KLayout alternative: a browser-based option for GDSII and OASIS editing

Direct answer: KLayout is a free, open-source, desktop layout viewer and editor with mature scripting, DRC/LVS, and 3D visualization — the standard tool for serious IC layout work. Glyph is a free, browser-based GDSII/OASIS editor with zero install: open a file, edit it, run a geometric design-rule check, and export it, entirely client-side, with nothing to download. Glyph is not a KLayout replacement for scripted flows or huge files — it is the right tool when you want to edit or convert a mask file right now, from any machine, without installing anything.

Comparison current as of August 2026: KLayout 0.30.12 (klayout.de) vs Glyph v0.114.0.

What KLayout does that Glyph doesn't

Named plainly, because a comparison that hides the other tool's strengths isn't useful to anyone:

• A full scripting environment. KLayout embeds Ruby and Python for custom DRC decks, LVS, batch macros and PCell generators. Glyph has no scripting language — see "Where Glyph fits" below for what it offers instead.
• Deeper DRC. KLayout's DRC engine covers connectivity, layer booleans, and arbitrary rule scripts. Glyph's built-in DRC (Verify → Design rules…, F7) checks min width, min spacing, min area and on-grid placement per layer — real checks, but not a substitute for a full rule deck; enclosure/overlap-between-layers and connectivity checks are not implemented.
• 3D viewing. KLayout has a 3D layer-stack viewer. Glyph is 2D only.
• Scale on very large files. KLayout is built to browse and edit files with many millions of polygons. Glyph's own manual states plainly that files with more than a few hundred thousand polygons are outside what v1 targets — it uses Web Workers for parsing and heavy geometry so the tab doesn't freeze, but it is not built for full-reticle, multi-million-shape production databases the way a desktop tool is.
• Maturity and ecosystem. KLayout has been developed since 2006, has an extensive plugin ecosystem, and is the tool most fabs and PDKs already assume.

What Glyph offers instead

• Zero install, any machine. Open nanyte.com/glyph/app/ in a browser and you're editing — no download, no admin rights, no OS-specific build. Useful on a shared machine, a Chromebook, or when you just need to check one file.
• All parsing and editing is client-side. Your file is read, edited and written by JavaScript in your own browser tab. There's no server in that path — nothing is uploaded, not even briefly.
• Format breadth in one tool, one tab. Glyph reads 6 layout/CAD formats (GDSII, OASIS, DXF ASCII+binary, DWG, CIF, SVG — plus PNG/JPG bitmaps as tracing aids) and writes 7 (GDSII, OASIS, DXF, CIF, SVG, PNG, EPS), including a free, in-browser file converter between all of them. KLayout's stock install also covers GDSII, OASIS, DXF and CIF — the difference here is not KLayout missing formats, it's DWG read, SVG/figure output, and conversion with nothing installed at all.
• Geometric DRC with writer presets. One-click min-width floors for common processes — laser (1.5 µm), e-beam (200 nm), NANYTE's own BEAM (500 nm), and soft-litho/PDMS (20 µm) — see the DRC guide.
• A direct machine link. Glyph can send a finished design straight to a BEAM maskless-lithography tool over localhost — no USB stick, no intermediate file management — and load a design back from the machine into a new tab.
• An AI agent bridge. An external Claude client can draw shapes, place instances, run booleans and read geometry through a local MCP connection, with every action landing as a normal, undoable edit — see Claude draws GDS.
• A KLayout-flavoured keymap. If you already have KLayout's shortcuts in muscle memory, Glyph ships a KLayout preset for the bindings klayout.de's manual documents (zoom-to-fit, hierarchy-depth stepping) so switching tools mid-task costs less friction.

Side by side

When KLayout is the right choice

• You need a scripted DRC/LVS deck, custom PCells, or batch automation in Ruby/Python.
• You're working with files in the multi-million-polygon range.
• You need 3D layer-stack visualization.
• Your flow already assumes KLayout's plugin ecosystem (foundry PDKs, custom readers/writers).

When Glyph fits

• You need to open, check, or lightly edit a GDSII/OASIS/DXF/CIF file right now, on whatever machine you're at, without an install.
• You want to convert between mask/CAD formats without uploading the file anywhere — see the file converter.
• You want a basic, fast geometric DRC pass (width/spacing/area/grid) before sending a design to fabrication.
• You want an AI agent to help draw or edit a layout via a local, auditable connection.
• You're teaching, prototyping, or working from a locked-down or shared machine where installing desktop EDA tools isn't an option.

Try it

Open Glyph — no install, no signup, your file never leaves your browser. See the Quickstart for a first walkthrough, or the file converter if you just need to move a file between formats.

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