Octo for DWG on Linux
Octo can write, test and run the routines that read, convert and export DWG and DXF on an Ubuntu server, with ezdxf, ODA File Converter (from the Open Design Alliance, ODA) and LibreDWG: DXF, PDF, SVG, lists of layers and blocks. You approve the plan and each batch; it prepares the script and returns the result and a report of what failed for review.
Six possible deliverables, drawn from the research. In all of them, Octo proposes the tool based on license and fidelity, writes the script and tests it on a sample before the batch.
Calls ODA File Converter from the command line, with subfolders and auditing on, inside xvfb-run so the window doesn't open on the server. Since the ezdxf code notes that, on Linux, the converter may exit reporting failure even when the conversion succeeded, the script checks the files: it counts the DXF files generated against the input DWG files.
According to ODA's frequently asked questions (FAQ), the free ODA File Converter is for non-commercial use by non-members; commercial use requires an agreement with ODA. Without that agreement, it converts with GNU LibreDWG's dwg2dxf (GPLv3), file by file, in the requested DXF version, and totals the failures. There's no package on Ubuntu 24.04: it compiles from the source code published by GNU. The LibreDWG manual warns that many entities still have partial support.
With ezdxf, in Python, lists each layer with its color, on or frozen state and number of entities, and each block with its definition size and how many times it was inserted. Reads DXF directly and DWG through ODA File Converter.
Deliverable: .py (ezdxf) + listing per fileGenerates a PDF of the modelspace of each DXF with the ezdxf drawing add-on and PyMuPDF, and an SVG when requested. For a single file, it uses the ezdxf draw shortcut, after checking with --formats which formats the machine supports.
Opens problem DXF files with ezdxf's recovery reader, which fixes what it can and reports how many errors it found; in the ODA batch, it turns on the audit that repairs each file on open. What doesn't open goes on the list for someone to look at in the converter's interface.
Deliverable: error notice per fileWhen a partner can only open an old version, it rewrites the batch in the requested version, from R12 to 2018, through ODA File Converter, or through ezdxf with the same converter behind it. With LibreDWG, DWG writing only goes up to r2000, and Octo warns you beforehand.
Deliverable: batch converted to the requested versionThe same Octo cycle, applied to DWG on a Linux server. Each arm has a narrow role; the decisions are made by a person at your company.
How many DWG and DXF files, which versions, on which Ubuntu distribution and version, with which Python. Whether xvfb and FUSE are already there, and whether ODA File Converter or LibreDWG is already installed.
The output DXF version, the columns of the layer and block list, the name of each PDF and where the report goes. Whatever is read-only never gets overwritten.
Per ODA's FAQ, the free ODA File Converter is for non-commercial use; for client work, LibreDWG or an ODA license. There is a security flaw cataloged in 2026 (CVE-2026-9501) in the LibreDWG decoder up to version 0.14: DWG files of unknown origin are only processed in isolation.
ODA for DWG to DXF and ezdxf for everything after that; LibreDWG when no proprietary binary is allowed; a Windows virtual machine (VM) with AutoCAD when full-fidelity editing is needed.
Isolated Python environment with the current ezdxf from PyPI, not the old Ubuntu package; the converter called in the argument order ezdxf itself uses; the AppImage path in the ezdxf configuration when applicable.
Runs a few drawings and checks the result: the DXF exists and opens in ezdxf, the PDF has the drawing, the list has the layers. Checks the generated files, not the converter's exit code, just as ezdxf itself does.
With your OK, it runs the whole folder and checks file by file what came out and what's missing, without taking a success message as proof.
Versions of ezdxf, the converter and LibreDWG, the executable path and what was confirmed on your machine. The next batch starts from this record.
Nothing runs in batch before your OK. The proposed tool respects each one's license; the decision belongs to your company.
The criteria Octo uses to choose. What runs on Linux first; AutoCAD in a Windows VM only when the job is editing the drawing.
| Task | Recommended path | Alternative or caveat |
|---|---|---|
| Read and write DXF in Python; list layers, blocks and entities | ezdxf (MIT license) | — |
| Read DWG in Python | ezdxf + the odafc add-on, which calls ODA File Converter | The add-on runs an external program; it can be removed if that capability isn't wanted |
| Convert a DWG ↔ DXF batch or change the DWG version | ODA File Converter, with xvfb-run | Free for non-commercial use by non-members of ODA (ODA FAQ) |
| DWG → DXF with free software, no proprietary binary | LibreDWG, dwg2dxf (GPLv3) | DWG writing only up to r2000; AutoCAD rejects some fields of the generated DXF |
| Generate PDF, SVG or PNG from a DXF | ezdxf draw or the drawing add-on | LibreDWG's dwg2SVG: modelspace only, basic |
| Client work, commercial use | LibreDWG | ODA license |
| Edit the drawing with an interface and full fidelity | AutoCAD in a Windows VM, with a regular license | — |
| Run AutoCAD on Linux itself | There is no Linux version | — |
Three steps. Each one only makes sense after the previous one has shown results in your operation.
A proposal, not a promise
On Ubuntu, you ask in business terms and get the proposed batch, with the tool your license allows, to review before it runs.
.sh + countThe batch no longer depends on a request and can run for every file that arrives: the DWG goes in, and out come the DXF, the PDF and the inventory.
The same routines behind a service that the management system (ERP) or a portal calls, with each tool's license sorted out first.
Each point below has a source published by the vendor, the project or the responsible agency. The sources are in the next section.
4
points with a published source, each with its reference alongside.
libredwg package, and the packaged ezdxf is 1.1.3, an old version; that's why ezdxf is installed through pip in an isolated environment.Source: Ubuntu 24.04 Launchpad (libredwg and ezdxf)Octo prepares everything, but doesn't sign. The document of record stays with whoever is accountable for it.
Surveys, calculates, organizes and generates the documents: spreadsheets, reports, drawings and drafts.
Deliverable: material ready to checkThe licensed professional checks what Octo delivered before signing. If something doesn't add up, it goes back to Octo with the correction.
Step: review by the signerOcto does not sign. Designs, technical reports, ART/RRT (Brazil's professional responsibility records), accountability reports and any official document are still signed by the company's or agency's licensed professional: here, the designer or the engineer responsible for the project.
Sign-off: designer or responsible engineerDocumentation from ezdxf, ODA, GNU LibreDWG and Autodesk used on this page.
draw, info, auditThe assessment starts by reading your drawings folder and your server, without changing anything. You get a map of what can be done without AutoCAD, with the license for each path, and decide with it in hand.