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What booleans do

Boolean operations combine or modify solids:
  • Union merges two solids into one
  • Intersection keeps only the overlapping volume
  • Subtraction cuts one solid by another
In OpenGeometry, boolean helpers operate on B-Rep payloads and return a renderable mesh result along with the output B-Rep and a report you can use for debugging.

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How you run booleans

You can use either:
  • The standalone helpers: booleanUnion, booleanIntersection, booleanSubtraction
  • Shape convenience methods: shape.subtract(...)
  • The opening-centric workflow: opening.subtractFrom(host)
All of these call the same kernel entry points under the hood.

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Input expectations

Booleans work best when both operands represent closed, valid solids. Common failure modes include:
  • Non-closed shells (missing faces)
  • Self-intersections or degenerate faces
  • Very small features relative to the kernel tolerance
When a boolean returns an empty result, inspect BooleanResult.report to see what the kernel processed and produced.

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Tolerance and coplanar faces

You can tune kernel behavior:
  • kernel.tolerance controls how aggressively the kernel treats edges/faces as coincident.
  • kernel.mergeCoplanarFaces attempts to merge coplanar faces in the output.
If you see tiny sliver faces or noisy results, increase tolerance slightly and enable coplanar face merging. If you see missing details, lower tolerance.

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Debugging tips

  • Read result.report to get counts and an empty flag.
  • Start with simple operands (two cuboids), then move to complex geometry.
  • Turn on outlines (default for the helpers) so you can see output edges clearly.

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Status and limitations

Booleans are under active refinement. Some inputs may produce unexpected results or require additional tuning. If you get stuck, reach out on Discord.
Last modified on March 14, 2026