NavisHelper

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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.

Install

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 -Wait

The 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.

Requirements

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.

Product part one: plugin suite

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.

Product part two: local MCP server

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.

Tool families

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.

Example requests

• “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.”

Safety model

• 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.

MCP alternatives

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.

Verification snapshot

Measured on 2026-09-22 for the 2.10.0.0 release, based on main commit 0d98cc8:

• source inventory guard: passed; 215 tracked C# files, 213 real compile entries, and 2 explicit non-compile exceptions;
• MCP catalog guard: passed and covers all 104 registered tools;
• host router guard: passed; 87 command names and 80 typed routes;
• panel localization, truncation-flag documentation, agent-instruction surface, baseline-coverage arithmetic and product-version consistency guards: all passed;
• automated MCP-server test run: 1,776 passed, 0 failed, 1,776 total;
• release build matrix: Release2024, Release2025, Release2026, and Release2027 passed for x64; all 12 required bundle assemblies report version 2.10.0.0;
• distribution validation and ZIP fresh/reinstall/legacy-v2.6.3.0-upgrade smoke: passed. Client MCP configs were not modified — the smoke writes only into an isolated temporary install, checked afterwards;
• latency baseline: 99 of 104 tools carry a measured number across four live windows, the remaining 5 named with a reason each;
• live rig, Navisworks Manage 2027: attaching to a ready host holding the requested file measured 66 ms against roughly 15 500 ms for a launch; and the find_items_by_bbox model prune was compared against a build with pruning removed over nine queries on a document whose walk completes — identical match counts, so pruning loses nothing.

Not verified, and not claimed: runtime smoke covers Navisworks Manage 2027 only; 2024–2026 are build-validated here. No public installer asset existed at the time of these checks, so no download or SHA-256 comparison was made. See docs/releases/v2.10.0.0.md for the full list.

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.

Documentation

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

Project status and license

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 notice

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.