Archicad Tapir MCP Server

This project provides a Model Context Protocol (MCP) server for Archicad. It acts as a bridge, allowing AI agents and applications (like Claude for Desktop) to interact with running Archicad instances by wrapping both the community-driven Tapir API and the official Archicad JSON API.

The server dynamically generates a comprehensive set of 191+ MCP tools from the combined API schemas, enabling fine-grained control over Archicad projects.

Key Features

• Pydantic-Powered Runtime Validation & Schema Generation: Every tool's input and output shapes are backed by rigorous Pydantic models. The server dynamically compiles these into detailed JSON Schemas for the AI agent to inspect, and strictly validates all incoming tool arguments at runtime before forwarding them to Archicad. It handles complex models, Union types, and TypeAliases seamlessly.

• Progressive Tool Discovery (CLI-style): The server uses a deterministic workflow (archicad_list_commands and archicad_get_command_schema) that allows AI agents to list available commands and fetch exact parameter schemas on demand. This avoids flooding the model's context window with large schemas.

• No Heavy Machine-Learning Dependencies: Vector-based search has been removed. The server no longer requires heavy packages like PyTorch, faiss-cpu, or sentence-transformers, dramatically reducing the package size and eliminating server startup delays.

• Massive Toolset, Minimal Footprint: Provides access to a unified toolset of 191+ commands by merging the community Tapir API and the official Archicad JSON API.

• Flexible Network Transports: Supports sse (Server-Sent Events) and streamable-http transports in addition to standard input/output (stdio), allowing the server to be run on remote host configurations.

• Bearer Token Authentication: Secures HTTP endpoints when using SSE or Streamable-HTTP via an opt-in token validation middleware (--token flag or TAPIR_MCP_TOKEN environment variable).

• Multi-Instance Control: Connect to and manage multiple running Archicad instances simultaneously, targeting commands to specific instances via port numbers.

• Cross-Platform Support: Compatible with both Windows and macOS systems.

Related MCP server: Fusion360 MCP Server

Installation & Setup

Follow these steps to get the server running and connected to an MCP client like Claude for Desktop.

1. Prerequisites

• Python 3.12+ and uv: Ensure you have a modern version of Python and the uv package manager installed.

• Archicad & Tapir Add-On: You must have Archicad running (which includes the official JSON API). To access the full set of community-developed tools, the Tapir Archicad Add-On must also be installed.

• MCP Client: An application that can host MCP servers, such as Claude for Desktop or Gemini CLI.

2. Configure Your AI Client

Open your client's config.json file and add the following configuration. This command works across operating systems:

• macOS: ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json

• Windows: %APDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ArchicadTapir": {
      "command": "uvx",
      "args": [
        "--from",
        "tapir-archicad-mcp",
        "archicad-server"
      ]
    }
  }
}

Configuration Options

You can customize the server via CLI flags or environment variables:

Usage

1. Restart Claude for Desktop to apply configuration changes.

2. Ensure at least one instance of Archicad is running.

3. The client will initially have access to a small set of core tools. Start by asking the AI to find running Archicad instances:

   "Can you check what Archicad projects I have running?"

   The AI will call discovery_list_active_archicads and report the active instances and their port numbers.

4. State your main goal:

   "Using port 19723, get all the Wall elements from the project."

5. The AI will execute a progressive discovery and calling loop:

   • Step 1: It queries archicad_list_commands to look up the correct command name for the requested action (identifying elements_get_elements_by_type).

   • Step 2: It calls archicad_get_command_schema with the target command name to retrieve the exact required JSON parameter structure.

   • Step 3: It calls archicad_call_tool with the command name, the targeted port, and the required parameter payload.

How It Works

The server operates through a layered architecture:

• AI Agent (e.g., Claude): Interprets user prompts and orchestrates tool discovery.

• MCP Client (e.g., Claude for Desktop): Manages the server process and handles communication.

• MCP Server (This Project): Standardizes tool descriptions, parameters, and results, presenting a clean list/schema/call interface.

• multiconn_archicad Library: Resolves active socket connections and handles low-level command dispatch to Archicad instances.

• Archicad & Tapir Add-On: Built-in APIs and Tapir Add-on execute commands and return structured data.

Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please feel free to submit an issue or open a pull request.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License. See the LICENSE file for details.