HuskyBIM for MicroStation

HuskyBIM for MicroStation connects Claude Desktop to Bentley MicroStation 2026 through a native add-in — 179 tools that read, draw, edit, measure and document your DGN in plain language. Elements, levels, references, cells, text and dimensions, 3D solids, Item Types, views and saved views, screenshots, DWG/DXF/PDF export — and when a task needs something no tool covers, Claude can send any MicroStation key-in, call any member of the COM object model, or run Python against Bentley's official API.

Requirements

• Bentley MicroStation 2026 (26.0) for Windows — earlier versions are not supported yet
• Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit)
• Claude Desktop — download at claude.ai/download
• Free HuskyBIM account — sign up

Installation

What you can do

HuskyBIM for MicroStation covers 179 tools across the MicroStation workflow:

• Files & models — open, create (from seed), save, save-as DWG/DXF/V7; list and create design and sheet models; working units and unit conversion; file properties
• Levels — list, create, rename, delete, ByLevel symbology, display/freeze/lock/plot, usage counts per level
• Read the model — scan by type/level/color/class/range/text, element details with geometry, vertices, selection set and fence contents, find text, every property MicroStation exposes for an element
• Draw — lines and line strings, shapes and blocks, circles/ellipses, arcs (three ways), curves and B-splines, text and text nodes, cells from libraries or from existing elements, complex chains and shapes, region booleans and flood, hatch/pattern, dimensions, cones, named groups
• Edit — move, copy, array, rotate, scale, mirror, transform, delete, symbology and ByLevel, edit text, edit vertices, lock/hide, drop complex elements, copy between models
• Measure — lengths, areas, perimeters, centroids, volumes, distances, intersections, projections, point-in-shape, ranges, fillets
• 3D solids — slab/sphere/cylinder/cone/torus/wedge primitives, extrude, revolve, sweep, fillet/chamfer/shell, convert, section, facet to mesh, volume and vertices
• References & rasters — list, attach (coincident or by origins), detach, move/scale/rotate/visibility, scan elements inside a reference, copy elements in, raster attachments
• Cells & styles — cell libraries and cells, shared cell definitions, where a cell is used, text styles (create/edit), dimension styles, line styles, fonts, color table, tag sets and tags
• Views — the 8 views (fit, standard orientations, zoom, window area, render mode, display attributes, level display), zoom to elements, saved views, view groups, and screenshots Claude can look at
• Item Types & EC properties — list libraries, create item types with properties, attach to elements and set values, read business data, detach, query the model for elements carrying an item type
• Audit & quantities — model audit reconciled against MicroStation's own element count, quantity takeoff per level/type/cell, duplicate finder, where-used for levels/cells/styles/colors, model comparison
• Export, import, print, geo — DWG/DXF/PDF/OBJ/FBX/Collada/SketchUp/STL export (proven), import DWG/DXF/DGN/STL as native elements (proven), print to PDF with the pdf plot driver, geographic coordinate systems (attach, lat/lon ↔ model coordinates), auxiliary coordinate systems
• Drawing production — named boundaries (create/list/delete), model annotation scale, place a design model or saved view on a sheet at 1:50/1:100 with a clip, Create Drawing (drawing model + sheet from a named boundary, programmatically), display styles (Illustration, Hidden Line, Monochrome, Thematic…), clip volumes per view, level libraries, and Print Organizer batch printing to PDF
• IFC & DWG — attach IFC from Revit 2024–2027 as references (the Revit 2026/2027 files MicroStation rejects out of the box are handled automatically), open/edit/save DWG natively with layouts as sheet models, export DGN to DWG — all reconciled 1:1 against AutoCAD
• Knowledge built in — full-text search in the complete MicroStation help (7,138 topics), a catalogue of 882 documented tools with their key-ins, 170 proven recipes (key-in + data points measured on MicroStation 2026), and a MicroStation idiom guide with a Revit/AutoCAD vocabulary map
• Escape hatches — full API control — any key-in with Message Center feedback, key-in + data points to drive any tool, the COM object model (read/call/set/describe any of its 7,300 members, searchable), Python against Bentley's official MSPy API (DgnPlatform, MstnPlatform, ECObjects, geometry), VBA macros, and MicroStation's dialogs (read text, click buttons, send keys)

Example workflows

• "Can you see MicroStation? What file and model are open, and which units?"
• "List the levels in use and count the elements on each. Which levels are empty?"
• "Draw the outline of a 12 × 8 m building at the origin on level A-WALL, with 300 mm walls as a second offset shape."
• "Find all text containing 'REV' and change it to 'Rev. C'."
• "Attach Site.dgn coincident and tell me what it contains."
• "Create an Item Type 'Room' with Name and Area, attach it to the closed shapes on level ROOMS, and fill in the area from the geometry."
• "Quantity takeoff: total length of lines per level and total area of closed shapes."
• "Set view 1 to isometric, smooth shade, fit, and show me a screenshot."
• "Export the active model to DWG and print view 1 to PDF on A3."
• "Use a key-in to run 'level manager' — or ask Python for the model's range through the DgnPlatform API."

Troubleshooting

Ensure MicroStation 2026 is running with a design file open and that Claude Desktop has been restarted after installation. Check Claude Desktop → Settings → Extensions to confirm HuskyBIM for MicroStation is enabled.

HuskyBIM for MicroStation talks to the add-in inside MicroStation over local port 14275. The add-in loads when a design file opens — if MicroStation is sitting on the start screen, open a DGN first, then send your prompt. If the Message Center never shows "HuskyBIM for MicroStation ready", check that C:\ProgramData\Bentley\MicroStation 2026\Configuration\Organization\HuskyBIM.cfg exists (the installer writes it) and that %LOCALAPPDATA%\HuskyBIM\microstation\HuskyBIM.MicroStation.dll is present. The add-in writes a log to %LOCALAPPDATA%\HuskyBIM\microstation\addin.log. If your organisation relocates MicroStation's configuration (a custom _USTN_ORGANIZATION on a network share), copy HuskyBIM.cfg into that Organization folder — MicroStation only reads the cfg files there.

Claude's calls run on MicroStation's main thread, one at a time. A modal dialog (a file picker, a "save changes?" prompt) blocks them: close it, or ask Claude to read and dismiss it (it can list dialogs and press their buttons).

If activation fails, a message will appear at the end of installation. Your files are still installed — re-run the installer with the correct email. Contact [email protected] if the issue persists.