How do I use QCAD MCP?

1. Click on "Deploy Server". 2. Wait a few minutes for the server to deploy. Once ready, it will show a "Started" state. 3. In the chat, type @ followed by the MCP server name and your instructions, e.g., "@QCAD MCP render floorplan.dxf to SVG and extrude its walls into a 3D STL" That's it! The server will respond to your query, and you can continue using it as needed. Here is a step-by-step guide with screenshots.

QCAD MCP

by sandraschi

Overview Schema Source Related Servers Discussions Admin

Python

QCAD MCP

AI-driven 2D CAD automation — DXF/DWG parsing, 3D extrusion, persistent file depot, room analysis, and full CRUD management. 42 MCP tools for DXF processing. Your AI assistant becomes a QCAD Pro operator.


You might use this if…	You want your AI to process floor plans programmatically, convert DXF to 3D for Resonite/Unity3D, maintain a persistent CAD file depot, or automate drafting workflows.
What it connects to	`ezdxf` (free Python engine) for all parsing + rendering + extrusion + analysis
Ports	Backend 11966, Dashboard 11967
Start	`just bootstrap` then `start.ps1`

MCP Tools

Tool	Access	Purpose
`plan_depot`	READ	List files in the persistent CAD depot with metadata
`plan_info`	READ	DXF metadata: layers, entity counts, bounding box, blocks
`plan_create`	MUTATE	Create DXF from primitives (line, rect, circle, text, polyline)
`plan_to_svg`	MUTATE	DXF → SVG preview with layer filtering
`plan_extrude`	MUTATE	DXF walls → 3D STL mesh (configurable height/thickness)
`plan_export`	MUTATE	DXF → SVG/PNG/PDF (ezdxf or QCAD Pro)
`plan_analyse`	READ	Room detection, area calculation, door/window identification
`plan_measure`	READ	Measure distances and lengths in a DXF
`plan_wall_data`	READ	Extract wall segments as BIM-ready JSON (QCAD Pro)
`plan_beam_analysis`	READ	2D beam FEM analysis (numpy, no QCAD needed)
`plan_dimension`	MUTATE	Add aligned/linear/angular/radial dimensions (QCAD Pro)
`plan_text`	MUTATE	Add text annotations (QCAD Pro)
`plan_hatch`	MUTATE	Add hatch patterns (QCAD Pro)
`plan_block_insert`	MUTATE	Insert CAD blocks from library (QCAD Pro)
`plan_array`	MUTATE	Rectangular/polar array patterns (QCAD Pro)
`plan_convert`	MUTATE	Convert between DXF and DWG (QCAD Pro)
`plan_modify`	MUTATE	Delete/offset/rename/freeze layers
`plan_script`	MUTATE	Execute arbitrary ECMAScript in QCAD Pro
`plan_render`	MUTATE	High-fidelity SVG/PDF/BMP render via QCAD Pro
`plan_exec`	MUTATE	Quick ECMAScript snippet execution
`plan_blocks`	READ	Search 4800+ CAD blocks from part library
`plan_blocks_download`	MUTATE	Download a block DXF from library
`plan_scripts_search`	READ	Search QCAD ECMAScript scripts gallery
`plan_scripts_download`	MUTATE	Download a script from gallery/Gist
`qcad_status`	READ	QCAD Pro install/running/version report
`plan_agentic`	MUTATE	NL → ECMAScript via AI sampling (MCP only, needs QCAD Pro)
`plan_transpile`	MUTATE	AutoLISP → QCAD ECMAScript translation (MCP only, needs QCAD Pro)
`plan_generate`	MUTATE	Floor-plan DXF from a text brief via local LLM
`plan_stack`	MUTATE	Multi-storey wall extrusion to STL
`plan_obj` / `plan_glb`	MUTATE	Extrusion output → OBJ / GLB (Resonite path)
`plan_drawings`	READ	Drawing-set helpers for multi-sheet DXF
`plan_auto_dimension`	MUTATE	Auto-dimension wall geometry (BIM)
`plan_building_meta`	READ	Building/storey metadata for BIM handoff
`plan_to_ifc_data`	READ	Wall data as IFC-shaped JSON
`qcad_help`	READ	Live help catalog: tools, REST routes, config
`qcad_shutdown`	READ	Orderly server shutdown (confirm=true)

Related MCP server: autocad-mcp

Fleet Crossconnects (Companions)

qcad-mcp works completely standalone. You can optionally connect it with companion servers in the sandraschi fleet to unlock extended features:

Companion Server	Feature Unlocked	Status	Setup
`blender-mcp`	3d-scene-extrusion, render-dxf-layouts	Optional	Install Guide
`freecad-mcp`	2d-draft-to-parametric-3d	Optional	Install Guide

Self-Contained Companions: Fleet companions operate independently. Installing companions does not trigger transitive dependency chains.

CAD Depot (Persistent File Storage)

All CAD files are stored in a persistent depot at %LOCALAPPDATA%\qcad-mcp\depot — survives server restarts and system reboots. Configurable via QCAD_MCP_DEPOT env var.

Depot CRUD via REST API:

Endpoint	Method	Description
`/api/v1/depot`	GET	List all files with metadata (size, dates, description, tags)
`/api/v1/depot/{name}`	GET	Download a DXF file
`/api/v1/depot/{name}`	PUT	Rename or update description/tags
`/api/v1/depot/{name}`	DELETE	Remove file + metadata sidecar
`/api/v1/depot/create`	POST	Create DXF from JSON entity spec (line, rect, circle, text, polyline)
`/api/v1/depot/upload`	POST	Upload DXF/DWG directly to depot

REST API

Endpoint	Method	Description
`/api/v1/status`	GET	Server health, ezdxf version, QCAD Pro status
`/api/v1/upload`	POST	Upload DXF/DWG (also saved to depot)
`/api/v1/download/{name}`	GET	Download SVG/STL/PDF/PNG outputs
`/api/v1/files`	GET	List all files (depot + outputs)
`/api/v1/depot/*`	GET/PUT/DELETE	Full CRUD on the persistent CAD depot
`/api/v1/control/tool`	POST	Execute any MCP tool
`/api/v1/logs/stream`	GET	SSE live log stream
`/api/v1/chat`	POST	Chat with CAD expert via Ollama
`/api/v1/settings`	GET/PUT	LLM + extrusion defaults + QCAD Pro path

Webapp Pages

Route	Page	Description
`/`	Dashboard	Hero banner, QCAD Pro status panel, depot stats, ezdxf version
`/demo`	AI CAD Demo	NL → floor plan → SVG → 3D STL. Baroque church, mob compound, art museum presets
`/depot`	Depot	Full CRUD file browser with SVG preview, create DXF wizard, upload, rename, delete
`/viewer`	Viewer	DXF upload + SVG preview with per-layer toggle
`/extrude`	Extrude	DXF → STL with wall height/thickness/wall-layer controls
`/analyse`	Analyse	Room detection, area table, door/window list
`/layers`	Layers	Layer visibility, freeze/lock, rename, bulk operations
`/blocks`	Blocks	Search 4800+ CAD blocks from library with download
`/scripts`	Scripts	Browse QCAD ECMAScript scripts gallery + save local scripts
`/agentic`	AI Agent	Autonomous multi-step CAD workflow (QCAD Pro)
`/batch`	Batch	Run info/analysis/extrude across all depot files. STL batch extrude with gallery
`/pipeline`	Pipeline	5-step wizard: describe → SVG → analyse → STL → FreeCAD wall data export
`/playground`	Playground	Tool API tester: select any tool, edit JSON args, execute, view raw response
`/models`	Models	Uploads vs outputs listing with download
`/logs`	Logs	Live SSE log viewer with filter/export/pause
`/settings`	Settings	LLM provider/model, extrusion defaults, QCAD Pro path
`/help`	Help	10-tabbed reference: QCAD, ezdxf, tools, pipeline, formats, fleet
`docs/floorplan-sources.md`	—	Free, paid, and historic floorplan sources + raster→DXF pipeline

Quick Start

just bootstrap   # uv sync + npm install
start.ps1        # kills zombies, starts backend + frontend, opens browser

Install (Claude Desktop, Windows)

irm https://github.com/sandraschi/qcad-mcp/releases/latest/download/install.ps1 | iex

Installs the stable qcad-mcp.mcpb bundle into Claude Desktop. Other clients (Cursor, VS Code, OpenCode): use uvx with the stdio entry:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "qcad-mcp": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--directory", "D:\\Dev\\repos\\qcad-mcp", "run_server.py"]
    }
  }
}

MCP Client Config

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "qcad": {
      "url": "http://localhost:11966/sse",
      "transport": "sse"
    }
  }
}

Raster → DXF Pipeline (Planned)

Scanning a floorplan print into a working DXF is straightforward:

Book/magazine page → scanner (300-600 DPI)          inkscape-mcp
                         ↓                          (Trace Bitmap)
                    Potrace / Inkscape                    ↓
                         ↓                          QCAD MCP
                    Raw vector DXF                    (plan_modify)
                         ↓
                    Clean up in QCAD / plan_modify

Step	Tool	What it does
Scan	Any scanner	300-600 DPI, grayscale or B&W, save as PNG/TIFF
Vectorize	inkscape-mcp `trace_bitmap()` or potrace CLI	Converts raster lines to SVG paths
Convert	SVG → DXF (via potrace or ezdxf)	Opens in any CAD program
Clean	qcad-mcp `plan_modify`	Merge short segments, delete stray marks, re-layer, re-dimension

Two approaches:

inkscape-mcp route — send the scanned PNG to inkscape-mcp's trace_bitmap() tool, get back SVG with proper path geometry. The SVG imports cleanly into QCAD as workable entities.
potrace in qcad-mcp — add a plan_raster_to_dxf(file_name) tool that wraps potrace + ezdxf. Self-contained, no external server needed.

Either way, the result goes through plan_modify for cleanup (delete noise, merge wall segments, re-assign layers, re-add dimensions). The baroque church preset in the Demo page proves the parametric geometry works — scanning would let you capture actual existing buildings.

QCAD Pro Pricing — €50? Really?

QCAD Professional sells for €50.40 for a single-user license — lifetime, no subscription. That looks absurd next to AutoCAD at $2,000+/year, but RibbonSoft's revenue model is more nuanced:

Product	Price	Market
Community Edition	Free (GPLv3)	Hobbyists, students, tinkerers
QCAD Professional	€50.40	Individual professionals, small firms
QCAD Pro Site License	€440.40	Companies (unlimited seats, single site)
QCAD Pro Server License	€583.20	Self-hosted deployment
QCAD Pro Scalable Server	€1,771.20	Enterprise-scale
QCAD/CAM (CNC add-on)	€132.00	Manufacturing
QCAD/CAM Site License	€1,173.60	CNC shops
Books / E-Books	€40–42 each	Documentation, passive income

The strategy is open-core freemium with enterprise site-license extraction:

Community Edition is genuinely free and capable (GPLv3). It's a giant funnel — architects, makers, and students learn on it, recommend it, and eventually their employer buys a site license.
€50 individual is friction-free "impulse buy" pricing — no PO approval needed, no vendor negotiation. You just buy it.
Site & server licenses (€440–€1,771) are where the real revenue lives. An architecture firm with 20 seats paying €440 beats 200 individuals paying €50. And server licenses for SaaS/on-prem deployment scale further.
QCAD/CAM at €132 captures the CNC/manufacturing niche — a separate, higher-value market.
Books at €40 are pure margin — the manual is already written, printing costs are negligible.

RibbonSoft is a Swiss GmbH (limited company) based in Sarnen, not retirees. 100% of their office energy is from Swiss hydropower (they're proud enough to put it in the footer). They've been doing this since 1999 — 26+ years of sustainable bootstrapping.

Who pays? Ganesh in Bangalore runs the Community Edition for his residential projects — it handles DXF perfectly for Indian building code drawings. When a client demands DWG or PDF export, he drops €50 on Pro — one job pays for it. As his practice scales past 5 seats, he graduates to a site license. Meanwhile a European architecture firm pays €440 for compliance reasons and never thinks twice. The Bay Area Autodesk tax ($2,500+/year) only makes sense when someone else is paying.

€50 clears every threshold, everywhere. No PO approval, no vendor negotiation, no subscription clock. You buy it once and own it.

Quality Stack

Python: Ruff linter + format, Pyright typecheck — src/ + run_server.py
Frontend: Biome + tsc --noEmit — 18 TypeScript pages
Protocol: FastMCP 3.4 (stdio + HTTP /mcp) + 40 REST routes
Tools: 42 MCP tools with READ_ONLY/MUTATING annotations
Automation: Justfile recipes for all fleet operations
Tests: pytest (78+) + Playwright e2e specs

License

MIT — see LICENSE.

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QCAD MCP

MCP Tools

Fleet Crossconnects (Companions)

CAD Depot (Persistent File Storage)

REST API

Webapp Pages

Quick Start

Install (Claude Desktop, Windows)

MCP Client Config

Raster → DXF Pipeline (Planned)

QCAD Pro Pricing — €50? Really?

Quality Stack

License

Maintenance

Resources

Related MCP Connectors

Related MCP Servers

ai-cad-workbench

autocad-mcp

AutoCAD 2024 MCP

AutoCAD MCP