Abaqus MCP Plugin v4.0

A plugin that enables communication between Abaqus/CAE and external AI assistants (or any MCP client) via file-based IPC.

What's New in v4.0

• Job management — list and submit Abaqus jobs remotely
• ODB inspection — open ODB files read-only and query steps, frames, instances
• Viewport capture — screenshot any Abaqus viewport as base64 image
• Richer model info — now includes loads, BCs, interactions, and assembly instances
• MCP resource — abaqus://status resource for real-time plugin status
• Stale command cleanup — automatically removes commands older than 2 minutes
• Logging — all operations logged to ~/.abaqus-mcp/mcp.log
• Version tracking — status.json and ping responses include plugin version
• GUI Status button — check plugin state from the Plug-ins menu

Architecture

┌─────────────┐  MCP protocol   ┌───────────────┐  file IPC   ┌──────────────┐
│  MCP Client  │ ──────────────> │  mcp_server.py │ ─────────> │ Abaqus/CAE   │
│  (Cursor AI) │ <────────────── │  (FastMCP)     │ <───────── │ (plugin.py)  │
└─────────────┘                  └───────────────┘             └──────────────┘
                                        │
                                   commands/*.json ──>  (plugin reads & deletes)
                                   results/*.json  <──  (plugin writes)
                                   status.json     <──  (heartbeat every 2s)

Features

• Execute Python scripts in Abaqus remotely
• Query model information (parts, materials, steps, loads, BCs, interactions)
• List and submit analysis jobs
• Inspect ODB result files
• Capture viewport screenshots
• Simple file-based communication (no sockets required)
• Non-blocking background mode (GUI stays responsive)
• GUI menu entries for start / stop / status control
• Works with any MCP-compatible client (Cursor, Claude Desktop, etc.)

Installation

1. Clone the repository

git clone https://github.com/Cai-aa/abaqus-mcp.git ~/.abaqus-mcp

2. Install Python dependencies (for the MCP server)

pip install mcp

3. (Optional) Auto-load plugin on Abaqus startup

# Windows
copy "$env:USERPROFILE\.abaqus-mcp\abaqus_v6.env.example" "$env:USERPROFILE\abaqus_v6.env"

# Linux/Mac
cp ~/.abaqus-mcp/abaqus_v6.env.example ~/abaqus_v6.env

4. (Optional) Install GUI plugin menu

# Windows
Copy-Item -Recurse "$env:USERPROFILE\.abaqus-mcp\abaqus_plugins\mcp_control" "$env:USERPROFILE\abaqus_plugins\mcp_control"

# Linux/Mac
cp -r ~/.abaqus-mcp/abaqus_plugins/mcp_control ~/abaqus_plugins/mcp_control

5. Configure your MCP client

Add to your Cursor / Claude Desktop MCP settings (.mcp.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "abaqus-mcp-server": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["C:/Users/YourUsername/.abaqus-mcp/mcp_server.py"]
    }
  }
}

Usage

Start MCP (in Abaqus)

Experimental — non-blocking background thread (may be unstable on some Abaqus builds):

mcp_start()  # GUI remains responsive if background worker is supported

Menu: Plug-ins → MCP → Start MCP (Background)

Alternative — cooperative loop (mostly responsive):

mcp_coop_loop()

Menu: Plug-ins → MCP → Start MCP (Cooperative)

Alternative — blocking mode:

mcp_loop()  # blocks console

Menu: Plug-ins → MCP → Start MCP (Blocking)

Mode	GUI Responsive	Stop Method
Background (mcp_start())	Yes (if supported)	mcp_stop() or menu
Cooperative (mcp_coop_loop())	Mostly yes	mcp_stop() or stop.flag
Blocking (mcp_loop())	No	stop.flag / interrupt

For maximum reliability, use mcp_loop() in production sessions.

Check Status

mcp_status()  # prints status to console

Menu: Plug-ins → MCP → MCP Status

Stop MCP

Option 1 — GUI menu: Plug-ins → MCP → Stop MCP

Option 2 — Abaqus console:

mcp_stop()

Option 3 — PowerShell:

echo $null > "$env:USERPROFILE\.abaqus-mcp\stop.flag"

Option 4 — Run stop_mcp.py from any Python environment.

MCP Tools

These tools are exposed to MCP clients via mcp_server.py:

Tool	Description
check_abaqus_connection	Verify Abaqus is running and plugin is responding
execute_script	Execute a Python script inside Abaqus/CAE
get_model_info	Get model details (parts, materials, steps, loads, BCs, etc.)
list_jobs	List all analysis jobs in the session
submit_job	Submit a job by name and wait for completion
get_odb_info	Open an ODB file read-only and return metadata
get_viewport_image	Capture a viewport screenshot as base64
ping	Test connection (returns version info)

MCP Resources

URI	Description
abaqus://status	Real-time plugin status (running/stopped, version, uptime)

File-Based IPC Protocol

Write a JSON command file into ~/.abaqus-mcp/commands/:

import json, os, time

command = {
    'id': 'my_command',
    'type': 'execute_script',
    'script': 'print("Hello from Abaqus!")',
    'timestamp': time.time(),
}

cmd_path = os.path.expanduser('~/.abaqus-mcp/commands/cmd_my_command.json')
with open(cmd_path, 'w') as f:
    json.dump(command, f)

Result will appear at ~/.abaqus-mcp/results/my_command.json.

Command Types

Type	Parameters	Description
execute_script	script (str)	Execute Python script in Abaqus
get_model_info	—	Get current model information
list_jobs	—	List all defined jobs
submit_job	job_name (str)	Submit and wait for a job
get_odb_info	odb_path (str)	Read ODB metadata
get_viewport_image	viewport_name, format	Capture viewport screenshot
ping	—	Test connection
stop	—	Request loop stop

Directory Structure

~/.abaqus-mcp/
├── abaqus_mcp_plugin.py      # Abaqus-side plugin (runs inside CAE)
├── mcp_server.py              # MCP server (runs externally)
├── stop_mcp.py                # Helper to send stop signal
├── abaqus_v6.env.example      # Auto-load config template
├── .mcp.json                  # MCP client config example
├── abaqus_plugins/
│   └── mcp_control/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       └── mcp_control_plugin.py
├── commands/                  # Incoming command files
├── results/                   # Outgoing result files
├── scripts/                   # Temporary script files
├── screenshots/               # Temporary viewport captures
├── status.json                # Heartbeat status (updated every 2s)
├── mcp.log                    # Operation log
└── stop.flag                  # Stop signal file

Troubleshooting

• Plugin says "running" but no commands are consumed:
  1. Run mcp_stop() then mcp_start() again
  2. Check ~/.abaqus-mcp/status.json — timestamp should update every ~2s
  3. Check ~/.abaqus-mcp/mcp.log for errors
• Abaqus uses a different home directory:

  import os; os.environ['ABAQUS_MCP_HOME'] = r'C:\Users\YourName\.abaqus-mcp'
  

  Set this before loading the plugin.
• Commands timing out:
  • Stale commands (>2 min) are auto-cleaned
  • Ensure the plugin is in running state via mcp_status()
• GUI plugin not showing:
  • Verify ~/abaqus_plugins/mcp_control/ exists and contains mcp_control_plugin.py
  • Restart Abaqus/CAE

License

MIT License