get-started-with-partmode

name	get-started-with-partmode
category	design
description	Guide a first-time CAD user through opening PartMode, choosing a blank project or editable template, reading the workspace, and saving an editable project. Use when someone says they have never used CAD, asks for a PartMode tour, or wants to create and preserve their first project.

get-started-with-partmode

Help a beginner leave PartMode with an editable saved project and a clear mental model of the workspace. Use https://partmode.com/help#getting-started as the product reference and follow the labels visible in the current release.

Required connection

This skill is operating guidance, not a PartMode login or tool connection. Before an agent continues, confirm that it can list PartMode MCP resources and tools. If it cannot, stop and use $connect-partmode-to-an-agent: create or sign in to an account at https://partmode.com/account with an account name and passphrase, create the least-powerful suitable agent key, store the one-time secret as PARTMODE_AGENT_KEY, and configure Codex with:

codex mcp add partmode --url https://partmode.com/mcp --bearer-token-env-var PARTMODE_AGENT_KEY

Restart the agent after adding the server. A browser-local project also requires a signed-in PartMode tab and visible approval; server-headless work requires an edit key created with the explicit headless grant. Never simulate CAD work from these instructions or claim completion without exact settled evidence returned by the connected PartMode tools.

Boundaries

• Keep this local-first. An account is not required to model, save, or export.
• Do not begin with advanced assemblies, drawings, or agent access unless the person asks for them.
• Treat browser recovery as a convenience. Download an important project file.
• Do not claim that a shaded view proves an exact valid solid.

Procedure

1. Ask what simple object the person wants to make and choose millimetres unless another unit is required. Reduce the first goal to one closed profile and one solid feature.
2. On the first screen, choose Blank sketch for a new part or Browse all templates for an editable example. Explain that templates are normal CAD documents, not pictures or meshes.
3. Name the project and identify the main evidence surfaces: History is the ordered construction recipe, Bodies lists exact solids, Parameters stores reusable dimensions, CFG selects configurations, and Inspector explains the selected model entity.
4. Show how to orbit, pan, zoom, fit the view, select an entity, and clear a selection without changing the model. Keep the construction grid visible until the person understands the base plane.
5. Start the first profile with Sketch, but use $sketch-and-dimension-in-partmode before committing geometry the person cannot explain.
6. Wait for the document and kernel rebuild to settle. Read any diagnostic instead of continuing through a failed feature.
7. Choose Save project file and download the editable PartMode project. Confirm the downloaded file exists before clearing browser data or closing the only copy.

Done

• The person has identified History, Bodies, Parameters, CFG, and Inspector
• The checked project has a meaningful name, chosen units, and a bounded first-part goal
• History confirms that no rebuild diagnostic is being ignored
• A non-empty editable project file is downloaded and verified at an approved location
• The next modeling step is explicit rather than an unexplained sequence of clicks