+ Documentation

Getting started

Graphite4D is an architectural modeling app that runs in your browser. If you have used SketchUp, most of the drawing tools will feel familiar: draw a shape, push or pull it into a form, and type exact sizes as you go. Graphite adds building levels, walls, doors and windows, and floor plans and sections that stay linked to the model.

This guide walks through a first model. The same steps appear in the app under Help → Getting started, where each one is checked off as you complete it.

Open a project

• On app.graphite4d.com, sign in and choose Create a project.
• To start again at any time, open the project menu in the top bar and choose New project.

Graphite saves every change automatically. The status in the top bar tells you where your work is saved, for example Saved to cloud.

Look around

On a phone or tablet, drag with one finger to orbit and pinch to zoom. See Navigation for more.

Draw a rectangle

1. Press R, or choose the Rectangle tool in the toolbar.
2. Click one corner on the ground, then click the opposite corner.
3. For an exact size, type both dimensions after the first click, for example 40', 30', and press Enter.

The typed value appears in the Typed dimensions box in the toolbar. You can type feet and inches such as 12'6" in any tool that asks for a distance.

Push/pull it into a form

1. Press P for Push/pull.
2. Click the rectangle's face and move the pointer up, then click again.
3. For an exact height, type it, for example 24', and press Enter.

Move, copy and group

• Select geometry with the Select tool (Space), then press M for Move. Click a base point, then a destination, or type a distance.
• To copy instead, press Option on a Mac or Ctrl on Windows once while moving. After placing the copy, type 3x and press Enter for three copies at the same spacing.
• Press G to make the selection a group. Double-click a group to edit inside it, and press Esc to leave.

Tools snap to endpoints, midpoints, edges and guides. Press Shift while drawing to lock the current direction. See Modeling for every tool.

Add building levels

1. Open All tools (⌘ K on a Mac, Ctrl K on Windows) and choose Building levels.
2. Choose Add level, name it Ground floor, set Base elevation to 0' and choose Apply level.
3. Add an Upper floor with a Floor-to-floor height of 11'.
4. Choose Open Ground floor plan.

Walls, slabs and plans follow when you change a floor-to-floor height later.

Draw walls, a slab and a door

1. In the Ground floor plan, choose Draw wall and click each corner of your building in turn. Press Esc when you are done.
2. Choose Slab and click two corners, or type its size.
3. Choose Place door, point at a wall and click to place it. Select the door to change its width, height and swing in Properties.
4. Choose Room, type a name in the toolbar box and click inside the enclosed area. Its floor area follows the walls.

See Buildings for stairs, column grids and schedules.

Make drawings and export

Plans, sections and elevations are generated from the model and update as you edit it. From an open drawing you can add dimensions and notes, then export it as SVG or PDF. To share the 3D model, open the project menu and choose Export for GLB or USD. See Drawings.

Keep and reopen your work

• Select the Graphite logo in the top bar to see all your projects.
• Save project copy keeps a named version you can return to.
• Save file downloads a portable .graphite4d.json project file, and Open project file brings one back.

Where to go next

• Open Help → Examples for finished buildings and studies you can take apart.
• Press ? for every keyboard shortcut. You can search and change them there.
• Connect your own AI assistant, such as Claude or ChatGPT, to work on a model with you. See AI assistants.
• Read Recipes and the graph when you want to reuse a design or drive it with parameters.