Install CADABRA
212 MB, one installer, on the SOLIDWORKS license and files you already have.
Install it
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01
Close SOLIDWORKS, then run the installer
Download
Cadabra.Bundle.exefrom the download page. SOLIDWORKS must be closed: CADABRA loads inside it, so its files cannot be replaced while it is open. Windows calls every new release unrecognized, so choose Keep, then More info, then Run anyway. Setup elevates, so accept the Windows prompt. -
02
Let the prerequisites install
The bundle installs the two prerequisites above if they are missing, then installs CADABRA and registers the add-in with SOLIDWORKS. Nothing to choose.
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03
Enable the add-in
Open SOLIDWORKS, go to Tools, then Add-Ins, and find CADABRA under Other Add-Ins. Setup writes the SOLIDWORKS startup flag itself, so CADABRA is already set to load. The left box loads it in this session, the Start Up box loads it in every session. If CADABRA is not in the list, registration did not complete: see reinstalling.
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04
Open the panel and sign in
Click the CADABRA icon in the task pane on the right of the SOLIDWORKS window, then sign in with the account you created. One workstation is active at a time on Free, Student, Standard and Professional. Enterprise is not limited to one. Release the old machine first if you are moving. See workstations.
What setup checks before it installs anything
Four conditions are tested first. If one fails, setup stops with the message below and nothing on the machine is changed.
- SOLIDWORKS is not registered: "SOLIDWORKS was not found on this machine. Install SOLIDWORKS (2020 or later) and open it once so it registers itself, then run CADABRA Setup again." Setup does not check which version you have, only that SOLIDWORKS has been opened at least once so it wrote its COM registration.
- SOLIDWORKS is running: "Close SOLIDWORKS to continue. CADABRA loads inside SOLIDWORKS, so its files cannot be changed while it is open. Save your work, close SOLIDWORKS completely, then run this again. Nothing on this machine was changed."
- 32-bit Windows: "This product requires 64-bit Windows 10 or later."
- A prerequisite is still missing after the chain ran: setup names the runtime and the Microsoft page to get it from.
What it verifies after copying the files
Any failure below aborts the install and rolls it back.
- Every core binary named in the shipped install manifest is present, and its file version equals the version of the package being installed. A stale file from a previous version fails the install rather than half-loading later.
- The endpoint values under
HKLM\SOFTWARE\CADABRAmatch the manifest. regsvr32registersCadabra.AddIn.comhost.dll, and the CLSID{8a9f4d5e-7c3b-4e8f-9a1d-2b6e5f8c3d4a}resolves back to that exact file. If it points anywhere else, another copy of CADABRA is registered and the install stops.- The SOLIDWORKS autoload flag at
HKLM\SOFTWARE\SolidWorks\AddIns\{8a9f4d5e-7c3b-4e8f-9a1d-2b6e5f8c3d4a}reads 1.
Every one of those steps is written to %ProgramData%\CADABRA\install.log. That file is the only artifact when the panel never appears, and it is the one to attach when you contact us.
Hosts to allow
HTTPS on port 443. The panel interface is served from disk, so only these calls cross the network. A blocked host breaks the matching feature. A proxy that inspects TLS can break every call without blocking anything, which is the next section.
| Host | What needs it |
|---|---|
api.cadabrai.com | every prompt, and the update check |
accounts.cadabrai.com | sign-in, your plan, and usage |
cadabrai.com | the dashboard and billing links the panel opens |
builds.dotnet.microsoft.com | the .NET 9 Desktop Runtime, during setup only |
stcadabraprds3lz74yr.blob.core.windows.net | the installer download and in-app updates |
cadabra-installers.s3.us-west-2.amazonaws.com | the installer the update service advertises |
Behind a proxy
CADABRA has no proxy setting. Every call is made with the Windows HTTP stack, so it follows the system proxy configuration, including a PAC script.
Certificates are checked against the Windows certificate store and CADABRA pins nothing. A proxy that terminates and re-signs TLS works once its root certificate is in the machine store. Until it is, nothing is blocked and every call still fails: the saved session cannot be validated, so you land back on the sign-in screen.
Nothing supplies proxy credentials. A proxy that demands authentication answers 407 and every call fails, with no sign-in and no prompts. Allow the hosts above without authentication.
Check that it worked
Open any part and ask something that changes nothing, for example what material is this part or how many features are in this tree. A correct answer means the add-in is loaded, signed in, and reading the document you have open.
If the panel cannot reach CADABRA, the add-in is installed but not connected. See CADABRA issues.
Find your installed version
The person icon at the top right of the panel opens Settings. The last line reads Version 1.3.46, or Version 1.3.46 Build 0007 on an early access build. It is readable before you sign in.
Quote that number in every support message. Windows shows a four-part number for the same build because Windows Installer requires one; the panel is the number to use.
Uninstall, repair and reinstall
Reinstalling over the top is the first fix for a broken add-in registration, because it re-runs every check in the section above and rewrites the COM and autoload keys. Close SOLIDWORKS and run the same Cadabra.Bundle.exe again. Installing the version you already have is allowed and is the intended repair path.
Reinstall when any of these is true.
- CADABRA is not listed under Tools, then Add-Ins, then Other Add-Ins at all.
- The pane opens and reads "CADABRA is not installed correctly. Reinstall from cadabrai.com."
- The pane fails to load and reports that the installation may be incomplete.
- An update failed three times. Settings then stops requiring it and tells you to install the latest version from the website.
Uninstalling
Windows Settings, then Apps, then Installed apps. The entry is CADABRA Setup. It removes the program files, unregisters the COM server and deletes the HKLM\SOFTWARE\CADABRA and SOLIDWORKS add-in keys. The .NET 9 Desktop Runtime and the Microsoft Edge WebView2 Runtime stay, because other software uses them.
Your SOLIDWORKS files, templates, libraries and PDM vault are not touched by an uninstall, and your account, chat history and standards live on the service rather than on the machine.
What installing changes
Nothing about your existing setup. CADABRA reads your license, files, templates and libraries rather than replacing them.
- No file conversion, and no new file format.
- No changes to PDM state. Checkout and revision behave as they did.
- No SOLIDWORKS setting is rewritten. The unit and precision preference in the panel reaches the model as an instruction and leaves your document unit setting alone.