Requirements and install.

What you need

Requirements: Adobe Illustrator 2024 onwards, on Windows.

macOS and CorelDRAW on the roadmap. Nester does not run there today.

The nesting engine is a small program that ships with the plugin. There is no account to create and no separate download: install the plugin and the engine comes with it.

How to install

Nester is one free download, the same file whether you have paid or not. Download it, run the installer, restart Illustrator, and the panel is under Window, then Extensions.

No download here yet: the signed installer is not finished. Email hello@bluegrey.ai and we send you the current Nester build by hand.

Until you enter an activation code, Nester nests and prices your artwork but will not place the result on your artboard. Paste the code into the panel and Place unlocks. The code is in the receipt email from Lemon Squeezy the moment you pay.

Open it

Open it from Window, then Extensions, then Nester.

Select your parts, nest, place. That is the whole job. The help guide starts with your first nest.

If Windows warns you

The nesting engine is a small program that ships with the plugin, and Windows is cautious about programs it has not seen many times before. It is safe to keep. The signed installer removes the warning altogether.

Activation codes, seats and machines

Each tier allows a set number of seats and machines: Solo 1 seat, 2 machines; Shop 5 seats, 10 machines; Site 20 seats, 40 machines. One seat covers two machines, for example a desktop and a laptop. The number of seats is how many people can be signed in at the same time. Enter your code on one more machine than your tier allows and the panel says so and stays as it was until an activation is released. A machine that is off the network is allowed 30 days before it has to check in. The detail, in plain English, is on the licence page.

The download itself needs no code and no account.