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NavisHelper is a Windows plugin suite and local MCP server for Autodesk Navisworks Manage model coordination.
Project snapshot: measurements and external repository metadata in this page were checked on 2026-08-08. No project-owned demo GIF exists in the repository, its Git history, or the current release assets, so this page does not show a placeholder or another project's media.
The current GitHub Release provides a per-user Windows installer. Close Navisworks, open PowerShell, and run these three commands in the same session:
$release = Invoke-RestMethod `
"https://api.github.com/repos/mikhalchankasm/NavisWorksMaster/releases/latest"
$installerAsset = $release.assets |
Where-Object name -Like "NavisHelperSetup-*.exe" |
Select-Object -First 1
$checksumsAsset = $release.assets |
Where-Object name -Like "SHA256SUMS-*.txt" |
Select-Object -First 1
if (-not $installerAsset -or -not $checksumsAsset) {
throw "Required release assets were not found."
}$installer = Join-Path $env:TEMP $installerAsset.name
$checksums = Join-Path $env:TEMP $checksumsAsset.name
Invoke-WebRequest $installerAsset.browser_download_url -OutFile $installer
Invoke-WebRequest $checksumsAsset.browser_download_url -OutFile $checksums
$line = Get-Content $checksums |
Where-Object { $_ -match "\*$([regex]::Escape($installerAsset.name))$" }
$expected = ($line -split "\s+")[0]
$actual = (Get-FileHash $installer -Algorithm SHA256).Hash
if (-not $expected -or $actual -ne $expected) {
throw "Installer checksum verification failed."
}if (Get-Process Roamer -ErrorAction SilentlyContinue) {
throw "Close Navisworks before installing."
}
Start-Process $installer -WaitThe installer always places the plugin and MCP binaries in the current user's profile. Its optional Finish-page action for MCP client configuration is unchecked by default. Selecting it may create or update a config file inside each detected client's existing user directory; missing client applications and their config roots are skipped. Restart only a client whose configuration was changed. For later or deliberate --create-missing setup, see Client Config. Package, manual, and recovery paths are covered by the distribution guide and agent setup guide.
| Requirement | Current scope |
|---|---|
| Host | Autodesk Navisworks Manage 2024, 2025, 2026, or 2027 on Windows x64. |
| Runtime | .NET 9 Runtime for the framework-dependent MCP server included by the current package. |
| Installation | Current-user profile; administrator rights are not required for the packaged installer. |
| MCP client | A client that can start a local stdio MCP server. The packaged configurator supports the clients listed in the distribution guide. |
| Active work | Most model tools require a running Navisworks host and an open model; view tools also require an active view. |
| External AI | Not required for MCP. The separate OpenRouter color action is optional and uses a user-provided key. |
The compile inventory finds 30 compiled [Plugin] registrations. They run inside Navisworks Manage and add a NavisHelper ribbon and panel. Main workflows include:
- model search, selection, visibility, color overrides, and CSV attribute loading;
- selection and search sets, saved viewpoints, section-box views, and persistent markups;
- property exports and model-tree name exports;
- Clash Detective test, grouping, isolation, viewpoint, screenshot, and report workflows;
- an optional OpenRouter-powered color action plus a separate local-palette action.
The bundle manifest declares Windows x64 support for Navisworks Manage 2024–2027. It does not declare Navisworks Simulate. Autodesk's own Navisworks system-requirements index covers those host releases; NavisHelper compatibility is defined by this repository's bundle and build configuration, not by Autodesk.
The MCP client starts NavisHelper.McpServer.exe over stdio. The server discovers the in-process Navisworks host and communicates through a local Windows named pipe; it does not expose an HTTP port.
The source registers 102 distinct MCP tools. scripts/check_mcp_command_catalog.py derives their snake_case names from the 102 [McpServerTool] methods and verifies the generated 102-row index on 2026-08-19. The separate curated status table is a smaller guide, not the registered-tool count: it currently contains 54 implemented, 16 live-validated, 15 planned, and one deprecated alias rows.
| Family | Typical work |
|---|---|
| Diagnostics and host lifecycle | Discover instances, check health, inspect recent calls, start or close Navisworks. |
| Model query and hierarchy | Inspect model context, roots, children, properties, bounding boxes, and search results. |
| Selection and visibility | Select matched items, inspect selection, hide, reveal, isolate, show all, and frame a view. |
| Sets and viewpoints | Create and manage selection/search sets, saved viewpoints, folders, ordering, and activation. |
| Markup and section views | Create persistent redlines, live markers, section-box viewpoints, and captured views. |
| Reports, exports, and color | Export properties or names, summarize values, and preview/apply color rules. |
| Clash Detective | List, group, run, rename, isolate, report, export, and manage existing clash data. |
| Reusable scenarios | Validate, save, inspect, resolve, and delete reviewed multi-step workflows. |
Start with the MCP quickstart. The client guide gives practical workflows, and the tool contracts document detailed inputs, outputs, limits, and error behavior.
- “Find items whose name contains
pump, select the matches, and frame them.” - “Preview an export of the current selection properties to an XLSX file.”
- “List active clashes in
HVAC vs Structure, then preview isolation of the first result.” - “Create a saved section-box viewpoint around the current selection.”
- “Show the planned color scheme before applying any permanent overrides.”
- MCP traffic stays on local stdio and named pipes; the server opens no network listener.
- Navisworks API work is marshalled to the host UI thread and guarded against busy host state.
- Most mutating tools default to preview and require an explicit apply flag; close/discard paths require stronger confirmation.
- Match handles and tree item IDs are scoped to the current host, document, and session and must not be reused blindly.
- OpenRouter coloring is a separate opt-in plugin action, not an MCP dependency; it sends selected display names under the user's own key.
This comparison covers only the MCP integration, not each project's broader UI or BIM features. Claims come from the linked repositories; stars are live GitHub metadata measured on 2026-08-08.
| Project | Declared Navisworks scope | MCP/host design | Where it differs from NavisHelper | Stars |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| NavisHelper | Manage 2024–2027 | .NET stdio server to per-process named pipe; packaged per-user installer | Curated Navisworks operations and dry-run-oriented writes; no Simulate or cross-product host support | 0 |
| Aitology/Navisworks_MCP | Claims Manage and Simulate 2025–2027 | Python stdio server to a localhost HTTP add-in | Supports Simulate, which NavisHelper does not; NavisHelper supports 2024 and ships a combined installer | 14 |
| General-Soju/BimOnMcp | Claims Navisworks 2025–2027 alongside Revit and AutoCAD | Self-contained stdio bridge to per-process named pipes | Covers multiple Autodesk hosts and exposes script execution; NavisHelper instead provides a larger curated Navisworks-specific tool surface and supports 2024 | 8 |
Primary comparison sources: the Aitology architecture, prerequisites, and tool list and the BimOn supported-version, architecture, and MCP-tool tables. Source inspection found 39 Tool(name=...) declarations in Aitology's default branch although its README heading says 40; this page therefore does not use that heading as a verified tool count. BimOn's source and README separate 11 Navisworks-specific tools from 6 common script tools.
Measured on 2026-08-09 against this change, based on main commit b54f8e3:
- source inventory guard: passed; 207 tracked C# files, 205 real compile entries, and 2 explicit non-compile exceptions;
- MCP catalog guard: passed and covers all 100 registered tools;
- host router guard: passed; 83 command names and 76 typed routes;
- automated MCP-server test run: the
mainbaseline is 1,305 passed, 0 failed, 1,305 total after the newline-sensitive source-structure fix; this change is 1,308 passed, 0 failed, 1,308 total after adding three installer-semantics regressions; - release build matrix:
Release2024,Release2025,Release2026, andRelease2027passed for x64; all 12 required bundle assemblies report version2.9.0.0; - distribution validation, ZIP fresh/reinstall/legacy-upgrade smoke, Inno Setup compilation, and isolated installer bundle-upgrade smoke: passed;
- public
v2.9.0.0installer download: SHA-256 matched both published checksum files and the GitHub asset digest; installation with MCP configuration unchecked preserved five sampled client config hashes, and the inspected installed NavisHelper bundle/MCP assemblies were version2.9.0.0; - public-install live smoke in Navisworks Manage 2027: the user confirmed the NavisHelper ribbon and panel; active-model context and representative subtree, property-report, distinct-value, color-preview, and temporary CSV/XLSX export operations passed; all 100 MCP tools and the required subset were present; the test model contained no clash tests in scope.
That runtime evidence covers Navisworks Manage 2027 only. The 2024–2026 targets are build-validated here, not runtime-smoked. No release asset was replaced by this change.
Automated helper tests do not replace validation inside Autodesk Navisworks Manage. Most host behavior depends on the Autodesk runtime and a user-provided model.
| Topic | Document |
|---|---|
| First MCP session | Navisworks MCP quickstart |
| Client setup and workflows | MCP client guide |
| Tool inputs and outputs | MCP tool contracts |
| Architecture and extension points | MCP architecture |
| Packaging and installation | MCP distribution plan |
| Building and contributing | Contributing and build/bundle rules |
| Full previous README | Archived English reference |
| Full previous Russian README | Archived Russian reference |
NavisHelper is maintained at low activity. Pull requests are welcome; responses to issues are not guaranteed.
The code is available under the MIT License. Third-party notices are in THIRD-PARTY-NOTICES.md.
Autodesk and Navisworks are registered trademarks or trademarks of Autodesk, Inc. and/or its subsidiaries and/or affiliates. NavisHelper is an independent project and is not affiliated with, authorized by, endorsed by, sponsored by, or otherwise approved by Autodesk, Inc. See Autodesk's trademark list and guidelines for compatible products.