-[Rhino Compute Server rep](https://github.com/mcneel/compute.rhino3d)
## About
[Rhino](https://www.rhino3d.com/) is a CAD program that's particularly popular in the
architecture world. [Grasshopper](https://www.grasshopper3d.com/) is a dataflow
algorithmic design plugin for Rhino. It was originally an extension that you'd have to
download and install separately, but it became wildly
popular and is now packaged with Rhino.
On its own, Grasshopper is already a powerful tool for parametric and algorithmic design.
It's been a mainstay of generative architecture for years. Traditionally, it's been used
from within Rhino, but it's becoming easier and easier to run Rhino/Grasshopper "headless",
i.e. from the command line and without a GUI. This is very helpful for full algorithmic
design, where you may want to batch process thousands of variations.
Since 2018, there has been a Python library called [rhino3dm](https://www.rhino3d.com/features/rhino-inside). This library allows you to read and write Rhino's `.3dm` CAD files.
It also lets you construct geometry, but you're somewhat limited in which operations you
can use. Closest point calculations, intersections, and tessallations, [for example](https://developer.rhino3d.com/guides/compute/features/) are off the table.
But new in Rhino 7 is something called [Rhino.Inside](https://www.rhino3d.com/features/rhino-inside/). Rhino.Inside allows Rhino to be embedded in other applications as a geometry/CAD kernel.
## Installing
Rhino installers can be downloaded from [here](https://www.rhino3d.com/download/). Note that it's
not free software, so you have to have a license to use it. In the School of Architecture
and Planning here at MIT, we're lucky to have a department-wide license. Otherwise, McNeel
offers free 90 day trials if you give them your email addresss.
