Print it

From a rough idea to a 3D model you can spin — and a path to a real print.
Print it is a web app for people who want personalized physical objects without CAD: describe (or sketch) what you want, refine it in a back-and-forth with AI, preview the result in the browser, then request a print order.

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Why it exists

• Personalization — People want unique things; the default path is still generic mass-produced goods.
• Friction — Custom 3D usually means unfamiliar tools, file formats, and handoffs between apps.
• Skills gap — Turning a sketch into something printable often needs CAD expertise.

Print it keeps the pipeline in one place: refine → generate → preview → order, with no CAD required.

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What you can do

Area	What it does
Studio (/create)	Chat-style refinement of your prompt (and optional sketch uploads), then kick off 3D generation.
3D preview	Inspect generated models in the browser (GLB), with downloads when available.
Ideas	Signed-in users keep refinement sessions and generated models synced.
Orders	Submit print requests (size, shipping details) tied to a generated model.
Showcase	Public examples for visitors who are not signed in.
Admin	Restricted view of generated models (emails allowlisted via ADMIN_EMAILS).

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Stack

• Next.js — App router, UI, API routes for generation/refinement orchestration
• Convex — Realtime data, auth tables, sessions, jobs, models, orders
• Convex Auth — Sign-in and user identity
• OpenAI-compatible APIs — Prompt refinement (chat completions)
• Meshy — Text / image → 3D (preview + refine pipeline)
• Three.js — In-browser model viewing
• Tailwind CSS — Styling

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Pitch deck

A standalone slide deck lives at pitch-print-it.html (Reveal.js). Open it in a browser for problem / solution / business / GTM context.

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Local development

Prerequisites

• Node.js (LTS recommended)
• A Convex project
• API keys: OpenAI-compatible provider for refinement, Meshy for 3D (see env vars below)

Setup

npm install
cp .env.example .env.local
# Fill in .env.local (Convex URLs, keys — see comments in .env.example)
npm run dev

npm run dev runs the Next.js app and Convex dev together. The predev script wires Convex and a one-time Convex Auth setup helper when appropriate.

Environment variables

Copy .env.example → .env.local and set at least:

• Convex — NEXT_PUBLIC_CONVEX_URL, CONVEX_DEPLOYMENT, NEXT_PUBLIC_CONVEX_SITE_URL
• App URL — NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_URL (e.g. http://localhost:3000)
• Refinement — OPENAI_API_KEY (and optionally OPENAI_BASE_URL, OPENAI_MODEL)
• 3D generation — MESHY_API_KEY (and optionally MESHY_* overrides; MESHY_USE_MOCK=true for local testing without Meshy)

For production-style Convex deploys, set the same values in the Convex dashboard where noted in .env.example (e.g. ADMIN_EMAILS).

Other scripts

Command	Purpose
npm run build	Production build
npm start	Run production server (after build)
npm run lint	ESLint
npm run showcase:fetch-meshy	Helper script for showcase assets

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Learn more

• Convex docs
• Convex Auth
• Next.js docs

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Private project — see package.json for the package name and scripts.