# Your first project Start a project from a template or an empty rack, place parts, check the fit and get the parts list and STLs. Source: https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/getting-started/first-project ## Before you start Creating a project needs an account: see [Accounts and sign-in](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/getting-started/accounts). If someone sent you a project link, you don't need one: open the link and skip to [Place parts](#place-parts). ## Templates Every project starts from a template. Pick one in the **New project** card on [Projects](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/): ![The Projects page: the New project card with a picture of each template, the Open a project card, and Your projects below](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/shots/getting-started/projects-light.webp) *Projects: start from a template, open a project by its id, or pick one you opened before.* | Template | What you get | | ---------------------------------------- | ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | RackMate TL1 as built | The DeskPi RackMate TL1 cluster: trays, net cradle, top caddy. | | RackMate T0 portable demo | A DeskPi RackMate T0 (4U): EdgeXpert, Pi 5 + Beryl AX, 2.5G switch, DC PDU, floor fans. | | GhettoRak: 8 DGX Sparks on wire shelving | An 8-node DGX Spark cluster on a 12″ × 18″ chrome wire shelving unit turned sideways, on casters: eleven shelves, a 400G MikroTik, a UniFi 10G switch, and the power on the bottom shelf. Someone else's build, recreated and credited to them. | | Empty 10″ 6U | An open-frame 10″ rack, 6U tall, nothing in it yet. | | Empty 19″ 12U | An open-frame 19″ rack, 12U tall, nothing in it yet. | | 19″ 12U rack from a model file | A 19″ rack that is only a mesh, with its rails declared on its catalog entry. | A template is only a start: you can remove, move or replace anything in it. ### Create the project On [Projects](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/), in **New project**, choose a **Template**, type a name if you like (for example "homelab rack"), and select **Create project**. The project opens in the editor. ![The New project card with the GhettoRak template picked: its description and the credit to James Meadlock under the list](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/shots/getting-started/template-light.webp) *Picking a template shows what it holds, and whose build it is.* On your first visit, the welcome at the top of the page has a button per start: it picks that template in **New project** for you. ### Place parts The **Parts** palette on the left lists everything you can add, in groups. Type in **search parts** to find a name, a maker or a kind of part. Parts that don't fit this rack are hidden unless you tick **show parts that don't fit this project**. To add a part, either: - drag it onto the 3D view or the **Front elevation**; the places it can go light up as you drag; - or click it, then click a place. **Enter** puts it in the first free place. On a touch screen, tap a part, then tap a place. To move a part, select it and drag it, in the 3D view or on the elevation. See [Placing parts](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/editor/placing-parts). ![A 10-inch shelf dragged from the palette over the elevation: the free rail positions are outlined, the one under the pointer is green, and the 3D view shows where it would land](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/shots/editor/drop-targets-light.webp) *Dragging a shelf: the places it can go light up, in the 3D view and on the elevation.* ### Change what you placed Select anything to see it in the **Inspector** on the right: its values, where it sits, what it holds, and what it can be swapped for. See [The inspector](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/editor/inspector). **Ctrl+Z** undoes a change and **Ctrl+Shift+Z** redoes it. ### Check the fit **Clearance checks** run on every change. Click a failing check to select the part it is about. The status bar at the bottom shows the count at a glance. See [Checks](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/editor/checks). ![The Clearance checks card of a TL1 project, with a FAIL badge on two checks and PASS on the others](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/shots/editor/checks-light.webp) *Clearance checks: each with its numbers, failing ones first.* ### Get the parts list and the STLs - **BOM & quote** lists every part to buy, priced from its listings. Export it with **Export CSV** or **BOM CSV**. See [BOM & quote](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/editor/bom-and-quote). - **Printed parts** lists the parts you print, with an STL per part and **Download STLs (.zip)** for the whole set. A failing check holds printing back until you fix it or choose **Export anyway**. See [Exports and printing](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/editor/exports-and-printing). ![The BOM & quote card: a line per part with its quantity, the listing picked for it and its price, and the total per currency in the header](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/shots/editor/bom-quote-light.webp) *BOM & quote: what to buy, where, and what it costs, one subtotal per currency.* ## Saving and sharing There is no save button. Every change is saved to the server as you work, and the status bar shows **saving…**, **saved** or **synced**. **History**, in the right sidebar, goes back to any earlier revision. ![The status bar: synced, the project name and id, nothing selected, 25 parts, 2 failing and the quote total](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/shots/editor/status-bar-light.webp) *The status bar says whether your changes are saved.* **Copy link** copies the project's link. Anyone with it can open and edit the project, from any device, so share it the way you would share a password. For a view-only link, use **Read-only link**. See [Sharing](https://rack-maker.cbnsndwch.dev/docs/editor/sharing). ## Take the tour Press **?** in the project's toolbar for a one-minute tour of the editor.