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

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. As a KLayout alternative, Glyph is not a 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.

First written in August 2026 and revised in September 2026, against KLayout 0.30.12 (klayout.de). Glyph has shipped more since; where this page and the docs differ, the docs describe the current release.

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 notch, min area and on-grid placement per layer, layer-pair rules (enclosure, pair spacing, no-overlap, must-intersect) and a windowed density rule — real checks, but not a substitute for a full rule deck; connectivity (LVS-style) 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 heavy paths are measured on cells of up to about 500 000 shapes — 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.

Looking for a mask layout editor or photomask design software?

If you searched "mask layout editor" or "photomask design software" rather than "KLayout alternative" specifically: Glyph is a free, browser-based mask layout editor built for exactly this — drawing and editing photomask geometry (GDSII, OASIS, DXF, CIF) with layers, snapping, a parametric component library, boolean layer operations, and a geometric design-rule check, with nothing to install. It isn't a full EDA suite (no schematic capture, no foundry PDKs, no LVS) — for that, KLayout or LayoutEditor are the established desktop tools. Glyph is the right pick when the job is "open this mask file and edit or check it, right now, from any machine."

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].

Frequently asked questions

Is Glyph a replacement for KLayout?

For some workflows, yes — quick edits, format conversion, and geometric DRC with nothing to install. For others, no — KLayout's scripting (Ruby/Python), full DRC/LVS decks, and desktop-scale performance on multi-million-polygon files have no equivalent in Glyph today.

Does Glyph support KLayout's own keyboard shortcuts?

Partially. Glyph ships a KLayout keymap preset (File → Setup → Keyboard shortcuts…) covering the shortcuts klayout.de's own manual documents — F2 to zoom to fit, * for full hierarchy, 0/1 for hierarchy depth, +/- to step depth — not KLayout's complete binding set.

Can Glyph open the same files as KLayout?

Glyph reads GDSII, OASIS, DXF (ASCII and binary), DWG, CIF and SVG, and writes GDSII, OASIS, DXF, CIF, SVG, PNG and EPS. KLayout reads and writes GDSII and OASIS natively and has broader plugin-based format support. For GDSII and OASIS specifically, files move between the two tools without issue.

Does Glyph have KLayout's macro/scripting engine?

No. KLayout has a mature Ruby and Python scripting environment for custom DRC decks, batch processing and PCell generators. Glyph has no scripting language; automation instead goes through saved, parameter-driven Recipes (a fixed list of built-in actions) or an external Claude/MCP agent bridge that drives the editor's own command set.