Which Archicad 30 MCP tool group will you use most?

[Mohamed Raslan]

Archicad 30 introduced MCP support through the built-in AI Assistant (Beta) and the Public Archicad MCP Server for desktop AI tools like Claude Desktop, Cursor, and others. We’re adding more tools over time, and we want your experience to decide what comes next.

There are currently 10 tool groups:

1. Model Query: find elements, zones, views, and project info in natural language
2. Data Extraction & Analytics: counts, quantities, spatial relationships, and breakdowns by story, layer, zone, or classification
3. Element Inspection: read properties, parameters, attributes, classifications, and relationships
4. Batch Edits & Parameter Operations: preview-and-confirm edits, including find-and-replace
5. Teamwork Operations: request and send modifications to colleagues on teamwork projects
6. Favorites & Attribute Application: apply Favorites and standardized configurations to elements, defaults, or model-wide targets
7. Property & Classification Management: create, read, and modify project-level property definitions and their assignments
8. Keynote Management: manage keynote databases independently of element assignments
9. Model Health & Quality Assurance: detect geometry anomalies, missing attributes, broken library part references, high-polygon objects, and more
10. Command Execution: map plain-language requests to Archicad menu commands and run them

We’d love two answers from you:

• Most used: which group do you reach for most often?
• Thinnest: which group stops short of what you need?

Reply with this template if you can:

Most used: [group name]. What I use it for: [one example prompt]
Thinnest: [group name]. What I tried: [prompt]. What was missing: [what you expected to happen]
Setup: AI Assistant or Public MCP (which client?)

Tips for useful replies:

• Include units and exact property names in your example prompts so others can reproduce them.
• Mention your scope (selected elements, whole model, non-visible elements included).
• If a request failed, tell us whether it was a wrong result or something the tool couldn’t do at all.

MCP tools are available with Archicad 30 Collaborate and Archicad 30 Max.

We’ll read every reply and share the results, along with what’s planned, in a follow-up post.

[Paul King]

So yet again it looks like our subscription money has been used to develop features that are of no use, or that we can't use.

At the very least, for that money, GS should provide an OpenAI-compatible API so that normal users can use a self-hosted local AI (most ArchiCAD workstations have the necessary GPU capacity, or can easily obtain it via local network, or via low-cost on demand cloud subscription), given that ArchiCAD Collaborate and Max subscriptions are priced to exclude all but the largest and most wealthy corporate users. 

[Karel Landa]

Most used: [Batch Edits & Parameter Operations; Property & Classification Management].

• What I use/tested it for [prompts]:
  • In the Archicad project “Untitled,” there are several zones with zone numbers in the format “B01-1.04,” where: “B01” in the string is the object identifier the number after the hyphen and before the period is the floor number the number after the period is the room number

    I would now like to overwrite these rooms and the zone number parameter so that only the room number remains from that formula, and overwrite the object value with the “Apartment ID” property.
    Next, I need to find the label attached to this zone and replace it with a favorite setting named “Zone Label - AI Test.”

  • There are several windows in the model. Some are arranged side by side to form a window assembly that is to be installed as a single unit, while others are arranged side by side with a masonry pillar between them.
    I would like to renumber the windows so that each has its own “element ID” in the format “O##,” starting with “01.”
    The windows that do not have a pillar between them (the distance between them is 0) will have the same number, with lowercase letters added to complete the required format—for example, “O01a” or “O01b,” depending on how they are arranged when viewed from the outside of the building from left to right.

  • This seems to me like probably best use to batch edit properties/parameters in the model. I've also tried to renumber zones based on the "path" from Entry point to the building to the last accesible rooms in the object. This was only on a simple house, but it worked too

Thinnest: [Model Query]. What I tried: [-].

• I just don't consider this useful for myself as Architect since I can probably set up "Find and select" or other function more quickly then to write/dictate prompt and wait for AI to find it.
• But I understand that for beginners it can be useful and as well for techsupport seeing large project for the first time, this can be helpfull

Setup: Public MCP with Google's Antigravity IDE, model Gemini Flash 3.8 (not sure about the model)

[Mohamed Raslan]

Hello Paul,

Through the public MCP server in Archicad 30, you will be able to use a locally self hosted AI model. But don't expect a great performance from locally hosted AI models on consumer grade hardware. Please find the relevant help guide on how to do that here: Archicad 30 Help