What is ZigZag?
ZigZag is a desktop embroidery digitiser for macOS, Windows and Linux, written in Rust by Kathy Korevec. She built it after her roughly $300 Brother Skitch PP1 turned out to depend on Brother's Artspira app, whose paid Artspira+ tier holds features such as turning images into embroidery patterns. It is Apache-2.0 and was created on 30 October 2026.
It imports SVG artwork and traces PNG, JPEG and other images into flat-colour shapes, then turns them into stitches with 11 stitch types, including tatami fill, satin, running stitch, appliqué, meander and cross-stitch. It writes PES, DST, EXP, JEF and VP3 machine files, plus PEC and the Skitch's PEN format, can read PES, PEC, DST, EXP and JEF files back for editing, and sends designs straight to a Skitch over Bluetooth. Machine profiles cover Brother, Janome 550E, Husqvarna Viking Jade 35, Melco Summit and ZSK Sprint 8, or any DST machine.
The studio runs an MCP server on http://127.0.0.1:7878/mcp, so Claude Code, Claude Desktop or Codex can inspect the open design, add and edit shapes and lettering, trace images, preview stitches and export, with each call as one undo step. A built-in Agent panel runs Claude Code or Codex limited to the design tools, with no shell or file access.
Is ZigZag worth it?
ZigZag's significance is less the AI than the escape route. Home embroidery machines increasingly tie digitising to vendor apps and subscriptions; ZigZag writes the five common machine formats (PES, DST, EXP, JEF, VP3) itself, which covers Brother, Janome, Husqvarna Viking, Melco and ZSK machines through built-in profiles, and talks to the Brother Skitch PP1 directly over a reverse-engineered Bluetooth protocol.
The feature list reads like a mature digitiser. 11 stitch types, auto-underlay, pull compensation, satin auto-split above 7 mm, overlap removal, routing that hides travel stitches, a density map, fabric presets, test swatches and a production worksheet; the README's own parity tables against Ink/Stitch and Wilcom Hatch mark most rows done. Missing so far: built-in embroidery fonts, monogramming, multi-hooping, gradient fills and 3D foam. Writers are checked by reading every file back through pyembroidery with identical stitch positions, alongside 136 library tests and 153 editor and MCP tests.
The agent integration is well fenced. The MCP server listens on localhost only, checks the Origin header, edits the live document you are looking at, and makes each call one undo step; the in-app Agent panel can use design tools but has no shell and no file edits. A headless stdio mode exposes the same tools without the app open.
Risks: the repository was created on 30 October 2026 and has shipped three releases in four days, so expect churn. The Skitch protocol is reverse-engineered and verified against Respira, and the project advises against firmware updates on the machine. The Windows build is unsigned and triggers SmartScreen. The author says the app was written with AI, using ChatGPT, which makes the test suite and pyembroidery cross-checks the main evidence of correctness; Ink/Stitch remains the long-established free option.
Where it earns its place
A hobbyist with a Brother Skitch PP1
Stitch my own designs without paying for Artspira+
Trace a PNG logo with Image Trace, pick satin or fill per shape, then Send to Skitch over Bluetooth with a trial run around the outline. Close Artspira first, since the machine talks to one app at a time.
A two-person shop embroidering caps on a commercial machine
Turn a customer's SVG logo into a DST file sized for a cap hoop
Choose the Melco Summit or ZSK Sprint 8 profile and the structured-cap fabric preset, check the density map, then export DST and a worksheet listing each colour stop. zigzag convert does the same from the command line.
A designer who works with Claude Code
Have an agent draft a monogram layout I then fine-tune by hand
Connect with claude mcp add --transport http zigzag http://127.0.0.1:7878/mcp and describe the design; each agent edit appears live and can be undone one step at a time.
Before you commit
- Setup
- Download the notarised DMG for macOS 11 or later, the Windows 10 or 11 zip, or the Linux tarball, or run brew install --cask simpsoka/zigzag/zigzag; no Rust needed. Building from source needs cargo with the gui and ble features.
- Integrations
- MCP over Streamable HTTP on 127.0.0.1:7878 or stdio through the zigzag-mcp bridge (with a headless mode); Claude Code, Claude Desktop and Codex documented; a zigzag CLI for batch conversion; Bluetooth LE to the Skitch.
- Data and privacy
- Runs locally; designs are saved as SVG with stitch settings embedded. The MCP server accepts only localhost connections with an Origin check, and the Agent panel's agent cannot use a shell or edit files.
- Limits
- Hoops from 20 x 60 mm to 240 x 360 mm plus custom sizes; Bluetooth sending only to the Skitch PP1; the Linux build needs glibc 2.35 or newer.
What’s good
- Writes PES, DST, EXP, JEF and VP3 without any subscription
- Direct Bluetooth sending to a Brother Skitch PP1
- 11 stitch types and most of Hatch's core feature set
- Localhost-only, Origin-checked MCP server with one undo step per call
- Signed and notarised Mac build; Windows and Linux downloads
What’s not
- Created 30 October 2026; very young
- Skitch support rests on a reverse-engineered protocol
- No built-in embroidery fonts, multi-hooping or 3D foam yet
- Windows build unsigned; SmartScreen warns on first run
- VP3 can be written but not read
Best for
Home embroiderers and small makers who want to digitise their own artwork without a vendor subscription, and who like the idea of an AI agent drafting the design.
ZigZag: common questions
- Is ZigZag worth it?
- ZigZag is a startlingly complete free alternative to subscription embroidery software for home machines, and its local-only MCP server is a model of how to let an agent into a desktop app; it is also 15 days old. We rate it 4.0 out of 5.
- How much does ZigZag cost?
- Free and open source under Apache-2.0; prebuilt downloads for macOS, Windows and Linux, plus Homebrew.
- What are the downsides of ZigZag?
- Created 30 October 2026; very young; skitch support rests on a reverse-engineered protocol; no built-in embroidery fonts, multi-hooping or 3D foam yet; windows build unsigned; SmartScreen warns on first run; vP3 can be written but not read.
- Who is ZigZag best for?
- Home embroiderers and small makers who want to digitise their own artwork without a vendor subscription, and who like the idea of an AI agent drafting the design.
- Is ZigZag safe for company data?
- Runs locally; designs are saved as SVG with stitch settings embedded. The MCP server accepts only localhost connections with an Origin check, and the Agent panel's agent cannot use a shell or edit files.
Answers checked Nov 14, 2026.
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