CleWin alternative: edit GDSII, OASIS and CIF in the browser

CleWin (WieWeb Software) is a Windows desktop mask-layout editor with roots in Dutch mask-lab tooling, a mature mark/symbol library, and a scripted CIF-based symbol system. Glyph is a free, zero-install, browser-based editor for GDSII, OASIS, DXF and CIF — including direct support for CleWin's own CIF dialect (parameter declarations, source scripts, and colour records) — so files move between the two without starting from a blank layer.

Written in August 2026 against CleWin 6.2.13 (wieweb.com, released 2026-08-10). Glyph has shipped more since; where this page and the docs differ, the docs describe the current release.

What CleWin does well

A long mask-lab pedigree. CleWin has been used in cleanroom and mask-lab environments for decades, with workflows and mark libraries built around that use case.
A scripted parametric-symbol system. CleWin's embedded C-script symbols let labs build and share parametric libraries — any CIF/GDS file opens as a symbol library, and community libraries (university mark sets, parameterised microfluidic parts) exist around that architecture.
A native Windows desktop application, with the tight local-file and printing workflow that implies.

Where Glyph fits differently

Runs in any browser, on any OS. No Windows-only install — open nanyte.com/glyph/app/ on macOS, Linux, ChromeOS, or Windows, with nothing to download.
Reads CleWin's own CIF dialect, not just generic CIF. Opening a CleWin structure library shows each symbol's declared parameters (name, default, valid range) and its source script text in the Properties panel, plus the layer colours CleWin stored — see the CIF export and import section of the manual for the full behaviour. This is read-only by design: Glyph does not execute the C script, so it shows you the geometry and how it was made without pretending to regenerate it.
Round-trips CleWin's colour convention. Exporting CIF back out re-emits the same (CleWin: idx num/fill frame) layer-colour comments, and — since v0.94.0 — a CleWin symbol's declared parameters and script text as well (and its (CleFont …) and (CleTransform …) records), so a colleague still using CleWin sees the same Properties tab on reopening.
Uses a lab's symbol file as a library. Any file Glyph opens — a CleWin CIF library included — can be opened read-only from the Cells panel's Library section, or kept in My files in the component dock, and its symbols placed with a click; placed CleWin symbols keep their parameters and script.
Broader format breadth. Beyond CIF, Glyph reads GDSII, OASIS, DXF (ASCII and binary), DWG and SVG, and writes GDSII, OASIS, DXF, CIF, SVG, PNG and EPS — all through one free converter.
Geometric DRC built in. Verify → Design rules… checks min width, spacing, area and grid per layer with one-click writer presets, including a soft-litho/PDMS preset for the 20 µm floor common to low-cost microfluidic mask work.
A direct BEAM link. Send a finished design straight to a BEAM maskless-lithography machine over localhost, or pull the currently loaded design back into a new tab — no intermediate file handling.
An AI agent bridge, so an external Claude client can draw and edit geometry through a local, auditable connection — every action lands as one ordinary, undoable edit. See Claude draws GDS.

What Glyph does not claim

Not a port of any CleWin-ecosystem library. Glyph's parametric components (alignment marks, MEMS/photonics/microfluidics parts, standard shapes) are a separate, from-scratch library — not the symbol sets CleWin labs share among themselves.
No CIF script execution. A CleWin symbol's parameters are shown and preserved, never re-run to regenerate geometry.
CleWin's colour write-back is judged only against Glyph's own reader, not verified against a real CleWin install — treat it as a faithful round trip through Glyph, not a guarantee of what CleWin itself will display.

When CleWin is the right choice

You're already inside a mask lab's established CleWin-based workflow and need its specific mark/symbol library.
You need the parametric symbols CleWin's own scripts generate, editable through their original parameter interface.
You're on Windows and prefer a native desktop application.

When Glyph fits

You want to open, inspect, or lightly edit a CleWin-authored CIF/GDSII/OASIS file without a Windows install.
You need to hand a design between formats — GDSII, OASIS, DXF, CIF, SVG — without uploading it anywhere; see the free converter.
You want a quick geometric DRC pass before sending a design to fabrication.
You want to inspect what a CleWin symbol's script declared, from any machine.

Try it

Open Glyph — no install, no signup, your file never leaves your browser. Start with the Quickstart, or go straight to the file converter if you just need to move a CIF file to another format.

CleWin is a trademark or mark of its respective owner. Glyph and NANYTE are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or sponsored by WieWeb Software. Comparison current as of the 'Updated' date above; corrections: [email protected].

Frequently asked questions

Can Glyph open a file made in CleWin?

Yes. CleWin reads and writes CIF natively, and Glyph reads that CIF directly — including a CleWin structure library's parameter declarations, source script text, and layer colours. Glyph also reads GDSII and OASIS, so a design exported from CleWin in either of those formats opens the same way.

Does Glyph preserve CleWin's CIF colour records?

Yes. Glyph reads the layer colours a CleWin file stores and, when you export CIF back out, writes them back as (CleWin: idx num/fill frame) comments for every layer — an inert convention other CIF tools ignore, but one Glyph itself round-trips faithfully.

Can Glyph edit a CleWin symbol's declared parameters?

No, and it says so. Glyph shows a CleWin symbol's declared parameters (name, default, valid range) and its source script text in the Properties panel, read-only — it does not run the C script that generated the geometry, so it cannot regenerate the shape from new parameter values the way CleWin can.

Does Glyph have the mark libraries a CleWin lab uses?

Glyph does not ship them, but it can use the lab's own file. Open the library file read-only from the Cells panel's Library section, or add it to My files in the component dock, which keeps it in this browser between sessions; either way you click a symbol and then the canvas to place it. Glyph also ships its own from-scratch parametric component library (alignment marks, standard shapes, MEMS/photonics/microfluidics parts) plus a mark-set placement feature.