| name | ikea-3d-models |
| description | Find an IKEA product and produce a correctly-scaled STL mesh ready for FreeCAD (search → GLB download → Draco-decompress → STL; also converts a bare .glb). Use when the user wants an IKEA item as a 3D/CAD model or a .glb turned into an STL. |
IKEA 3D models → STL
Turn an IKEA product (by name or item number) into an STL mesh you can import
into FreeCAD (File → Import). The whole pipeline needs no IKEA login and no
cookies, and the convert step needs no FreeCAD (pure Python).
Pipeline
product name ──search_ikea.py──▶ item number
item number ──download_ikea_glb.sh──▶ product.glb (Draco-compressed)
product.glb ──glb_to_stl.sh──▶ product.stl
Scripts live in scripts/ next to this file. Make them executable once
(chmod +x scripts/*.sh scripts/*.py).
1. Find the item number
scripts/search_ikea.py "besta tv unit"
This calls IKEA's structured sik search backend (JSON) — prefer it over
scraping the JS-rendered search page, which does not reliably contain item
numbers. An "art number" on the label (e.g. 005.660.36) is the item number
with the dots removed (00566036). Add --json for machine-readable output,
--size N for more results, --market gb --lang en for other locales.
If the user gives an exact art/item number, search the number itself to
confirm what it is before downloading — search_ikea.py "00245842" returns the
single matching product with its name and dimensions:
scripts/search_ikea.py "00245842"
Pick the row whose name and dimensions match what the user wants (a query
returns many sizes/variants). Confirm with the user if ambiguous.
For a specific color, add --variants — it lists every color of each product
with its item number (read structurally from the search response, not scraped):
scripts/search_ikea.py "besta tv unit" --variants
The exact color often has no model (404). IKEA only 3D-scans some covers of
a given product. This is usually fine: the output is a geometry-only mesh (no
textures), and all covers of one product share identical geometry — so any
scanned variant's item number gives the correct shape and dimensions. When the
user's exact item 404s, HEAD-check its siblings (--variants) and use whichever
one has a model; tell the user you used a different cover of the same product.
Note search "snaps" an item-number query to a representative variant, so the
number it echoes back may differ from the one queried — that's expected.
2. Download the GLB
scripts/download_ikea_glb.sh 80299874 besta-tv.glb
Downloads the public "rotera" model. It HEAD-checks first and fails clearly if
no model exists (HTTP 404 = discontinued or never scanned — try a different
color variant's item number from search_ikea.py --variants). ~270 KB–700 KB
typical.
3. Convert to STL
scripts/glb_to_stl.sh besta-tv.glb besta-tv.stl "BESTA TV unit"
In FreeCAD, File → Import the .stl into any document. The third argument is the
name written into the STL header (optional). The converter prints the model's
BBOX_XYZ in mm so you can sanity-check the size against the catalog dimensions.
Why each step exists (gotchas)
- Draco compression is the whole reason the naive path fails. IKEA GLBs use
KHR_draco_mesh_compression. FreeCAD's own glTF importer cannot read Draco
buffers, so importing the raw .glb into FreeCAD silently adds nothing — no
error, the UI just does nothing. glb_to_stl.sh decodes Draco first (via
gltf-transform, a JS tool run through npx/pnpm) and emits STL instead.
- Meters vs millimeters. glTF is in meters; FreeCAD documents default to mm.
Without the ×1000 scale the imported mesh is under a millimeter tall at the
origin — present but microscopic, another way it looks like "nothing
imported".
glb_to_stl.py applies SCALE=1000 by default.
- Result is a mesh, not a B-rep solid. Good for reference, layout, and
measuring. For real CAD geometry, in FreeCAD use Part → "Create shape from
mesh" then "Convert to solid" (approximate, lossy for organic shapes).
- Cookies / auth: not needed. Search, product pages, and the rotera model
URL are all public. The only cookie-gated endpoint is the metadata JSON, and
this skill deliberately avoids it — dimensions come from search or the model's
own bounding box (printed by the converter as
BBOX_XYZ, in mm).
- Higher-detail "dimma" models exist for some products (e.g. LILLÅNÄS) and
must be extracted from page JavaScript. See
ikea_api_reference.md. The
rotera -mini model is the reliable default and is what these scripts use.
A bare .glb the user already has
Skip steps 1–2 and run step 3 on it. glb_to_stl.sh works on any glb (it
decodes Draco if present, passes through if not).
Environment notes
- Needs Node (
npx/pnpm) for the Draco decode and Python 3 (stdlib only) for
everything else — search_ikea.py and glb_to_stl.py need no third-party
packages and no FreeCAD. FreeCAD is only needed by the user, to open the
resulting STL.
- On a sandboxed Claude Code session, the IKEA hosts and the npm registry are
not allowlisted and the pnpm store is read-only — run the network/convert
steps with the sandbox disabled (
/sandbox to manage).
See ikea_api_reference.md for the full IKEA API details (endpoints, variants,
the dimma higher-detail pipeline, market locales).
