ETABS MCP Server

A Model Context Protocol (MCP) server that connects Large Language Models (LLMs) to CSI ETABS, a premier structural engineering software.

This server enables AI assistants (like Claude, Cursor, etc.) to:

• Create, open, and save ETABS models
• Define materials, sections, and structural geometry
• Apply loads and assign properties
• Run structural analysis and design checks
• Extract analysis results and design summaries
• Query and modify ETABS database tables

It uses the comtypes library in Python to interact directly with the ETABSv1 COM API, providing a seamless bridge between modern AI and legacy Windows COM applications.

Prerequisites

• Windows OS (required for COM integration — comtypes does not work on macOS/Linux)
• CSI ETABS installed and licensed (v19, v20, v21, or v22)
• Python 3.10+
• uv (recommended) or pip

Repository Layout

ETABS-mcp/
├── pyproject.toml                # build config & entry point
├── README.md
├── etabs_mcp_config.json         # runtime config (units, auto-connect, …)
├── src/
│   └── etabs_mcp/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       ├── server.py             # FastMCP entry point  (run via `etabs-mcp`)
│       ├── etabs_connection.py   # COM singleton manager
│       ├── helpers.py            # shared utils, units, response formatting
│       └── tools/
│           ├── __init__.py
│           ├── analysis.py
│           ├── assignments.py
│           ├── database_tables.py
│           ├── design.py
│           ├── generic_api.py
│           ├── loads.py
│           ├── model_control.py
│           ├── model_geometry.py
│           ├── properties.py
│           ├── results.py
│           ├── seismic.py                 # IS 1893 modal + RSA + drift
│           ├── selection.py
│           ├── stiffness_modifiers.py     # ACI 318 + IS 456 cracked-section presets
│           └── stories_grids.py

Installation

1. Clone the repo and install the package in editable mode:

   git clone https://github.com/mdvaleed7/ETABS-mcp.git
   cd ETABS-mcp
   pip install -e .
   

   Or with uv:

   uv pip install -e .
   

2. Verify the entry point is registered:

   etabs-mcp --help
   

   (The server itself only starts speaking MCP over stdio, so don’t expect pretty output — just confirm the command exists.)

Configuration for MCP Clients

Claude Desktop

Add this to your claude_desktop_config.json (usually at %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json on Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "etabs": {
      "command": "etabs-mcp",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

If etabs-mcp is not on your PATH, use the full path to the script, e.g.:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "etabs": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "etabs_mcp.server"]
    }
  }
}

Make sure you run this Python from the same virtual environment where you installed the package.

Cursor