Scripting, APIs and automation
Which repetitive tasks could a script do?
Dynamo, Grasshopper and pyRevit inside the authoring tools, Python on IFC files, and cloud APIs such as Autodesk Platform Services: how BIM people automate their own work.
Understand
What it is, in plain language
- Pedia · SoftwareVisual programming and scripting (Dynamo, Grasshopper, pyRevit)The tools BIM people use to automate their own work, from drag-and-connect graphs to Python scripts, and how to choose between them.
- Pedia · SoftwareAPIs for BIM softwareHow programs talk to BIM software and platforms, desktop APIs, cloud APIs and file-based access, and what each lets you automate.
- Pedia · SoftwareReading IFC with code (IfcOpenShell, web-ifc)Opening IFC files with open-source libraries to count, check, extract and report, without any authoring software, and what a first script looks like.
- Pedia · SoftwareAutodesk Platform Services (APS)Autodesk's cloud APIs (formerly Forge) for reading, viewing, converting and automating models and project data in Autodesk's cloud, including Autodesk Construction Cloud.
- Pedia · SoftwareIFC (Industry Foundation Classes)The open, vendor-neutral data format and schema for exchanging building and infrastructure models between software.
- Pedia · SoftwareProperty sets (Psets) and quantity setsHow IFC groups element information into named sets of properties and quantities, the standard Pset_ and Qto_ sets, and custom sets.
Learn
Short lessons with a quick check
- Lesson · 3 min · quizYour first scriptPick a task you do often by hand, write its steps in plain words, then build it in Dynamo or Python, and test on a copy. The steps are the hard part; the code is the easy part.
- Lesson · 3 min · quizReading IFC with PythonA few lines of Python with IfcOpenShell open any IFC file, find elements, read their properties and write a report, without any authoring software.
- Lesson · 3 min · quizAPIs and the cloudCloud APIs such as Autodesk Platform Services let scripts read projects, files, issues and model data without opening any software, the basis of reports, integrations and AI assistants.
Do
Tools that export Excel, PDF and Word
- Tool · Excel · PDF · WordIFC InspectorUse it when you receive an IFC file, before you federate or share it.
- Tool · Excel · PDF · WordIFC to Excel SchedulesUse it when you need quantities, a door or equipment schedule, or a property review from an IFC model in Excel.
- Tool · Excel · PDF · WordShared Parameter ManagerUse it when you set up the project’s Revit parameters so they match the information requirements.
How it works
The process, at a glance
- 1Written processThe steps, the inputs, the right result
- 2Checklist or templateSame result every time, still by hand
- 3Visual scriptDynamo or Grasshopper for one person’s task
- 4Team toolPython or pyRevit, tested, documented
- 5Scheduled serviceRuns on its own through APIs, feeds reports
Common mistakes
What goes wrong most often on real projects.
- Automating a process before agreeing what the right result is.
- Running scripts on live shared models without testing on a copy.
- Storing passwords or API keys inside shared scripts.
- One person's graph that nobody else can maintain.
Is it in place on your project?
Tick what is done — it counts towards the checkpoint on your learning path.
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