IFC Core MCP Server

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MCP server for IFC4.3 specification reference — search and retrieve IFC entity definitions, attributes, inheritance hierarchies, and PropertySets.

Unlike existing IFC-related MCP servers that operate on IFC model files (parse, extract, modify), this server provides access to the IFC specification itself as a structured reference. It enables AI to look up the correct definitions of entities, attributes, types, and constraints defined in the IFC4.3 standard (ISO 16739-1:2024).

Key Features

• Entity Search — find IFC entities by name or description keyword
• Entity Definition — retrieve complete definitions with attributes, inheritance, WHERE rules, and documentation
• Inheritance Tree — visualize ancestor chains and descendant hierarchies
• PropertySet Lookup — get or search PropertySet definitions with full documentation
• Dual Output — every tool supports both Markdown (human-readable) and JSON (structured) formats
• Pagination — configurable limit/offset for large result sets

Available Tools

| Tool | Description | | --------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | ifc_search_entity | Search entities by name or description keyword | | ifc_get_entity | Get complete entity definition (attributes, inheritance, WHERE rules, docs) | | ifc_get_inheritance | Show inheritance hierarchy (ancestors, descendants, or both) | | ifc_get_propertyset | Get or search PropertySet definitions |

Installation

npm (global)

npm install -g @shuji-bonji/ifc-core-mcp

Claude Desktop

Add the following to your claude_desktop_config.json:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ifc-core": {
      "command": "npx",
      "args": ["-y", "@shuji-bonji/ifc-core-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Claude Code

claude mcp add ifc-core -- npx -y @shuji-bonji/ifc-core-mcp

From source

git clone https://github.com/shuji-bonji/ifc-core-mcp.git
cd ifc-core-mcp
npm install
npm run build
node dist/index.js

Data Coverage

The server covers the complete IFC4.3 schema:

| Category | Count | | ----------------- | ----- | | Entities | 876 | | Type Declarations | 132 | | Enumerations | 243 | | Select Types | 61 | | Functions | 48 | | Global Rules | 2 |

Entities are organized across 4 IFC layers:

| Layer | Entities | Description | | -------- | -------- | ------------------------------- | | Resource | 392 | Geometry, units, materials | | Core | 145 | Kernel, product extensions | | Shared | 111 | Walls, columns, beams, MEP | | Domain | 228 | Architecture, HVAC, rail, roads |

Architecture

Build time (one-time, Python):
  IFC.exp (EXPRESS schema) → ifc4x3-schema.json
  IFC4.3.x-development Markdown → ifc4x3-descriptions-*.json

Runtime (TypeScript MCP server):
  Pre-built JSON files → Map-based indexes → MCP tools

The server loads three pre-built JSON data files at startup and builds in-memory indexes (Maps) for O(1) entity lookups by name. The EXPRESS schema provides structural data (types, attributes, inheritance, WHERE rules), while the Markdown documentation provides semantic data (definitions, usage, history).

Data Sources & Licenses

• EXPRESS schema (IFC.exp) — from buildingSMART/IFC4.3.x-output
• Markdown documentation — from buildingSMART/IFC4.3.x-development
• IFC specification content is licensed under CC BY-ND 4.0 by buildingSMART International

Development

Prerequisites

• Node.js >= 18
• Python 3 + IfcOpenShell (only for data regeneration)

Commands

npm run build          # Compile TypeScript
npm run dev            # Watch mode with tsx
npm test               # Run all tests (unit + e2e)
npm run test:unit      # Unit tests only
npm run test:e2e       # E2E integration tests
npm run lint           # ESLint check
npm run format         # Prettier formatting
npm run prepare-data   # Regenerate data from raw sources (requires Python)

Tech Stack

• Runtime: TypeScript (strict), Node.js
• MCP SDK: @modelcontextprotocol/sdk
• Validation: Zod
• Testing: Vitest (unit + e2e with actual MCP client)
• Linting: ESLint + Prettier
• CI/CD: GitHub Actions (lint → test → build → publish)

Related Projects

• w3c-mcp — MCP server for W3C/WHATWG/IETF web specifications
• rfcxml-mcp — MCP server for IETF RFC documents (XML-based)

License

MIT