KetchUp, the Rust SketchUp Alternative, Is Now BenchUp

KetchUp, an open-source 3D modeler written in Rust that took 719 points on Hacker News, now ships as BenchUp. The repository moved from Ketchup3D/app to BenchUp3D/editor, and the README says the last build under the old name was 0.6.5. The README gives no reason for the rename.

The project describes itself as "free, open-source 3D woodworking and modeling software and SketchUp alternative." It is MIT licensed, runs in a desktop browser or as a desktop app for Windows x64, macOS on Apple Silicon and Linux x64, and the project site says it is "made for a desktop browser and a mouse." The repository showed 607 stars, 186 commits and 12 open issues when The Terminal read it on Nov. 9, 2026. Stars measure interest, not adoption; the page lists no download count and no tagged releases.

What the rename breaks and what it keeps

The migration notes in the README are the most practical part of the project for anyone who already has files. New projects use the .bup extension, but existing .k3d and .ketchup projects stay readable. On first launch the desktop app copies workspace settings from the old KetchUp locations without deleting them, and the old KETCHUP_* environment variables still work, with BENCHUP_* taking precedence.

Browser users have the sharper edge. Autosave lives in browser storage and migrates only within the same origin, so a hostname change means exporting projects first. The site itself warns that "clearing browser data can remove autosaved work," and there is no account or cloud storage. Existing 0.6.5 installs depend on GitHub's redirects to find new releases, since the repository was transferred and renamed rather than copied.

What it does today

The tool set is the one a SketchUp user expects: lines, rectangles, circles, freehand outlines, Push/Pull for adding thickness, snapping, typed exact lengths, a tape measure, dimensions, groups, reusable components and tags. The site's first-model tutorial has three steps.

The interesting feature for switchers is File, then Import/Export, which reads .skp and writes .obj. The README says the import uses a vendored native SketchUp reader written in C/C++17 and covered by a Node test script. The site lists its own limits: "SketchUp textures, scenes, and some model features aren't supported," and OBJ export carries geometry without materials. A model with textured surfaces will therefore arrive as plain shapes.

What it is up against

Trimble's SketchUp plans page lists three tiers billed annually, and the only free option is SketchUp for Schools, available with a Google Workspace for Education or Microsoft Education account.

Plan	Per user a month, billed annually	Platforms
Go	$10.75	Web, iPad
Pro	$33.25	Web, iPad, desktop
Studio	$71.58	Desktop (Windows only)

That works out to $129 a year for Go and $399 for Pro. A hobbyist or small cabinet shop that wants a free tool with a desktop build has no first-party route today, which is the gap BenchUp is aimed at. The project's own gaps are plain too: no textures from imported models, no materials in export, no cloud sync and a WebGPU or WebGL2 requirement.

Other open-source projects covered on this desk, such as the llama.cpp-based DeepSeek V4 Flash build and the Pi agent's release history, sit in different fields, but they face the same question of whether stars turn into maintained releases. For BenchUp, the next thing to watch is the first tagged release under the new name; the README says it must be numbered above 0.6.5, with 0.6.6 as its example.