Add Narwhal_3D

[probonopd]

Repository: https://github.com/ContributionRich/Narwhal3D

Free, open-source, command-driven NURBS CAD with exact manufacturing geometry

• Stars: 5
• Release with the AppImage: v0.4.0 (2026-10-13T06:48:05Z)
• AppImage asset: Narwhal_3D-0.4.0-x86_64.AppImage
• License: GPL-3.0

Found by .github/workflows/discover-apps.yml, which looks for GitHub
repositories that publish AppImages but are not in the catalog yet. This
entry was not tested by a human; please review it before merging.

[github-actions]

❌ Test failure

@ContributionRich: this pull request adds the AppImage from your GitHub repository to the AppImage catalog; the test reports the following. Could you have a look?

Tested:

• Narwhal_3D-0.4.0-x86_64.AppImage from release v0.4.0

Compatibility: not self-contained: uses the C library of the system; references glibc 2.43

• The AppImage needs a newer C library (glibc, or the C++ library libstdc++) than the test system has; the error names the version that is missing (e.g. GLIBC_2.38). The test runs on the oldest Ubuntu LTS release that is still in standard support (see https://ubuntu.com/about/release-cycle), because an AppImage is meant to run on any current Linux distribution, including older ones, and glibc can only be as old as the system the AppImage was built on: a program built on a newer system links against symbols that older systems do not have. The fix is to build on the oldest still-supported LTS release (in GitHub Actions, the oldest ubuntu-* runner still offered, or a container of that release), not on the newest system. If the program itself needs a newer compiler, build in a container of the old release with a newer toolchain (e.g. the toolchain PPAs), statically link what needs it, or bundle the C library together with its dynamic loader (ld-linux) in the AppImage: then the host's glibc does not matter at all (the test reports X-AppImage-Libc=bundled). See https://docs.appimage.org/reference/best-practices.html#binaries-compiled-on-old-enough-base-system
• The application quit or crashed right after starting; the error below usually shows why. Note that the test runs the application without network access, on purpose, and that this is a requirement for the catalog: an AppImage must start without network (users are offline too). If the application needs a server, a login or an update check to start, please make it show its window (or at least a message) first and connect afterwards, and handle a failed connection instead of exiting.

First error in the log:

/run/firejail/appimage/usr/lib/narwhal3d/tools/blender-patched/blender: /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libm.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.38' not found (required by /run/firejail/appimage/usr/lib/narwhal3d/tools/blender-patched/blender)
/run/firejail/appimage/usr/lib/narwhal3d/tools/blender-patched/blender: /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libm.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.43' not found (required by /run/firejail/appimage/usr/lib/narwhal3d/tools/blender-patched/blender)
/run/firejail/appimage/usr/lib/narwhal3d/tools/blender-patched/blender: /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.38' not found (required by /run/firejail/appimage/usr/lib/narwhal3d/tools/blender-patched/blender)

The application showed no window, but may be a system tray application (usr/lib/narwhal3d/tools/blender-patched/lib/libSDL3.so.0.4.2: app_indicator_new); running it again with a system tray
/run/firejail/appimage/usr/lib/narwhal3d/tools/blender-patched/blender: /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libm.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.38' not found (required by /run/firejail/appimage/usr/lib/narwhal3d/tools/blender-patched/blender)
/run/firejail/appimage/usr/lib/narwhal3d/tools/blender-patched/blender: /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libm.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.43' not found (required by /run/firejail/appimage/usr/lib/narwhal3d/tools/blender-patched/blender)
/run/firejail/appimage/usr/lib/narwhal3d/tools/blender-patched/blender: /lib/x86_64-linux-gnu/libc.so.6: version `GLIBC_2.38' not found (required by /run/firejail/appimage/usr/lib/narwhal3d/tools/blender-patched/blender)
No icon appeared in the system tray either
ERROR: The application exited within 11 seconds instead of showing a window

What next: once the AppImage is fixed (e.g. in a new release), comment /retest here to test it again. If it should not be in the catalog after all, close this pull request; an app that is already in the catalog can be removed by a maintainer with /remove.

Commit 5b72498. Full log

[ContributionRich]

Confirmed. The bundled native executable was built on a glibc 2.43 host; its ELF version requirements include GLIBC_2.38 and GLIBC_2.43, so the immediate exit on the catalog Ubuntu baseline is expected and is not a network-startup failure. Narwhal 3D is still an extremely early prerelease, and v0.4.0 is now marked as a GitHub prerelease. We will keep future builds on the 0.4.x line, rebuild the native runtime in an Ubuntu 22.04/glibc 2.35 environment (or equivalently old supported base), and add a fail-closed maximum-GLIBC gate before publishing another AppImage. Please do not merge this catalog entry yet. Once a corrected 0.4.x prerelease is published and independently verified, we will request /retest here.

[ContributionRich]

/retest

[github-actions]

✅ Test passed

Please check that the screenshot shows the application's main window.

Narwhal_3D

Tested:

• Narwhal_3D-0.4.1-x86_64.AppImage from release v0.4.1 (marked as a pre-release)

Compatibility: not self-contained: uses the C library of the system; references glibc 2.28

Warnings:

• The AppImage contains no update information, so users cannot update it with AppImageUpdate or similar tools. Please consider embedding it when building the AppImage (e.g., appimagetool -u) and publishing the .zsync file next to the AppImage; see https://docs.appimage.org/packaging-guide/optional/updates.html

Commit 5b72498. Full log