8 min read Updated May 2026

Family Purge Documentation

Complete guide to installing, configuring, and using Family Purge to strip bloat from Revit families - both loaded in your active project and saved as .rfa files on disk.

Quick Start

Five steps to clean the families in your current Revit project.

Installation

Single installer for every Revit version

One installer - AUTOM8LABS_FamilyPurge_v1.0.0.exe - covers Revit 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026, and 2027 in a single pass. The wizard detects every Revit version installed on the machine and drops the matching binaries into each version folder. No per-version downloads, no manual targeting.

Install paths

Family Purge follows Autodesk's standard ApplicationPlugins layout:

• Revit 2022-2026 → C:\ProgramData\AUTOM8LABS\FamilyPurge\{Version}\
• Add-in manifest → C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\Revit\Addins\{Version}\AUTOM8LABS.FamilyPurge.addin

Each {Version}\ subfolder holds the Revit-version-specific DLL. The .addin manifest tells Revit where to find the assembly so the add-in auto-discovers on next launch.

Accessing the tool

After installation, launch Revit and open any project document (.rvt) or template (.rte). Find the button at:

Add-Ins tab → AUTOM8LABS panel → Family Purge

The AUTOM8LABS panel is shared with other AUTOM8LABS tools. Family Purge runs against the active project document - Clean Folders (a separate workflow) does not need a project open.

Supported Revit Versions

Revit Version	Framework	Status
Revit 2022	.NET Framework 4.8	Supported
Revit 2023	.NET Framework 4.8	Supported
Revit 2024	.NET Framework 4.8	Supported
Revit 2025	.NET 8.0 (Windows)	Supported
Revit 2026	.NET 8.0 (Windows)	Supported
Revit 2027	.NET 10 (Windows)	Supported

Purge Model

The Purge tab is for families that are already loaded into your active project. It enumerates every editable family in the document, lets you pick which ones to clean, then opens each in the family editor, runs the configured cleaners, and reloads it back into the project - overwriting the original.

Family list

The list is filtered to families Revit can actually open:

• Family.IsEditable == true - in-place and system families are excluded
• The family has a category - rare orphans without a category are excluded

Each row shows the family name, category, type count, and instance count. A search box at the top filters by name as you type.

Default filter: unused families only

By default the list shows only families whose instance count is zero and whose category isn't pinned by a runtime swap. Toggle the Show all loaded families switch to widen the list to every editable family.

How a family is cleaned

For each family you tick, Family Purge:

1. Opens the family in the family editor via Document.EditFamily
2. Runs every enabled cleaner, each in its own transaction
3. Loads the cleaned family back into the project, overwriting the original (and any types using it)

The progress dialog stays responsive between families because the WPF dispatcher is pumped at each family boundary. Cancel takes effect at the next boundary - the current family always finishes cleanly.

Clean Folders

The Clean tab targets .rfa files on disk - your firm library, an OEM content drop, a vendor download. Family Purge opens each file in turn, runs the configured cleaners, and writes the cleaned family to an output folder.

Source configuration

• Source folders - one or more folders containing .rfa files. Add as many as you like
• Include subfolders - recurse into every subdirectory under each source folder
• Skip backup files - ignore *.0001.rfa and *_backup.rfa patterns Revit leaves behind

Output configuration

• Output folder - destination directory for the cleaned families. Originals are not touched
• Preserve folder structure - mirror the source folder hierarchy under the output folder, so an input at Lib\Doors\Single.rfa writes to Output\Doors\Single.rfa

Pause / Resume / Cancel

The Clean Folders progress dialog has the same controls as Purge Model. Pause and Cancel take effect at the next file boundary - the family currently being processed always finishes cleanly to avoid corrupting partially-cleaned .rfa output.

Cleaners

The Settings tab toggles which cleaners run. Each cleaner runs in its own transaction inside the family editor session, so a failure in one cleaner doesn't roll back the others. Five cleaners are on by default; three are experimental and off by default.

Cleaner	Default	What it does
Nested families	On	Recursively descends into nested families, cleans each one, reloads it back into its parent. Category-mismatched nested families are deleted.
Unused family types	On	Uses Revit's PerformanceAdviser "unused symbols" rule (works in 2022-2023 where Document.GetUnusedElements isn't available). Symbols of categories referenced by a FamilyParameter are preserved.
Materials & assets	On	Walks every non-type element to collect used Material IDs and their three asset references (appearance, structural, thermal). Deletes unreferenced Material, AppearanceAssetElement, and PropertySetElement instances. Runs twice - second pass catches assets orphaned by the first.
CAD imports	On	Strips DWG, DXF, SAT, SKP, and DGN imports. Typically the largest source of family bloat by file size.
Images & PDFs	On	Strips ImageType and ImageInstance - raster images and imported PDFs.
Fill patterns	Off (experimental)	Walks Material and FilledRegionType references to build a "used" set, deletes the rest. Solid is always preserved.
Line patterns	Off (experimental)	Walks GraphicsStyle and Category line-pattern references to build a "used" set, then deletes unused.
Object styles	Off (experimental)	Deletes subcategories under OST_Lines (and other style categories) that no curve references.

Why each pass uses its own transaction

If the materials-and-assets cleaner fails halfway because Revit refuses to delete a particular asset, the transactions for nested families, unused types, and CAD imports have already committed - their work isn't lost. The reporting layer flags the failed pass and continues with the next cleaner.

Failure Handling

Revit's family-load, family-edit, and transaction operations can throw modal warnings and errors that block unattended runs. Family Purge attaches an application-level failure handler that intercepts every warning before Revit can show a dialog:

• Dismiss warnings - toggle in Settings, on by default. Warnings (e.g. "duplicate type names will be renumbered") are silently swallowed
• Auto-resolve errors - toggle in Settings, on by default. Errors with a resolve option (e.g. "delete the offending element") are auto-resolved
• PurgeLog - every dismissed warning and auto-resolved error is logged to a per-run PurgeLog with a timestamp, family name, severity, and the message

If you'd rather see the dialogs, untick both options on the Settings tab. The PurgeLog still records the dialogs that fire so you can audit the run after.

Reports & Logs

Family Purge writes three kinds of artefacts per run.

Per-family reports

Each family processed produces a report. Configure text-only, HTML-only, or both on the Settings tab. Reports cover:

• Family name, category, and path
• File size before and after, with percentage reduction
• Which cleaners fired and the count of elements removed per cleaner
• Any errors the cleaner pass encountered

Reports land in:

%LocalAppData%\AUTOM8LABS\FamilyPurge\Reports\

...or a custom folder you can configure on the Settings tab.

PurgeLog

A separate PurgeLog records suppressed warnings and auto-resolved errors per run. This is your audit trail - it lets you see exactly what Revit's failure handler did under the hood. Open the PurgeLog after every unattended Clean Folders run to confirm nothing critical was auto-resolved away.

Rolling diagnostic log

A thread-safe rolling log of every Family Purge operation lives at:

%LocalAppData%\AUTOM8LABS\FamilyPurge\Log\FamilyPurge-{date}.log

Useful when reporting a bug. Attach the log for the affected date and we can usually identify the root cause without needing the family that triggered it.

Settings file

Your per-user settings persist to:

%LocalAppData%\AUTOM8LABS\FamilyPurge\FamilyPurgeSettings.json

Licensing

Family Purge follows a freemium three-tier model. The title bar always shows the current state - Free Version when unlicensed, Licence valid until DD/MM/YYYY when a key with an expiry is cached, or Licence active for a key with no expiry.

Free (no licence required)

Everything you need to clean the families inside your active project:

• Purge Model - clean families loaded in the current project
• Five default cleaners - nested families, unused types, materials & assets, CAD imports, images & PDFs
• Application-level warning suppression and PurgeLog audit
• Per-family text reports
• Rolling diagnostic log

Individual - £199/year per machine activation

Built for solo Revit users and small studios who maintain a family library on disk. Self-serve checkout - each licence activates one machine:

• Everything in Free
• Clean Folders - batch-process every .rfa in a folder unattended, with Pause / Resume / Cancel
• Experimental cleaners - fill patterns, line patterns, object styles
• HTML reports + PurgeLog - readable per-family HTML output for sharing or archiving
• Standard email support

Pro - £499/year, unlimited machines

For firms with multiple Revit users where managing individual machine activations becomes unwieldy.

• Everything in Individual
• Unlimited machine activations under one licence
• Firm-wide shared settings - point at a network folder, every user pulls the same FamilyPurgeSettings.json (local cache wins offline)
• Priority support

Buy at autom8labs.io/products/family-purge.

Frequently Asked Questions

Changelog

Troubleshooting

Family Purge button is missing from the ribbon

The button appears under Add-Ins tab → AUTOM8LABS panel. If the panel isn't visible after install:

1. Verify the .addin manifest exists at C:\ProgramData\Autodesk\Revit\Addins\{Version}\AUTOM8LABS.FamilyPurge.addin
2. Verify the DLL exists at C:\ProgramData\AUTOM8LABS\FamilyPurge\{Version}\
3. Close every Revit instance, run the installer again, then re-launch Revit

A family failed to clean

Per-family failures are written to that family's HTML report under the Errors section. The most common causes:

• Revit refused to delete an element the cleaner thought was unreferenced (often happens with thermal assets) - the transaction rolls back and the next cleaner runs
• The family contains a corrupted nested family that Revit can't open - skip it in the family list and move on
• The output folder isn't writable - check folder permissions and free disk space

Run took longer than expected

Family Purge processes families serially - each one is opened, cleaned, and saved/reloaded before the next starts. Large families (hundreds of types, deeply nested) can take 30+ seconds each. Watch the progress dialog - if a family is genuinely stuck, Cancel takes effect at the next family boundary.

PurgeLog shows lots of dismissed warnings

That's normal - particularly the first time you run Family Purge against a content drop you didn't curate yourself. Revit's reload pipeline emits warnings for duplicate type names, missing references, and a long tail of other conditions that are usually safe to dismiss. Spot-check the log; if anything looks load-bearing, untick "Suppress warnings" on Settings and re-run to see the dialogs.

Licence won't activate

Licence keys validate against api.autom8labs.io. If activation fails:

1. Check that your firewall or VPN is not blocking outbound HTTPS to api.autom8labs.io
2. Verify the licence key character-for-character (keys are case-sensitive)
3. If you are moving the licence between machines, deactivate it on the old machine first
4. Still stuck? Email info@autom8labs.io with the key and the machine name

Pause / Resume buttons feel unresponsive

Pause, Resume, and Cancel only take effect at the next family boundary - the current family always finishes cleanly. Interrupting mid-transaction would corrupt the .rfa output, so the loop intentionally waits.