Architecture, CAD and BIM APIs and MCP servers for AI agents
Building information models, CAD geometry, construction management and GIS platforms with programmatic access.
8 architecture, cad and bim APIs an AI agent can call: auth method and header, official MCP server (4), free tier (5), docs links. Machine-readable JSON included. Agents: fetch catalog/architecture-cad-bim.json instead of parsing this page. Last checked 2026-11-04.
Ratings and usage (★) fetched: .
| Service | What an agent can do | Auth | MCP server | Free tier | Details (with sources) | Notes | Proof (ratings, usage) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Autodesk Platform Services (APS) | Upload, translate, view and automate CAD/BIM files (Model Derivative, Data Management, Design Automation) via REST APIs. | OAuth 2.0Authorization: Bearer <token> (2-legged or 3-legged OAuth2) | official | Free tier: limited usage of rated APIs (Automation, Model Derivative, Flow Graph Engine, Reality Capture) per month, renews monthly; Pay as You Go beyond that needs a card or PayPal | Base URL: https://developer.api.autodesk.com Free plan: limited monthly usage of rated APIs (Automation, Model Derivative, Flow Graph Engine, Reality Capture) ↗ OAuth scopes: data:read, bucket:read ↗ Example call: translate a model to SVF2 (Model Derivative job): POST https://developer.api.autodesk.com/modelderivative/v2/designdata/job ↗ MCP tools: 4: list_buckets, list_objects, list_hubs, list_projects ↗ | Successor to Autodesk Forge; requires an Autodesk account and app registration in the APS console. Autodesk publishes reference MCP servers (Node.js, Python, .NET) to run yourself; no hosted endpoint. | |
| Bentley iTwin Platform APIs | Create, manage and query digital twins, iModels and reality/reporting data for infrastructure projects via REST APIs. | OAuth 2.0Authorization: Bearer <token> (OAuth2 via Bentley IMS) | — | Free tier: Community plan with 100 credits/month, 10 GB cloud data, 100 GB reality data; non-commercial, non-production use only; no expiry | Base URL: https://api.bentley.com Free plan: Community tier: 100 credits/month, 10 GB cloud data, 100 GB reality data; non-commercial, non-production ↗ Rate limits: Community: 500 requests/min and 5,000 calls/hour; Standard/Premium: 5,000 requests/min ↗ OAuth scopes: itwin-platform, offline_access ↗ Example call: list the iModels of an iTwin: GET https://api.bentley.com/imodels/?iTwinId={iTwinId} ↗ Unit price: Usage billed in credits at $1.20 per credit (paid tiers); e.g. iModels 1 credit per 2 GB ingress/egress, Reporting 1 credit per 250,000 rows, Forms/Issues 1 credit per 50 queries ↗ | Built on iTwin.js; free developer account, but production data volumes/usage are billed. | |
| Onshape REST API | Create, read and modify Onshape CAD documents, parts, assemblies and drawings programmatically via REST API. | API key / OAuthAPI key pair (access/secret) via Basic auth (base64 access:secret) or optional HMAC request signature; OAuth2 Bearer token for published apps | official | free tier (public documents only); private documents need a paid plan | Base URL: https://cad.onshape.com/api Free plan: 2,500 API calls per user (Free plan; public documents only, non-commercial), per year, no card ↗ Rate limits: Annual call caps: Free/Standard 2,500 per user, Professional 5,000 per user, Enterprise 10,000 per full user; 429 on burst; public App Store OAuth apps exempt ↗ OAuth scopes: OAuth2Read, OAuth2Write ↗ Example call: get a document's metadata: GET https://cad.onshape.com/api/v10/documents/{did} ↗ | Free-tier API access is limited to public documents; private/commercial use needs a paid Onshape subscription. FeatureScript MCP server is in early access via Onshape Labs (App Store subscription). | |
| Procore API | Read and write construction project data - RFIs, submittals, drawings, budgets, schedules - via REST API. | OAuth 2.0Authorization: Bearer <token> (OAuth2 authorization code / client credentials) | official | free developer sandbox; production requires customer's paid Procore plan | Base URL: https://api.procore.com/rest/v1.0 Free plan: Developer Sandbox auto-created per registered app (seed data, separate OAuth credentials) ↗ Rate limits: Hourly limit (60-min window) plus spike limit (10-s window); see X-Rate-Limit-* headers; failed calls count ↗ Example call: list projects in a company: GET https://api.procore.com/rest/v1.0/projects?company_id={company_id} ↗ MCP tools: 5: procore_read, procore_write, converse, health, whoami ↗ | Requires joining the Procore Developer Program and OAuth app approval for production scopes; sandbox is free. Official AI Edge MCP (US02: us02.procore.com) authenticates with a Datagrid API key. | |
| Rhino.Compute (McNeel) | Run Rhino/Grasshopper geometry operations headlessly via a stateless REST API you deploy yourself. | API keyoptional RhinoComputeKey header; endpoint is otherwise open once deployed | — | Paid only: self-hosted, requires a Rhino license; core-hour billing at $0.10 per core per hour of Rhino uptime on Windows Server, no free allowance | Free plan: none, card required ↗ Example call: run a Rhino geometry operation (curve length): POST {compute_url}/rhino/geometry/curve/getlength-curve ↗ | Not a hosted SaaS signup - must self-host on Windows/Linux (IIS, Azure, AWS); requires a Rhino license. | |
| Speckle API | Send, receive and query 3D/BIM model data across CAD tools (Revit, Rhino, Grasshopper, Tekla) via GraphQL API and SDKs. | API key / OAuthAuthorization: Bearer <personal access token>, or OAuth2 for published apps | community | free Explore plan (1 project, 3 users), unlimited API calls | Base URL: https://app.speckle.systems/graphql Free plan: Explore plan: 1 project, up to 3 users, 100 versions, unlimited API calls, no card ↗ OAuth scopes: streams:read ↗ Example call: list projects in a workspace via GraphQL: POST https://app.speckle.systems/graphql ↗ | Open-source data platform; free tier has unlimited API calls but limits project/user counts. | |
| Trimble Connect API | Manage Trimble Connect projects, files, BIM models, issues/topics and metadata via REST APIs (Core, Model, Organizer). | OAuth 2.0Authorization: Bearer <token> (Trimble Identity OAuth2) | — | check pricing | Base URL: https://app.connect.trimble.com/tc/api/2.0 Rate limits: Not published; HTTP 429 Too Many Requests should be retried. Regional base URLs must be discovered via the /regions endpoint ↗ Example call: list projects: GET https://app.connect.trimble.com/tc/api/2.0/projects ↗ | Requires a Trimble Identity developer account and a registered application. | |
| Zoo Text-to-CAD API (KittyCAD) | Convert CAD files and run modeling operations via REST API; text-to-CAD generation runs through the WebSocket copilot and the MCP server. | API keyAuthorization: Bearer <token> | official | start free trial credits, then usage-based pay-as-you-go | Base URL: https://api.zoo.dev Free plan: Start free, then pay-as-you-go; some plans include monthly API usage ↗ Example call: convert a CAD file to another format: POST https://api.zoo.dev/file/conversion/{src_format}/{output_format} ↗ MCP tools: 10: zoo_execute_kcl, mock_execute_kcl, exec_kcl_project, get_modeling_sessions, start_modeling_session, stop_modeling_session … ↗ | The current OpenAPI spec at api.zoo.dev has no REST endpoint that creates a text-to-CAD model (only list/get of past results); generation runs over WebSocket copilot endpoints or the MCP server. |
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