SketchUp MCP Server

Connect Claude to SketchUp via the Model Context Protocol (MCP).

Architecture

Claude Desktop (MCP client)
        ↕  stdio (MCP protocol)
sketchup-mcp  (Python MCP server)
        ↕  HTTP REST  localhost:8080
sketchup_mcp_server.rb  (Ruby WEBrick plugin inside SketchUp)
        ↕  SketchUp Ruby API
 SketchUp Model

Installation

Part 1 — Install the SketchUp Ruby Plugin

Automatic Installation (Recommended)

The plugin now has a modular structure. Use the deployment script:

cd sketchup-mcp/sketchup_plugin
./deploy.sh

The script will:

• Find your SketchUp Plugins directory automatically
• Copy all necessary files (main plugin + lib/ modules)
• Create the required directory structure
• Warn if SketchUp is running

Manual Installation

If you prefer manual installation:

Plugins folder location:

Copy these files:

PLUGINS="~/Library/Application Support/SketchUp 2024/SketchUp/Plugins"

cp sketchup_plugin/sketchup_mcp_server.rb "$PLUGINS/"
mkdir -p "$PLUGINS/lib/construction"
cp sketchup_plugin/lib/construction.rb "$PLUGINS/lib/"
cp sketchup_plugin/lib/construction/roof_truss.rb "$PLUGINS/lib/construction/"

Start the Server

Restart SketchUp. The server auto-starts on port 8080 when SketchUp loads.

You can also use:

• Plugins → MCP Server → Start Server
• Plugins → MCP Server → Stop Server
• Plugins → MCP Server → Restart Server

Verify

Open the SketchUp Ruby Console. You should see these startup messages:

====== LOADING SKETCHUP MCP PLUGIN ======
====== REQUIRES COMPLETE ======
====== CONSTRUCTION MODULES LOADED ======
====== SKETCHUP MCP SERVER STARTED ======

Test the connection:

require 'net/http'
Net::HTTP.get(URI('http://localhost:8080/model/info'))

You should see a JSON response with your model's details.

Part 2 — Install the Python MCP Server

Prerequisites

• Python 3.10+
• uv (recommended) or pip

Install with uv (recommended)

# Install uv if you don't have it
curl -LsSf https://astral.sh/uv/install.sh | sh

# Clone or navigate to this repository
cd sketchup-mcp

# Install the package and dependencies
uv pip install -e .

# The CLI command 'sketchup-mcp' is now available

Install with pip

cd sketchup-mcp
pip install -e .

Test it standalone

# With SketchUp running and plugin loaded:
sketchup-mcp

The server will start and communicate via stdio. Press Ctrl+C to stop.

Part 3 — Connect to Claude Desktop

Edit ~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS) or %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json (Windows):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sketchup": {
      "command": "sketchup-mcp"
    }
  }
}

Note: If you installed without -e or want to use an absolute path:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "sketchup": {
      "command": "uv",
      "args": ["run", "--directory", "/ABSOLUTE/PATH/TO/sketchup-mcp", "sketchup-mcp"]
    }
  }
}

Restart Claude Desktop. You should see a SketchUp icon in the tools panel.

MCP Resources (Construction Knowledge)

Claude can automatically reference these construction guides when needed:

Available MCP Tools

Query tools

Basic geometry

Advanced geometry

Transformations

Components

Construction (High-Level)

Execute Ruby

Example Claude prompts

Basic Operations

"Show me all the layers in my SketchUp model"

"Create a 10×10×3 foot box at the origin on layer 'Walls'"

"Create a circle with radius 12 inches at the origin"

"Create a hexagon with radius 6 inches, then push-pull it 2 inches"

"List every face in the model and tell me which ones are larger than 50 sq inches"

"Create a component called 'Chair' and place three copies at (0,0,0), (60,0,0), and (120,0,0)"

"Move entity 12345 by vector [10, 0, 5]"

"Rotate entity 67890 around the Z-axis by 45 degrees"

Construction (With Knowledge Resources)

"Create roof trusses for a 24-foot span building with a 6:12 pitch"

"I need fink trusses for a 30-foot wide building, spaced 24 inches on center, covering a 40-foot length"

"Create a king post truss for my 20-foot garage with an 8:12 pitch"

"Frame a building that's 24 feet × 30 feet with 8-foot walls and add roof trusses"

"What type of roof truss should I use for a 28-foot span? Then create them."

"Add queen post roof trusses to my building with proper spacing"

Note: Claude will automatically reference the construction knowledge resources (roof trusses, framing standards, stairs) when relevant to provide accurate, code-compliant designs.

Development

Project Structure

sketchup-mcp/
├── src/
│   └── sketchup_mcp/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       ├── __main__.py
│       └── server.py              # Main MCP server code
├── sketchup_plugin/
│   ├── sketchup_mcp_server.rb     # Main Ruby HTTP server
│   ├── deploy.sh                  # Deployment script
│   ├── DEPLOYMENT.md              # Deployment documentation
│   └── lib/                       # Modular construction features
│       ├── construction.rb        # Module loader
│       └── construction/
│           └── roof_truss.rb      # Roof truss implementation
├── resources/                     # MCP construction knowledge
│   ├── roof_trusses.md            # Used by Claude
│   ├── framing_standards.md       # Used by Claude
│   ├── stairs.md                  # Used by Claude
│   ├── fink_truss_engineering_spec.md      # Developer docs
│   └── truss_implementation_guide.md       # Developer docs
├── tests/                         # Test suite (TODO)
├── pyproject.toml                 # Package configuration
└── README.md

Install for development

# Install with dev dependencies
uv pip install -e ".[dev]"

# Run tests (once implemented)
pytest

# Run the server directly
python -m sketchup_mcp

Adding New Construction Features

The plugin uses a modular architecture for scalability:

1. Create new module: sketchup_plugin/lib/construction/feature_name.rb
2. Define class: module Construction; class FeatureName; def self.create(params); end; end; end
3. Register module: Add require_relative 'construction/feature_name' to lib/construction.rb
4. Add handler: In main server, add def self.handle_create_feature(params); Construction::FeatureName.create(params); end
5. Add route: Add to ROUTES hash
6. Add MCP tool: Register in Python server.py
7. Deploy: Run ./deploy.sh

This keeps the main server file clean and each feature isolated. See lib/construction/roof_truss.rb for a complete example.

Troubleshooting

Security note

The execute_ruby tool runs arbitrary code inside SketchUp. Only use it with prompts you trust, and consider disabling the route in the .rb file if you don't need it.

License

MIT