How do I connect Gemini CLI to Revit, Rhino, and Archicad?

Install Archi Automate, open the Hub, go to the LLMs page, and click Connect next to Gemini CLI. The Hub writes the MCP configuration into Gemini CLI's config file, backs up the previous version, and merges without overwriting your existing setup. Restart the CLI and run a read-only prompt to confirm the connection. The same one-click Connect covers Revit, Rhino, Archicad, and the headless openBIM connector.

Do I need to edit JSON to set up Gemini CLI MCP?

No. The Hub's one-click Connect writes the MCP server entry into Gemini CLI's configuration for you. It backs up the existing config and merges the new entry non-destructively, so there's no manual JSON editing or copy-paste. After connecting, just restart the CLI.

Which Gemini model should I use with the CLI for Revit MCP work?

Use a capable Gemini tier. The reasoning that composes a correct sequence of model operations — reading geometry, choosing the right command, checking the result — runs on Google's models, so a stronger tier gives more reliable tool use. Lighter models are fine for simple queries but can struggle with multi-step operations.

Can Gemini CLI validate IFC files without a CAD application?

Yes. The openBIM connector is headless and needs no CAD app or license. From the terminal you can open and federate IFC files, validate them against an IDS, run clash detection, produce a quantity take-off, generate an embodied-carbon estimate, and author BCF issues. Because Gemini CLI is a command-line client, these checks are easy to script and run across a whole folder of models.

Is it safe to let Gemini CLI change my model?

Yes, within guardrails. Read only is the default and prevents any change. Preview changes does a dry run for Revit, Rhino, and openBIM model edits (not Archicad or file writes). Allow changes lets approved operations through. Every operation is screened, deletes can be blocked, sessions are audited, Rhino writes are wrapped in a managed Undo, and Archi Automate never auto-saves. With a CLI it's wise to keep scripted runs in Read only or Preview until you've reviewed the output.

Can one Gemini CLI session work with Revit, Rhino, Archicad, and IFC at the same time?

Yes. A single Gemini CLI conversation can reach every connected host. You could validate a federated IFC model, cross-check the Revit model's level naming, and author a BCF note for any discrepancies — all in one terminal session. The Hub routes each tool call to the correct host automatically; there is no background app-to-app sync.

Archi Automate

How to Connect Gemini CLI to Revit, Rhino and Archicad (MCP)

Luis Santos

June 20, 2026

How to Connect Gemini CLI to Revit, Rhino and Archicad with Archi Automate

Short answer: To connect Google Gemini CLI to Autodesk® Revit®, Rhino 8, Archicad 29, or openBIM (IFC), install Archi Automate, open the Hub, go to the LLMs page, and click Connect next to Gemini CLI. The Hub writes the Model Context Protocol (MCP) configuration into the client for you, backs up what was there, and merges without overwriting your existing setup. Restart the CLI, run a read-only prompt to confirm the link, and Gemini CLI can read your live model and — when you allow it — compose governed changes. The whole thing takes about three clicks and one restart.

Gemini CLI is Google's command-line AI client, and its terminal-first nature makes it a natural fit for scripted, repeatable checks against your design data. Run the same validation prompt across a folder of IFC files, fold a model query into a shell script, or keep a single conversation open while you move between programs. This guide walks through the chain that makes it work, the three-step connection, and the kinds of prompts each host understands — leading with openBIM, where batch validation from a terminal really shines.

How Gemini CLI talks to your model

There are a few links in the chain, and it helps to picture them. Gemini CLI runs on Google's Gemini models in the cloud — that is the reasoning engine. Locally, Archi Automate runs a bridge that exposes your CAD/BIM hosts (Revit, Rhino, Archicad) and the headless openBIM connector over MCP, an open standard for letting AI clients call tools. When you ask a question, Gemini CLI decides which tools to call, the Hub relays those calls to the right host, the host returns live data, and Gemini composes governed operations at runtime against the host's API.

Because the heavy reasoning happens on Google's side, pick a capable Gemini tier for reliable tool use. Lighter models can answer trivia, but composing a correct sequence of model operations — reading geometry, mapping it to the right command, checking a result — rewards a stronger model. Nothing about your design files leaves your machine except the specific data Gemini needs to answer the prompt you typed.

Before you start

You'll need Windows 10 or 11 (x64), the Archi Automate installer (one installer covers every host), and Gemini CLI installed and signed in to your Google account. If you want to drive a desktop CAD app, have it open: Revit 2025–2027, Rhino 8, or Archicad 29. For openBIM work you need nothing else — the IFC connector is headless and requires no CAD application or license. The 14-day trial is the full product with no key, so you can test all of this before committing.

Connect in three steps

Open the Hub and go to the LLMs page. This is the one-click connection screen, listing every supported client. Confirm your hosts are live first on the Bridges page — the status dots tell you which hosts are up.

Archi Automate Hub LLMs page with one-click Connect buttons for Gemini CLI and other AI clients

Step one: find Gemini CLI. Locate Gemini CLI in the list of clients on the LLMs page.

Step two: click Connect. Press Connect next to Gemini CLI. The Hub writes the MCP server configuration into the client's config file, backs up the previous version, and merges the new entry without destroying anything already there. No JSON editing, no copy-paste.

Archi Automate one-click connect confirmation writing the MCP configuration into Gemini CLI

Step three: restart and test. Restart Gemini CLI so it picks up the new configuration, then run a read-only prompt — something like "List the tools you can use" or a simple model query. If it reports back, you're connected. Guardrails default to Read only, so this first prompt can't change anything.

JetBrains IDEs use a small snippet instead of one-click, and any MCP-compatible client can be wired up manually — but Gemini CLI is one of the eight one-click clients, alongside Claude (Desktop & Code), OpenAI Codex, Cursor, VS Code (Copilot agent), Windsurf, Antigravity, and Cline.

What you can ask, per host

openBIM (IFC · IDS · BCF) — the terminal's sweet spot

The headless openBIM connector is where Gemini CLI earns its keep. No CAD app, no license — just point it at files. Because the CLI lives in your terminal, you can fold these checks into scripts and run them across a whole folder of models. Try:

"Open this IFC and validate it against my IDS." — federate one or more IFC files and check them against your Information Delivery Specification.
"Estimate embodied carbon by material." — a quick estimate to compare options, not a certified LCA.
"Run clash detection between the structural and MEP models."
"Give me a quantity take-off by element type."
"Author a BCF issue for every wall that fails the fire-rating rule."

Model edits are previewable; writing files back to disk needs Allow changes. For a deeper tour, see MCP for IFC and openBIM.

Revit (Autodesk® Revit® 2025–2027)

With Revit open, Gemini composes governed operations across the Revit API at runtime. Start read-only: "How many rooms are on Level 2?" or "List every wall type used in the model." When you're ready to change something, switch a guardrail and ask Gemini to renumber rooms, tag elements, or set a parameter across a selection. More examples live in MCP for Revit.

Rhino (Rhino 8, McNeel)

Rhino works the same way — read first, then write. "List the layers." is a perfect first prompt. Writes in Rhino are wrapped in a managed Undo, so anything Gemini changes can be rolled back with one Ctrl+Z. Ask it to reorganize layers, report on block instances, or generate geometry once you've allowed changes. See MCP for Rhino.

Archicad (Archicad 29, Graphisoft)

Archicad connects through a first-party add-on with a curated command set: it can read freely, and create, move, or delete Walls, Columns, Slabs, and Objects. Because the command set is curated, there's no dynamic code and no dry-run preview for Archicad — so writes go straight through and require Allow changes. Try "Create a wall between two points." with that guardrail on. Read-only prompts like "How many columns are on the ground floor?" work any time.

Working across programs in one conversation

One of the quieter strengths here is that a single Gemini CLI session can talk to every connected host at once. You might validate a federated IFC model, then ask Gemini to check whether the Revit model matches the same level naming, then jot a BCF note for the discrepancies — all in one terminal conversation. The Hub routes each tool call to the right host automatically. There's no background app-to-app sync happening; Gemini simply queries each host as your prompt requires, which keeps the whole thing transparent and easy to audit.

Safety and guardrails

Every operation is screened against the active guardrail before it runs. Read only is the default and lets Gemini inspect without touching anything. Preview changes does a dry run so you can see what would happen before committing — available for Revit, Rhino, and openBIM model edits, but not for Archicad or file writes, which have no preview. Allow changes lets approved operations through. Deletes can be blocked outright, every session is audited, and Archi Automate never auto-saves — nothing is written to disk behind your back. This matters doubly for a CLI client, where it's tempting to script aggressively: keep scripted runs in Read only or Preview until you've reviewed the output.

Other clients and hosts

Gemini CLI is one of many. If you also work in other tools, the same one-click flow connects Claude (Desktop and Code), OpenAI Codex, and Antigravity, among others. Each host has its own deep-dive: Revit, Rhino, and openBIM.

Try it

The fastest way to understand Gemini CLI plus live BIM is to run a read-only prompt against your own model. Download the 14-day full trial — no key required — and connect in three clicks: Start your Archi Automate trial.