Getting started
Before you start
You must have:
- A Meridian account with a confirmed email address.
- An active subscription or trial. Refer to Account and licence.
- A computer with Linux or Windows. Meridian is a desktop program only.
Download Meridian
- Go to the account page at https://meridiancad.app/account/.
- Sign in.
- Download the file for your computer.
| System | File | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Windows | .msi installer |
The installer is not signed. If SmartScreen shows a warning, click More info, then click Run anyway. |
| Windows | setup.exe installer |
|
| Windows | .zip portable folder |
Extract the folder and start Meridian from it. |
| Linux | .deb package |
For Debian and Ubuntu systems. |
| Linux | .tar.gz archive |
Extract the archive and start Meridian from it. |
Install on Linux with one command
You can install Meridian on Linux with one command:
curl -fsSL https://meridiancad.app/install.sh | bash
The script does these steps:
- It asks for the email address and the password of your account.
- It downloads Meridian and checks the size and the SHA-256 checksum.
- It installs Meridian to
~/.local/share/meridian. - It adds the commands
meridian,meridian-studio,meridian-mapperandmeridian-mcpin~/.local/bin.
The script needs curl, tar and sha256sum.
- To update Meridian, run the same command again.
- To remove Meridian, run
curl -fsSL https://meridiancad.app/install.sh | bash -s -- --uninstall. - To skip the questions, add
--yes. To see all options, add--help.
Linux packages that Meridian needs
Meridian needs X11 and fontconfig. Make sure that these packages are installed:
- libc6, libgcc-s1, libstdc++6
- libicu (version 67 to 78)
- libfontconfig1
- libx11-6, libice6, libsm6
- libssl (version 3 or 1.1)
- ca-certificates
Start Meridian for the first time
- Start Meridian Studio.
- The first-run setup wizard opens. Select a keymap, the units and the folders for projects and exports.
- The "Meridian CAD License" window opens. Enter the email address and the password of your account.
- Click Sign In.
Meridian keeps a sign-in token. It does not keep your password. For more data, refer to Account and licence.
To do the setup again later, select Help > Run Setup Again.
Make your first part
The start page has guided tours. The tour "Sketch and extrude in 60 seconds" shows the basic procedure.
- On the start page, click New Part.
- Click Start 2D Sketch.
- Select a plane, for example the XY plane.
- On the Sketch tab, select Two Point Rectangle.
- Draw a rectangle.
- Select Dimension and give the two sides a length.
- Click Finish Sketch.
- On the Features tab, select Extrude.
- Select the rectangle profile and enter a distance.
- Accept the feature.
- Select File > Save.
The part is saved as a .mpart file.
Next steps
- Learn the screen layout in The interface.
- Learn more sketch tools in Sketching.
- Add holes, fillets and patterns in Part features.
- Run a stress study in Structural simulation.