civil3d-mcp Non-Official from Autodesk. Only research

AI-powered Autodesk Civil 3D automation via FastMCP (Python 3.11).
Connects Claude directly to a running Civil 3D instance using COM automation — no companion plugin required.

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How it works

Claude Desktop  ──stdio──►  FastMCP server (Python 3.11)
                               │
                               ├── win32com.client.GetActiveObject("AutoCAD.Application")
                               │       │
                               └── pythonnet clr → AeccDbMgd.dll / AeccLandMgd.dll
                                       │
                                       ▼
                               Civil 3D (acad.exe, running on same machine)

Python talks directly to the running Civil 3D process via the Windows COM server that Civil 3D registers automatically when it starts. pythonnet additionally loads Autodesk's .NET managed assemblies to access Civil 3D–specific objects (surfaces, alignments, COGO points) that aren't exposed through the base AutoCAD COM interface.

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Architecture

See ARCHITECTURE.md for the full system design: layer breakdown, COM connection strategy, request lifecycle, threading model, COM out-parameter handling, error strategy, and the Civil 3D object model reference.

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Requirements

Requirement	Notes
Windows 10/11	COM automation is Windows-only
Python 3.11	64-bit recommended
Autodesk Civil 3D	2023, 2024, 2025 or 2026 — must be open with a drawing loaded
pip packages	fastmcp, pythonnet, pywin32, pydantic

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Installation

# 1. Clone
git clone https://github.com/yourname/civil3d-mcp-python
cd civil3d-mcp-python

# 2. Install dependencies (Windows, Python 3.11)
pip install -r requirements.txt

# 3. Install the package in editable mode
pip install -e .

# 4. Run the pre-flight environment checker
python setup_check.py
# Use --fix to auto-install any missing pip packages:
python setup_check.py --fix

# 5. (Optional) copy environment config
copy .env.example .env
# Edit .env if Civil 3D is not in the default installation path

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Configuration

Claude Desktop

Edit %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json and add:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "civil3d-mcp": {
      "command": "civil3d-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Or, if you prefer to run without installing the package:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "civil3d-mcp": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "civil3d_mcp.server"],
      "cwd": "C:\\path\\to\\civil3d-mcp-python",
      "env": {
        "PYTHONPATH": "C:\\path\\to\\civil3d-mcp-python\\src",
        "CIVIL3D_BIN_PATH": "C:\\Program Files\\Autodesk\\AutoCAD 2026"
      }
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. The hammer icon (🔨) in the toolbar confirms the server is connected.

Environment variables

Variable	Default	Purpose
CIVIL3D_BIN_PATH	Auto-detected	Path to folder containing AeccDbMgd.dll
LOG_LEVEL	INFO	DEBUG / INFO / WARNING / ERROR

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Available tools (19 total)

Drawing

Tool	Description
get_drawing_info	Drawing name, path, save state, unit settings
list_civil_object_types	Count objects by type in model space
get_selected_objects_info	Properties of currently selected objects

COGO Points

Tool	Description
create_cogo_point	Create a point at (northing, easting, elevation) STILL WIP!!!!
list_cogo_points	List all COGO points
delete_cogo_point	Delete a point by point number

Lines & Polylines

Tool	Description
create_line	Create a 3D line from two points
create_polyline	Create a 3D polyline from a vertex list
list_lines	List all lines/polylines, optionally by layer

Surfaces

Tool	Description
list_surfaces	List all TIN/Grid surfaces with elevation stats
get_surface_info	Detailed stats: point/triangle count, 2D/3D area
sample_surface_elevation	Sample elevation at (easting, northing)
list_surface_definition	List all definition items (boundaries, breaklines, contours, DEM files, etc.)

Alignments & Profiles

Tool	Description
list_alignments	List all alignments with station range and length
get_alignment_info	Geometry breakdown: tangents, curves, spirals
get_station_offset	Project a world point to station + offset
list_profiles	List all profiles attached to an alignment
get_profile_info	Detailed info for a named profile

Corridors

Tool	Description
get_corridor_info	Baselines, regions, and assembly tree for a corridor

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Example prompts

"What surfaces are in this drawing and what are their elevation ranges?"

"Create a COGO point at northing 1000, easting 500, elevation 12.5 with description 'BM-01'"

"What is the elevation of the EG surface at easting 45200, northing 87300?"

"List all alignments and give me the geometry breakdown of CL-MAIN"

"What is the station and offset of point (45300, 87450) relative to alignment CL-MAIN?"

"Create a polyline on layer BOUNDARY with vertices at (0,0,0), (100,0,0), (100,100,0), (0,100,0) and close it"

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Project structure

civil3d-mcp-python/
├── src/
│   └── civil3d_mcp/
│       ├── __init__.py           # Public API: Civil3DClient, Civil3DError
│       ├── server.py             # FastMCP app, lifecycle, tool registration
│       ├── client.py             # Civil3DClient — all COM/pythonnet calls
│       ├── tools_drawing.py      # Tools 1-3:  drawing info
│       ├── tools_cogo.py         # Tools 4-6:  COGO points
│       ├── tools_lines.py        # Tools 7-9:  lines & polylines
│       ├── tools_surfaces.py     # Tools 10-13: surfaces
│       ├── tools_alignments.py  # Tools 14-18: alignments & profiles
│       └── tools_corridors.py   # Tool  19:    corridors
├── tests/
│   ├── __init__.py
│   └── test_tools.py             # pytest suite (fully mocked COM)
├── setup.py                      # Legacy setuptools entry point
├── setup_check.py                # Pre-flight environment checker
├── pyproject.toml                # PEP 517/518 build config
├── requirements.txt              # Runtime dependencies
├── requirements-dev.txt          # Dev/test dependencies
├── conftest.py                   # pytest sys.path injection
├── .env.example                  # Environment variable template
├── claude_desktop_config_snippet.json
├── ARCHITECTURE.md               # Full system design documentation
└── README.md

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Running tests

pip install -e ".[dev]"
pytest tests/ -v

Tests use a fully mocked Civil3DClient — no Civil 3D installation required to run the test suite.

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Troubleshooting

"Could not connect to a running Civil 3D instance"
→ Make sure Civil 3D is open and a drawing is loaded before starting the MCP server.

"Civil 3D .NET assemblies not found"
→ Set CIVIL3D_BIN_PATH in .env to the folder containing AeccDbMgd.dll
→ Default path: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\AutoCAD 2024

"Surfaces / Alignments collection not accessible"
→ Ensure you launched Civil 3D (not plain AutoCAD). The server falls back to AutoCAD's ProgID if the Civil 3D ProgID isn't registered.

Hammer icon not showing in Claude Desktop
→ Check Claude Desktop logs: %APPDATA%\Claude\logs\
→ Run python -m civil3d_mcp.server manually to see startup errors.

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License

MIT