About CutlistPal

CutlistPal is a free cut list optimizer for woodworkers, cabinet makers and anyone who buys plywood, MDF or other sheet goods. You list the parts you need, and it shows how to cut them from as few sheets as it can, with a drawing of every sheet and the cuts in order. There is no account and no download, and it is built to work as well on a phone in the lumber yard as on a computer in the shop.

Who makes it

CutlistPal is a small independent project started in 2026 by msdos41. It is not affiliated with any saw, software or lumber company.

How the layouts are made

The optimizer is PackingSolver by Florian Fontan, an open-source solver for cutting and packing problems, released under the MIT licence. We compile it to WebAssembly so it runs inside your browser, in a background thread of the page. It only produces guillotine layouts: every cut runs from one edge of a piece to the other, as on a table saw, track saw or panel saw, and the blade kerf is left between parts.

Before a layout is drawn, the page checks it independently of the solver: each part appears the right number of times at the right size, nothing overlaps or leaves the usable area, the kerf is respected, grain-locked parts are not turned, and the sheet can be divided by straight through-cuts. A layout that fails is not shown.

Limits worth knowing

The search is limited to a few seconds, so a layout is not always the best possible one; the status line says when it is proven to use the fewest sheets. Sizes are rounded to 1/32 inch or 0.1 mm internally. Measure your own sheets and check every part before you cut.

Open-source software

The solver includes PackingSolver and its dependencies (Boost, HiGHS, nlohmann/json and other libraries under MIT or Boost licences). The full licence texts are in LICENSES.txt.

Corrections and ideas

Found a wrong layout, a confusing step, or a feature you need? Email hello@cutlistpal.com or see the contact page.

Last reviewed 2026-11-03.