Arch-Plotter is a powerful, parametric 2D CAD and land surveying engine built for Typst and powered by CeTZ.
Whether you are drafting interior floor plans with dynamic walls and furniture, or generating legally accurate surveying documents with automatic area calculations and peg schedules, Arch-Plotter handles the complex geometry so you can focus on drafting.
📖 Read the Reference Manual to get started (PDF)
- Two Distinct Engines: A dedicated toolset for Architecture (buildings/interiors) and Plotting (land surveying/subdivisions).
- Parametric Drafting: Draw using standard CAD commands (
R,L,U,D,mark,jump) without needing to calculate raw coordinates. - Auto-Documentation: Instantly generate Perimeter/Area schedules and X/Y Corner Coordinate tables directly from your drawings.
- Layer System: Draw structural boundaries, dashed setbacks, and utility easements in a single pass.
- Smart Components: Drop in scalable, rotatable parametric furniture (beds, gas burners, washbasins, etc.).
To avoid namespace collisions between the interior drafting tools and the land surveying tools, Arch-Plotter uses scoped imports. Import the canvas wrapper and core tools from the main package, and you are ready to start drafting.
This example demonstrates the full power of the continuous tracing engine, smart components, and automatic documentation tools.
// 1. Setup the page and import the package, the Plotter will automatically imported as p
#import "@preview/arch-plotter:0.1.0": *
#set page(width: auto, height: auto, margin: 1.0cm,)
// Quick aliases for true/false parameters
#let t = true
#let f = false
#set text(size: 1.4em)
// Initialize the CAD canvas with a 0.6cm scale
#arch-canvas(scale: 0.6cm,{
// 2. Define standard dimensions (Width, Height, Wall Thicknesses)
let w = 28
let h = 25
let nine = (9/12) // 9-inch outer walls
let four = (4.5/12) // 4.5-inch partition walls
// 3. TRACE THE WALLS
// Using CAD commands to draw the perimeter and internal walls, saving marks along the way
let wall = trace-walls(start: (0,0), align:"left", thickness:nine,
(R(w,), mark("w1"), // Move Right, save corner 1
U(h,), mark("w2"), // Move Up, save corner 2
L(w,), mark("w3"), // Move Left, save corner 3
C(), // Close boundary
home(), // Return to start without drawing
JU(h/2,), mark("pillar1"), // Jump Up to mid-wall
JR(w), mark("pillar2"), // Jump Right to opposite mid-wall
home(),
// Jump across to plot structural grid points
JR(w/3), mark("c1"),
JR(w/3), mark("c2"),
jump-to-mark("pillar1"),
JR(w/3), mark("c3"),
JR(w/3), mark("c4"),
jump-to-mark("w3"),
JR(w/3),
mark("c5"),
JR(w/3), mark("c6"),
jump-to-mark("pillar1"),
jump-to-mark("pillar1"),
JD(3+(8.5/12)), mark("a"),
// Intersect lines dynamically using drop-x and drop-y tools
drop-x("c3", "c1", thickness:four), mark("b"),
drop-y("w3", "c6", thickness:four),
jump-to-mark("c3"),
drop-x("pillar2","w1"),
)
)
// 4. RENDER THE WALLS
draw-walls(wall,)
// Extract saved anchor coordinates for easy access
let w = wall.anchors
// 5. PLACE ARCHITECTURAL ELEMENTS
// Openings and columns placed exactly at our saved marks
opening(w.c2, w.c1, 5.05, width: 8.5, align: "right", label: [GATE])
column(w.start, align: "left", shift: (four,0), size: nine, sides: 30,)
column(w.w1, align: "left", shift: (-four,0))
column(w.w2, align: "left", shift: (-four,-nine))
column(w.w3, align: "left", shift: (four,-nine))
column(w.pillar1, align: "left", shift: (four,0))
column(w.pillar2, align: "left", shift: (-four,0))
column(w.c1, align: "left", shift: (-four,0))
column(w.c2, align: "left", shift: (-four,0))
column(w.c3, align: "left", shift: (-four,0))
column(w.c4, align: "left", shift: (-four,0))
column(w.c5, align: "left", shift: (-four,-nine))
column(w.c6, align: "left", shift: (-four,-nine))
// 6. ADD DIMENSIONS
dim(w.start, w.w3, size: 18pt, offset: 1)
dim(w.w3, w.w2, size: 18pt, offset: 1,)
dim(w.start, w.a, size: 14pt, offset: -3, shift: (nine,0))
dim(w.c2, w.w1, size: 14pt, offset: -0.5, shift: (0,nine))
// 7. DOORS & WINDOWS
door(w.b, w.c3, 2.2, thickness: four, align: "left", label: [#v(-2.5em)D], swing: "out")
window(w.w3, w.pillar1, 4, align: "left", width: 5, label: [#text(size: 11pt)[W]])
// 8. ROOM GENERATION
// Auto-labels "BED ROOM" and calculates boundaries based on marks
poly-room((w.w3, w.c5, w.b, w.a), [BED ROOM], fill: green.transparentize(94%), stroke: red+0pt, wall-widths: (-nine,-four, -four, -nine), units: "imperial",)
ots((w.start, w.c1, w.b, w.a), show-dim: t, show-area: t, wall-widths: (nine, 0,0,nine))
// 9. STAIRS & EXTRA WINDOWS
stairs(move(w.c2, dx: 0.5, dy: 4), angle: 270deg, steps: (6,0,4), turn: "", split-landing: t)
window(w.a, w.b, 5, thickness: four, align: "left", width: 3, label: [W])
print-marks(wall)
opening(w.c3, w.c4, 4.5, thickness: nine, align: "left", width: 5)
// 10. PLOTTER ENGINE (LAND SURVEYING)
// Using the plotter module (p.) to draw an external boundary arc
let ch1 = p.trace-plot(start: (0,0),
(p.D(1.5), p.R(2), p.D(1), p.Mark("ch1"),
p.JumpHome(),
p.JR(w.w1.at(0))
))
let ch2 = p.trace-plot(start: w.w1,
(p.D(1.5), p.L(2), p.D(1), p.Mark("ch2")
))
p.draw-plot(ch1, close-path: f, show-area: f)
p.draw-plot(ch2, close-path: f, show-area: f)
// Connect the two plots with a curved boundary
p.draw-arc-to(ch1.anchors.ch1, ch2.anchors.ch2, 30, steps: 8,)
// 11. PARAMETRIC FURNITURE
dining-table(move(w.c4, dx: 2, dy: 4), label: [Dining table], scale: 3,size: (2,1), chairs: 6)
bed(move(w.w3, dx: 6, dy: -3.1), scale: 2, rotation: 270deg, size: "king", )
// 12. DRAW THE RULER BORDER
drafting-ruler(28,25, step: 1, )
})