A free alternative to Mach3, Mach4 and MachPro.
Readable from across the shop, sized for gloved hands, and built so nothing moves by accident. Windows, macOS, Linux and Raspberry Pi.
They're ruined by the tap you didn't mean. So Cycle start, homing and go-to moves wait for a deliberate hold, and jog keys move only while you touch them.
// hold to start
Cycle start, homing and go-to moves wait for a deliberate hold, and jog keys move only while you touch them. Try it: hold Cycle start. Let go early and nothing happens.
Ready
pocket.nc · G54 · in · 0%
Hold Cycle start for 0.6 s. Let go early and nothing moves.
Hold Space or Enter to start. Escape stops.
// the run screen
Progress, time left, the tool and the machine state are sized to read from the far side of the table—no walking over to check where the job is.
// guided M6
When the program calls M6, UniCNC stops the spindle, raises Z and lists each step: change the bit, measure it on the touch plate, carry on. The job waits for you.
// no CAM needed
Surfacing, facing, pockets, profiles and drill patterns come straight from a form. Each one shows its toolpath, its time and whether it fits the machine travel from your work zero—before you load it.
// probing + height map
Probe Z, a corner, an edge or a center, then probe a grid across warped stock. The height map bends every Z in the program to follow the surface, so engraving and V-carving hold their depth.
// also in early access
The things you reach for every day, without hunting for a plugin.
// switching
Your setup comes with you. A few habits change—here is exactly which ones.
Switching soon?
Get on the list and tell us your setup. Owners of grblHAL and FluidNC machines are invited first, then ESS owners as that support lands.
// compatibility
Every controller, pendant and computer, with where it stands. Rows move to early access as they are ready—not before.
| Hardware or computer | Status | Connection or version |
|---|---|---|
| Controllers | ||
| grblHAL | Early access | Over the network (Ethernet) |
| FluidNC | Early access | Over the network |
| Grbl 1.1 | In development | USB serial |
| grblHAL and FluidNC over USB | In development | USB serial |
| Warp9 Ethernet SmoothStepper (ESS) | In development | Ethernet |
| Pendants | ||
| XHC WHB04B | In development | Wireless, USB receiver |
| Computers | ||
| Windows 10 and 11 | Early access | x86-64 |
| macOS 12 or laterBuilds aren't notarized yet, so macOS asks you to confirm the first launch. | Early access | Apple silicon and Intel |
| Linux | Early access | x86-64 and ARM64 |
| Raspberry Pi 5 | Early access | Raspberry Pi OS, 64‑bit |
| Raspberry Pi 4, 4 GB or moreSuited to 2D jobs. | Early access | Raspberry Pi OS, 64‑bit |
// for integrators
An HTTP and WebSocket API reads machine state and sends commands. It is off by default, and listens only on that computer until you change it.
Off until you enable it
Local-only by default. Opening it to the shop network requires a token.
Axis moves need a held dead-man
Axis moves from a script need a held dead-man; when it lapses, jogs, moves and jobs stop. The remote API is still in safety review, so keep it off on a machine doing real work for now.
STOP is never gated
Stop, Feed hold and reset are accepted from any client, at any time.
OpenAPI + a Python client
The contract is published as OpenAPI, with an example client in plain Python.
from unicnc_client import UniCNC
m = UniCNC("http://127.0.0.1:8089", client="cell-1")
m.connect()
with m.hold(): # axis moves stop if this lapses
m.home()
m.wait_idle()// spec sheet
// road to 1.0
Machine control should earn every label it wears. This is what stands between today and 1.0, in order.
Invites start soon, in waves: the full app with grblHAL and FluidNC over the network, shaped by your reports.
Real cuts on an Avid CNC PRO4896, with an operator at the E-stop.
Architecture, safety, UX and QA reviews signed off by people who didn't write the code.
Released when the three steps before it are done—not on a date.
// why free
UniCNC is built by UniCorp, a software company in Missoula, Montana. The same team builds Custom Operating Platforms—business software shaped around how a company actually runs.
A license key, a seat count or an account doesn't make a machine cut better or stop sooner. So UniCNC has none of them: install it on the shop PC and the laptop in the office.
Free. No license key, no account.
UniCNC by UniCorp · Windows · macOS · Linux · Raspberry Pi OS
Yes. No license fee, no license key, no account, and no license tied to one PC. Install it on the shop computer and the laptop in the office.
Hardware validation is under way on a real machine now. Until it's complete, air-cut each new job first and stay at the machine with your hand near the E-stop.
No. A software STOP is not an emergency stop. Keep a hardware E-stop that cuts power to the motion system, wired and within reach, every time the machine runs.
Your Mach3 profile XML or Mach4 Machine.ini imports. Programs posted for Mach from VCarve, Aspire or Fusion 360 are what the Mach dialect is built to read; early access is where we confirm it on your files. Lua and Mach macros don't carry over—you rewrite them in Rhai. Tool tables come over as CSV.
Not on its SmoothStepper (ESS) yet — that support is in development. Today UniCNC connects to grblHAL and FluidNC controllers.
grblHAL and FluidNC over the network. USB serial connections, including Grbl 1.1, are in development. The compatibility table on this page lists every controller and where it stands.
See the compatibility tableYes: macOS 12 or later on Apple silicon or Intel, and Raspberry Pi OS 64-bit on a Pi 5, or a Pi 4 with 4 GB or more for 2D jobs. Early-access Mac builds aren't notarized yet, so macOS asks you to confirm the first launch.
No. UniCNC works offline, needs no account and sends no telemetry. The remote API is off until you turn it on, and then listens only on that computer unless you open it up.
UniCorp, the team that builds it. Early-access testers report problems straight to us, and a person reads every report. Questions before your invite arrives? Send us a message.
Send a messageYes. An HTTP and WebSocket API, off by default, reads machine state and sends commands, with an OpenAPI contract and an example Python client. Axis moves from a script need a held dead-man; when it lapses, jogs, moves and jobs stop. The remote API is still in safety review, so keep it off on a machine doing real work for now.
Invites start soon. Leave your email—and your setup, if you like—and we'll tell you when yours is ready.