Getting Started

Part of the CYM wiki. Start here if you want to build and run ColorYourModel.

What you need

• Node.js ≥ 18 (frontend toolchain)
• Rust ≥ 1.70 + Cargo (backend)
• Tauri 2 system prerequisites — on Windows this is mainly WebView2

Build & run

git clone https://github.com/ZackaryShen/ColorYourModel.git
cd ColorYourModel

npm install
npm run tauri dev      # first run compiles the Rust backend (~2-3 min)

The dev build gives you hot reload for the frontend; incremental Rust builds are fast after the first compile.

For a packaged release build, use npm run tauri build (produces the installer for your platform).

Your first colour job

1. Import an STL white model (binary or ASCII). 1.5M-face-class models load in ~4 s with a progress bar.
2. Segment — nothing runs automatically; open the Seed panel and click fuse (or place seeds and grow) — see Seed Tools. The model stays fully usable unsegmented: normal Fill clicks are radius-bounded.
3. Refine regions — merge/split/rename regions in the Segments panel, or resegment a single one.
4. Paint — pick a tool and go (see Painting Tools). Everything is undoable.
5. Export a 3MF with machine presets, or an OBJ with per-face colours (see Exporting), and slice it in Snapmaker Orca / OrcaSlicer.

flowchart LR
    A["Import STL"] --> B["Segment<br/>(Seed panel: fuse / grow)"]
    B --> C["Refine regions"]
    C --> D["Paint"]
    D --> E["Export 3MF / OBJ"]
    E --> F["Slice & print"]

Verification & tests

npx tsc --noEmit               # TypeScript
npx vitest run                 # frontend unit tests
cd src-tauri && cargo test --lib   # backend unit + regression tests

Debug logging

# Windows PowerShell
$env:RUST_LOG="debug"; npm run tauri dev

# Linux / macOS
RUST_LOG=debug npm run tauri dev

Frontend exceptions are captured by the JS bridge and viewable in the in-app DebugLogViewer (see Crash Diagnostics).

Troubleshooting