MCP Connector for Civil 3D Documentation

Supported Civil 3D Versions

• Civil 3D 2022
• Civil 3D 2023
• Civil 3D 2024
• Civil 3D 2025
• Civil 3D 2026
• Civil 3D 2027

Civil 3D 2021 and earlier are not supported. Use a 64-bit Windows installation supported by your Civil 3D release.

If you work in plain AutoCAD rather than Civil 3D, use MCP Connector for AutoCAD instead. That one covers AutoCAD 2022 to 2027. This connector already contains the AutoCAD drawing tools, so inside Civil 3D you do not need both. Each connector has its own licence.

AI Applications

• Claude Desktop
• ChatGPT Desktop
• Cursor
• Claude Code
• VS Code (GitHub Copilot agent mode)
• Visual Studio 2022 17.14+ / 2026 (GitHub Copilot)
• GitHub Copilot CLI
• Grok Build (xAI CLI)

Installation

Enabling MCP Connector for Civil 3D

After installation, click the MCP Connector button in the Add-ins tab to open the connector dialog, then toggle Enable MCP to start the connection. No licence key is needed for the free tools - the key only unlocks the Pro set.

The dialog shows the status of detected AI applications:

• Ready (Running) - The AI application is configured to reach Civil 3D and is currently open
• Ready - Configured, but the application is not running right now
• Detected - The application is installed but not yet configured; toggle Enable MCP to configure it
• Not Detected - The AI application is not installed on this machine

The indicator at the top of the dialog reads Disabled, Waiting, or Active. Toggling Enable MCP off again removes the connector from every detected client's configuration.

Configuration

MCP Connector for Civil 3D includes one-click auto-configuration for supported AI applications. Toggling Enable MCP in the connector dialog writes the configuration for every detected application at once. The installer also registers the server on install, so in most cases there is nothing to do by hand.

Claude Desktop

The config file is located at:

ChatGPT Desktop

ChatGPT appears in the dialog when it is installed on your machine. The config file is located at:

This file is shared with the Codex CLI, so configuring ChatGPT Desktop makes the Civil 3D tools available in Codex CLI as well. After configuring, fully quit ChatGPT and reopen it. With Civil 3D open and a drawing loaded, a quick test is to ask ChatGPT to "Check the connection to Civil 3D".

Use a local Work conversation on the computer running Civil 3D. In ChatGPT Desktop, open Settings > MCP servers and check that AUTOM8LABS_Civil3D is enabled, then select Restart. Type /mcp in the conversation to check the connection. ChatGPT in a web browser does not read this local configuration. See the official MCP setup guide.

Cursor

The config file is located at:

GitHub Copilot

GitHub Copilot appears in the dialog when VS Code, Visual Studio, or the Copilot CLI is installed on your machine. The config files are located at:

Grok Build

Toggle Enable MCP and the connector writes its entry into xAI's Grok Build CLI configuration automatically. The config file is located at:

Grok Build also reads Claude Code's and Cursor's MCP config, so if you have already configured either of those the connector shows up in Grok Build with no extra step.

Claude Code & other MCP clients

MCP Connector for Civil 3D exposes a standard MCP stdio server, so it also works with Claude Code, VS Code, and any other MCP-compatible client. The server is a single executable installed with the plug-in bundle:

Register it in Claude Code from a terminal:

Manual configuration (any MCP client)

Add this to your client's MCP server configuration:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "AUTOM8LABS_Civil3D": {
      "command": "C:\\Program Files\\Autodesk\\ApplicationPlugins\\AUTOM8LABS.MCPConnectorCivil3D.bundle\\Contents\\Bridge\\MCPConnectorCivil3D.Bridge.exe"
    }
  }
}

VS Code

VS Code uses a slightly different shape. Add the server to your MCP configuration (for example .vscode/mcp.json in a workspace):

{
  "servers": {
    "AUTOM8LABS_Civil3D": {
      "type": "stdio",
      "command": "C:\\Program Files\\Autodesk\\ApplicationPlugins\\AUTOM8LABS.MCPConnectorCivil3D.bundle\\Contents\\Bridge\\MCPConnectorCivil3D.Bridge.exe"
    }
  }
}

Optional: raw command execution

Two tools can drive the host directly: execute_command runs a raw command string as if typed at the command line, and execute_lisp evaluates an AutoLISP expression. Because they can drive anything, both are disabled by default: they are neither listed nor callable until you opt in on that machine by setting MCP_CONNECTOR_ENABLE_COMMAND_EXEC=1 in the MCP client configuration. Even when enabled, code-loading and shell verbs (NETLOAD, APPLOAD, SCRIPT, SHELL, AutoLISP load) are blocked. Both tools are Pro, so a licence is needed as well as the opt-in.

After saving the configuration, fully quit and reopen your AI client - quit it from the system tray rather than just closing the window, or it keeps the old environment and the two tools still will not appear. To turn them off again, remove the setting and restart the client the same way.

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "AUTOM8LABS_Civil3D": {
      "command": "C:\\Program Files\\Autodesk\\ApplicationPlugins\\AUTOM8LABS.MCPConnectorCivil3D.bundle\\Contents\\Bridge\\MCPConnectorCivil3D.Bridge.exe",
      "env": {
        "MCP_CONNECTOR_ENABLE_COMMAND_EXEC": "1"
      }
    }
  }
}

Optional: read-only session

A read-only session withholds every tool that can change a drawing, leaving the 43 free tools: query, inspect, measure and navigate. Civil-specific tools are also withheld in this mode, including Civil queries, even with a Pro licence. A withheld tool is not listed to the AI client at all, and is refused by name if it is called anyway, so the AI cannot reach a write.

It is worth using whenever the drawings belong to a client rather than to you. DWG is usually the format that arrives from someone else. An in-session change can still be undone in Civil 3D, but the folder tools save each drawing as they go, so those edits are on disk already - and an unwanted change does not always announce itself on screen.

Turn it on with the Read-Only Session checkbox in the connection dialog, or by running MCPCONNECTORC3D_READONLY at the Civil 3D command line. Either way, reconnect your AI client afterwards so it refreshes its tool list.

Locking it on for a team. An administrator can enforce read-only for a computer or selected users. See Administrator Tool Permissions for the settings and deployment examples.

Local AI Setup

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "AUTOM8LABS_Civil3D": {
      "command": "C:\\Program Files\\Autodesk\\ApplicationPlugins\\AUTOM8LABS.MCPConnectorCivil3D.bundle\\Contents\\Bridge\\MCPConnectorCivil3D.Bridge.exe"
    }
  }
}

Claude Desktop Settings

MCP Connector for Civil 3D exposes 296 tools, plus two optional command-execution tools that stay disabled until you opt in. In Claude Desktop, enable Load tools when needed so tools are loaded on demand rather than all at once.

Use Chat, not Cowork

Claude Desktop has a mode selector at the bottom of the message box: Chat and Cowork. MCP connectors run in Chat conversations. In Cowork, your Civil 3D requests will not reach the connector and Claude behaves as if Civil 3D is not connected - even though the connector is configured correctly. Before you start, check the selector is set to Chat.

Note this is the opposite way round to ChatGPT Desktop, where the Civil 3D tools are available in Work rather than regular Chat.

Operator Skill

An operator skill is a plain text playbook Claude reads before touching your drawing. It teaches Claude to use the connector efficiently: read in bulk instead of one entity at a time, verify answers with counts, batch edits in one call, and say so instead of guessing when something cannot be done. The result is fewer calls, fewer dead chats, and far less of your usage allowance burned on a single question.

The free AutoCAD operator skill covers the drawing tools this connector inherits, which is most of the tool set, so it is worth installing. A skill for the Civil design tools is in progress.

Install in Claude Desktop:

1. Download the skill: autocad-connector.zip
2. In Claude Desktop, go to Settings > Skills > Add > Upload a skill and select the zip.
3. That is it - Claude picks the skill up automatically in new chats. If you ever find it has not, mention it in your prompt, for example "Follow the autocad-connector skill".

Using Claude Code or Cursor instead? Install steps for both are in the mcp-connector-skills repository, which also hosts free skills for the rest of the MCP Connector family.

Quickstart

Power BI Dashboard

A free browser dashboard and Power BI report for tool-use records. MCP Connector Pro is required to record audit logs.

Tool Reference

The tools below are the Civil design tools, grouped by category. Every tool name shown is the exact identifier exposed to your AI client. The Edition column shows whether a tool is available in the free edition or needs a Pro licence. Under each description is an example prompt showing how to ask for it in natural language - click any prompt to copy it, paste it into your AI client, and adjust the names and numbers to suit your drawing.

Civil design objects

These tools exist only because the host is Civil 3D. Every one of them needs a Pro licence. Bulk edits default to a preview (dry_run: true): pipe, structure and COGO point properties, pipe run regrading, renaming, layer and style tables, property set values, survey standards and Civil style purging. Review the proposed changes before asking the AI to apply them. Tools that create a single object, such as a surface, an alignment or a pipe run, change the drawing immediately.

Civil: Alignments

Civil: COGO points

Civil: Corridors, parcels and feature lines

Civil: Crossings and clearance

Civil: Export and utility

Civil: Labels

Civil: Overview

Civil: Pipe and duct networks

Civil: Pressure networks

Civil: Profiles and profile views

Civil: Property sets

Civil: Sample lines and sections

Civil: Styles, layers and standards

Civil: Surfaces

Troubleshooting

The AI says it is not connected to Civil 3D

• Civil 3D must be running with a drawing open. The connector talks to a live session; it cannot open Civil 3D for you.
• In Civil 3D, run MCPCONNECTORC3D_STATUS to check the plug-in state. If it reports not running, run MCPCONNECTORC3D_START.
• Ask your AI to run the ping tool. It reports whether the link is up and, if not, why.

The plug-in did not load

• The plug-in auto-loads when Civil 3D starts. If the AUTOM8LABS ribbon is missing, restart Civil 3D, then run MCPCONNECTORC3D_START at the command line.
• Confirm the bundle exists at C:\Program Files\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\AUTOM8LABS.MCPConnectorCivil3D.bundle. If it is missing, re-run the installer.
• Check that your Civil 3D release is 2022, 2023, 2024, 2025, 2026 or 2027. Earlier releases are not supported.

Pro tools are missing after activating

• The MCP server reads the edition once, when the AI client starts it. Restart the AI client after activating and the full tool list appears.
• Confirm the licence state in Civil 3D via Manage Licence on the AUTOM8LABS ribbon.
• If only the 43 free tools appear despite an active Pro licence, check whether Read-Only Session is enabled. This mode also hides the Civil inspection tools.

The AI client does not list the server

• Restart the client completely after installing; a window reload is not always enough.
• Check whether your AI application is detected in the connector dialog and enable MCP. If it is not supported by automatic setup, use the manual configuration.

execute_command or execute_lisp is not available

• Both tools are off by default and do not register at all until you opt in. Set MCP_CONNECTOR_ENABLE_COMMAND_EXEC=1 in the MCP client configuration, then fully quit and reopen the client from the system tray. See Raw command execution.
• They are Pro tools, so they also need an active licence. If the opt-in is set and they still do not appear, check the licence first.

FAQ

Changelog