print do?
It takes a point cloud or mesh and returns a watertight STL with a step-by-step report: removes junk and the floor, closes holes, adds a base and fixes face direction. Before that, analyze_mesh shows what exactly is broken.
Can the server overwrite my scan?
No. The result goes to a new file beside the input, for example scan.downsampled.ply. Overwriting needs overwrite=true, and the tools only work inside the workspace folder.
Do I need a GPU?
Not for render or the ordinary operations: the picture is drawn without a GPU. GPU acceleration lives in a separate wgpu crate, threecrate-gpu, but the server and skill do not depend on it.
Discussion
No questions or reviews yet.
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Comparison with similar tools
Cards that share the main search query, and how they differ.
| Tool | Official | Authentication | Repository stars | Main difference |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| threecrate: 3D scans and meshes for an agent (this card) | no | not required | 52 | |
| OpenSCAD MCP | no | not required | 170 | parametric modeling in OpenSCAD, while threecrate starts from scans |
| Blender Agent Skills | no | 1,014 | work through Blender, while here scans are processed without it |
README in short
The README lists four problems with scans: unprintable scans, an agent blind to 3D, parameters set by guesswork, and the weight of Open3D and PCL. Then come Python and Rust references, a crate table, a comparison with Open3D and PCL, and doc links. A separate README for threecrate-mcp lists the tools.