Bentley MCP Adapter

Bentley MCP Adapter discovers local Bentley application installations, emits MCP client configuration, and runs ordered connectivity checks for MicroStation, STAAD.Pro, and PLAXIS without replacing their MCP servers.

Status

Verified on 2026-09-07:

Not yet verified: a clean second machine, PLAXIS Output, stable provenance for the OpenSTAAD executable used during live validation, and a local llama.cpp model chain. See HANDOVER.md.

Client verification uses three levels: verified, detected but not installed, and shape-only. GitHub Copilot, VS Code, Codex, Claude Code, and Cline are now verified with installed generated configurations and status calls from every enabled server. Claude Desktop, Kilo Code, Cursor, OpenCode, and Continue remain shape-only. Evidence is in docs/CLIENTS.md.

The adapter is client-neutral and model-neutral. Client targets and model providers are separate plugins. The local-provider path targets llama-server; no local provider was detected during verification.

Related MCP server: ContextForge

Requirements

• Bring an MCP client. The adapter detects and configures supported clients; it does not install one.

• Bring a model provider. A hosted provider requires no adapter model setup. The optional local path uses an existing llama.cpp llama-server; the adapter does not install it or choose weights.

• Windows 11

• Python 3.13

• PyYAML 6

• MicroStation 2026.1 build 26.00.01.65 with Bentley Copilot MCP installed

• Node.js for the MicroStation stdio launcher

• STAAD.Pro 2026 version 26.0.0.340

• OpenSTAAD MCP 1.2.0, installed or cached before offline launch

• A PLAXIS 2D build accepted by stock plaxis-mcp 0.3.5 runtime attestation. Its current-312 profile covers the 2024.2+ generation only when the bundled Python is exactly 3.12.3.

• plaxis-mcp 0.3.5; use its signed executable for production. The 2023.2 live proof used a local patch and is not reproducible with the stock package.

• uv and uvx when using the declared evaluation launchers

• Elevation for the MicroStation MCP MSI installation

• A local writable working directory outside profile roots, shares, and synced folders

See docs/PLAXIS-COMPATIBILITY.md for the stock runtime-profile matrix and the procedure for verifying a newer build.

Install and first run

New-Item -ItemType Directory -Force C:\mcp-work
Copy-Item profiles\site.example.yaml profiles\site.yaml
uv build --wheel --out-dir dist
deploy.bat

Edit profiles\site.yaml. Complete every version-record field, set workspace_root, select modules and tiers, and confirm the port map.

Start each application with a disposable model open. In MicroStation, load Copilot and run copilot mcpstart. In PLAXIS, enable the role server on the assigned port and run plaxis-mcp setup after any port change.

deploy.bat installs the wheel, resolves the machine, detects clients, delivers the harness, previews diffs, pauses for confirmation, emits only to verified detected clients, and runs preflight. deploy.bat --check performs a read-only drift check. Do not continue unless all required stages pass. Full instructions are in docs/INSTALL.md; agent behavior is governed by docs/harness.md.

Supported clients

Hand-written whole-application configs are not overwritten. The adapter writes a .bentley.generated sibling for review and merge.

Port map

The application owns the port. Change it in the PLAXIS dialog, then run plaxis-mcp setup. Never redirect an endpoint with a PLAXIS_* environment variable. See docs/PORTS.md.

Limits

• Windows only. No WSL, Docker, gateway, tunnel, or remote transport is shipped.

• MicroStation MCP is early access; verification does not transfer to another build.

• PLAXIS Output has not been verified on the operator machine.

• No stock plaxis-mcp 0.3.5 proof exists for PLAXIS 2023.2 with bundled Python 3.8.17. The recorded proof used an uncertified local patch.

• PLAXIS 2024.2+ is allowed to reach upstream runtime attestation and live reads, but no newer application build has been live-verified here.

• PLAXIS 2D 2025.1.3.5 is known incompatible with pinned plaxis-mcp 0.3.5: it uses Python Distribution V3 and bundled Python 3.12.12.

• No clean second-machine run has been completed.

• The live OpenSTAAD executable did not have stable release provenance.

• Read tiers reduce the Copilot tool surface. The generated VS Code file contains no tool allowlist, so it does not enforce tier restriction.

• Local MCP traffic does not make cloud-model prompts local.

• The adapter checks configuration and connectivity, not engineering results.

• The llama.cpp path is shape- and test-verified only. No local model chain has completed on the operator machine.

Attribution

The adapter uses Bentley's MCP interfaces, the independent yixuanzhong/PLAXIS-MCP profile and credential pattern, and the protocol-neutral core and adapter pattern from gaopengbin/cesium-mcp. SeequentEvo/evo-mcp is cited as prior art for tool catalogue filtering. Protocol behavior follows the Model Context Protocol specification. Licence details and all consulted projects are in CREDITS.md.

Licence

Bentley MCP Adapter is licensed under the MIT License. Third-party projects and Bentley applications retain their own licences and terms.