Grasshopper 3D

Grasshopper is a visual programming language and environment that runs within the Rhinoceros 3D computer-aided design (CAD) application. The program was created by David Rutten at Robert McNeel & Associates. Programs are created by dragging components onto a canvas. The outputs of these components are then connected to the inputs of subsequent components.

Overview
Grasshopper is primarily used to build generative algorithms, such as for generative art. Many of Grasshopper's components create 3D geometry. Programs may also contain other types of algorithms including numeric, textual, audio-visual and haptic applications.

Advanced uses of Grasshopper include parametric modelling for structural engineering, parametric modelling for architecture and fabrication, lighting performance analysis for eco-friendly architecture and building energy consumption.

The first version of Grasshopper, then called Explicit History, was released in September 2007. Grasshopper has become part of the standard Rhino toolset in Rhino 6.0 and later.

AEC Magazine stated that Grasshopper is "Popular among students and professionals, McNeel Associate’s Rhino modelling tool is endemic in the architectural design world. The new Grasshopper environment provides an intuitive way to explore designs without having to learn to script." Research supporting this claim has come from product design and architecture.