Getting started
From an unopened folder to a clean, standard-compliant set in six steps — with a preview you approve before anything changes, and an undo for everything that does.
The workflow, step by step
1 · Pick a folder
Click Choose folder and pick the folder you want to audit using the native Windows picker. CADKeeper scans it (and its subfolders) reading only names, extensions, paths, sizes, and timestamps — it never opens the drawings themselves. Large trees with thousands of files are fine.
2 · Choose or build a ruleset
A ruleset is your naming standard expressed as rules. Pick one you've already saved, import a colleague's .ckstd file, start from a cleared standard preset, or build your own in the rule builder — the custom rule builder is available on every tier. See Writing a naming standard for how to describe a convention CADKeeper can read.
3 · Run the audit
CADKeeper checks every file against the active ruleset and groups the results, so you see which files already comply and which violate the standard and why — wrong discipline code, bad digit count, wrong separator, missing revision, and so on.
4 · Preview the proposed names
For the violations, CADKeeper proposes a corrected name for each file and shows the change as an old → new preview. It also detects collisions (two files that would end up with the same name) before you commit. Nothing has changed on disk at this point.
5 · Apply the safe batch
When the preview looks right, approve it. CADKeeper applies the renames through its transactional engine: every change is written to a durable change log with full before-and-after paths, and the batch is crash-safe — if the machine dies mid-run, no file is lost. On the Free tier the apply is capped at 10 files per run (everything else is uncapped); Core lifts the cap so you can fix an entire folder at once.
6 · Roll back if you need to
Changed your mind, or spotted a mistake? One-click rollback reverts the batch — the current session or any earlier batch from History — restoring the original names exactly.
Resolving duplicates
CADKeeper can find exact and near-duplicate files — for example the same sheet saved twice under slightly different names — and group them so you can decide which copy to keep. It can then archive the non-keepers (move them aside rather than delete them), and, like every operation, that move is logged and reversible.
Reading DWG XREFs
Some Pro features — such as the XREF-impact check — look at the external references (XREFs) a drawing depends on. DXF references are read natively by CADKeeper. DWG is a binary format, so to read DWG references you install a dwgread binary from LibreDWG and point CADKeeper at it in Settings.
That helper runs as a separate, read-only local process — it is never bundled with CADKeeper and never modifies or uploads your files. If you don't install it, DWG XREF reading is simply skipped; the rest of the app works unchanged.
Back up first
CADKeeper is built to be safe: preview-before-apply, a full change log, and one-click rollback. Those safeguards materially lower the risk of a bad batch — but file operations are inherently risky, and they don't replace a backup. Before a large batch on important project files, keep a copy of the folder. You own your data and bear final responsibility for it (see the Terms).
Offline & air-gapped use
The Free and Core workflows run entirely on your machine with no internet connection required — a good fit for air-gapped corporate networks. The only features that reach the network are ones you opt into: Pro license validation/renewal, opt-in crash reporting, and AI assist (your own cloud provider key — or a local Ollama model, which stays on your machine). See the Privacy Policy for exactly what each one sends.