FreeCAD MCP

Instructions

Args:
    view_name: The name of the view to get the screenshot of.
    The following views are available:
    - "Isometric"
    - "Front"
    - "Top"
    - "Right"
    - "Back"
    - "Left"
    - "Bottom"
    - "Dimetric"
    - "Trimetric"

Returns:
    A screenshot of the active view.

Implementation Reference

• src/freecad_mcp/server.py:438-465 (handler)

  The primary handler for the 'get_view' tool. It is registered via the @mcp.tool() decorator and implements the logic to retrieve a screenshot from the specified FreeCAD view by calling the helper method.

  @mcp.tool()
  def get_view(ctx: Context, view_name: Literal["Isometric", "Front", "Top", "Right", "Back", "Left", "Bottom", "Dimetric", "Trimetric"]) -> list[ImageContent | TextContent]:
      """Get a screenshot of the active view.
  
      Args:
          view_name: The name of the view to get the screenshot of.
          The following views are available:
          - "Isometric"
          - "Front"
          - "Top"
          - "Right"
          - "Back"
          - "Left"
          - "Bottom"
          - "Dimetric"
          - "Trimetric"
  
      Returns:
          A screenshot of the active view.
      """
      freecad = get_freecad_connection()
      screenshot = freecad.get_active_screenshot(view_name)
      
      if screenshot is not None:
          return [ImageContent(type="image", data=screenshot, mimeType="image/png")]
      else:
          return [TextContent(type="text", text="Cannot get screenshot in the current view type (such as TechDraw or Spreadsheet)")]

• src/freecad_mcp/server.py:45-79 (helper)

  Supporting helper method in the FreeCADConnection class used by get_view to safely obtain a screenshot, including view compatibility checks.

      def get_active_screenshot(self, view_name: str = "Isometric") -> str | None:
          try:
              # Check if we're in a view that supports screenshots
              result = self.server.execute_code("""
  import FreeCAD
  import FreeCADGui
  
  if FreeCAD.Gui.ActiveDocument and FreeCAD.Gui.ActiveDocument.ActiveView:
      view_type = type(FreeCAD.Gui.ActiveDocument.ActiveView).__name__
      
      # These view types don't support screenshots
      unsupported_views = ['SpreadsheetGui::SheetView', 'DrawingGui::DrawingView', 'TechDrawGui::MDIViewPage']
      
      if view_type in unsupported_views or not hasattr(FreeCAD.Gui.ActiveDocument.ActiveView, 'saveImage'):
          print("Current view does not support screenshots")
          False
      else:
          print(f"Current view supports screenshots: {view_type}")
          True
  else:
      print("No active view")
      False
  """)
  
              # If the view doesn't support screenshots, return None
              if not result.get("success", False) or "Current view does not support screenshots" in result.get("message", ""):
                  logger.info("Screenshot unavailable in current view (likely Spreadsheet or TechDraw view)")
                  return None
  
              # Otherwise, try to get the screenshot
              return self.server.get_active_screenshot(view_name)
          except Exception as e:
              # Log the error but return None instead of raising an exception
              logger.error(f"Error getting screenshot: {e}")
              return None