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# AnkusDrive
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<picture>
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A CLI + MCP server that drives [FreeCAD](https://www.freecad.org/) through its Python API so LLMs (and humans at a terminal) can design mechanical parts and run FEM simulations without clicking through the GUI.
## Why
FreeCAD exposes almost everything it does through a Python API — create documents, build sketches, extrude solids, mesh them, run CalculiX/Elmer FEM solves, read back stress/displacement fields. But that API lives inside FreeCAD's embedded Python (`freecadcmd`), which is awkward to call from anywhere else. AnkusDrive wraps it behind two surfaces:
- **CLI** — one-shot commands (`ankusdrive run script.py`, `ankusdrive box --w 10 --d 20 --h 5 -o part.FCStd`) for scripts, CI, and quick iteration.
- **MCP server** — 280+ structured tools (`new_document`, `add_primitive`, `boolean_op`, `pad`, `add_gear`, `fem_new_analysis`, `fem_run`, `fem_results`) so an LLM agent can model, inspect, and simulate iteratively. Beyond core CAD/FEM this now spans a broad **simulation surface** (thermal, CFD/CHT, EM, acoustics, FSI, injection molding, granular/DEM, optics, multibody) and a **design-control layer** (item/part numbers, recipes, variant families, lifecycle/revision, ECO change orders, versioned interfaces).
- **Multi-agent orchestration** — a host-side reference layer that lets a *team* of agents partition one product into components, build them in parallel, and merge the pieces back together with the joints actually fitting (see [Multi-agent design](#multi-agent-design)).
## Target environment
- FreeCAD 1.1.x. The `freecadcmd` binary is auto-discovered per-OS (macOS `.app` bundle, Linux `/usr/bin` etc., **Windows** `C:\Program Files\FreeCAD 1.1\bin\freecadcmd.exe` — version-globbed); override via `$ANKUSDRIVE_FREECADCMD` or rely on PATH. Run `ankusdrive doctor` to see exactly what resolved.
- Bundled Python, `ccx` (CalculiX), and `gmsh` already ship **inside every FreeCAD install** — the macOS `.app`, the Linux package, and the Windows `bin\` — so core CAD + structural FEM work on all three with no extra install.
- Host-side rendering needs `Pillow` and `numpy`; both are installed by AnkusDrive as regular pip deps.
- **One optional exception:** drawing **PDF/SVG** export (`export_drawing`) renders inside FreeCAD's *bundled* Python, so it needs `reportlab` + `svglib` installed **there** — see [Drawing export (PDF/SVG)](#drawing-export-pdfsvg). DXF export and everything else leave FreeCAD's Python untouched.
## Setup
AnkusDrive is a `pip`-installable package; FreeCAD itself is the only thing you
install separately. The host-side dependencies (`mcp`, `Pillow`, `numpy`) come
along with the install. `freecadcmd` is launched as a subprocess and uses its
own bundled Python — AnkusDrive doesn't touch it.
```bash
# 1. Install FreeCAD 1.1.x from https://www.freecad.org/
# (macOS: drag to /Applications; Linux: distro package or AppImage;
# Windows: run the installer — default C:\Program Files\FreeCAD 1.1)
# 2. Install AnkusDrive. Pick one:
pipx install ankusdrive # from PyPI — isolated app, `ankusdrive` on PATH
pip install ankusdrive # or into an env you manage yourself
# unreleased main, or for development from a clone:
pipx install git+https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive.git
git clone https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive.git && cd AnkusDrive
python3 -m venv .venv && .venv/bin/pip install -e . # `.venv/bin/ankusdrive`
# 3. Smoke-test that the worker can reach FreeCAD, and see the full setup report
ankusdrive ping # → ping=pong freecad=1.1.1
ankusdrive doctor # per-item FreeCAD + solver checklist with the exact fix each
```
> **On Windows, don't follow the block above by hand** — there is one scripted path
> that does all of it including the MCP registration:
> [Windows quickstart (PowerShell)](#windows-quickstart-powershell).
AnkusDrive is published on PyPI at
[pypi.org/project/ankusdrive](https://pypi.org/project/ankusdrive/); the
distribution roadmap beyond it (marketplace listings, hosted transport) is
tracked in [epic #303](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/issues/303); the
original phase plan is kept as a design record at
[`docs/archive/PUBLISHING_PLAN.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/docs/archive/PUBLISHING_PLAN.md).
### macOS quickstart — solvers in a container
FreeCAD, CalculiX, SU2, PrusaSlicer and every pip-wheel family run **natively** on a
Mac; the block above is all you need for those. What has no practical macOS build is
the Linux solver stack — OpenFOAM, Elmer, YADE, openEMS, Bempp, preCICE,
openInjMoldSim. Those run in a container, and AnkusDrive stays on the host and reaches
into it. The image is multi-arch, so on Apple Silicon it runs **native, not emulated**.
```bash
# 1. A container engine: Docker Desktop, OrbStack, colima or podman.
# 2. Pull the solver image (0.88 GB on Apple Silicon, 1.15 GB on Intel).
docker pull ghcr.io/gchen19/ankusdrive-solvers:latest
# 3. Check it is ours before running your geometry through it (see below).
bash scripts/verify-container-image.sh
# 4. Point AnkusDrive at the container substrate.
export ANKUSDRIVE_SUBSTRATE=container
# optional: ANKUSDRIVE_CONTAINER_ENGINE=podman|nerdctl (default docker)
# optional: ANKUSDRIVE_CONTAINER=<name> (default ankusdrive-solvers)
# 5. Create the container. $TMPDIR must be mounted at the SAME path inside, because a
# case directory has to mean the same thing on both sides. On macOS $TMPDIR is a
# per-user /var/folders/... path — mount THAT, not /tmp.
docker run -d --name ankusdrive-solvers \
--user "$(id -u):$(id -g)" -e HOME=/tmp \
--network none --cap-drop ALL --security-opt no-new-privileges \
--read-only --tmpfs /tmp:rw,exec,size=2g \
-v "$TMPDIR:$TMPDIR" \
ghcr.io/gchen19/ankusdrive-solvers sleep infinity
# 6. Export the in-container paths for the OpenFOAM-backed families. The image
# publishes them; YADE, Elmer, openEMS and Bempp need no export — AnkusDrive finds
# them by asking the container.
docker exec ankusdrive-solvers env | grep -E \
'^ANKUSDRIVE_(OPENFOAM_PATH|OPENFOAM_BASHRC|FSI_OPENFOAM_BASHRC|CCX_PRECICE|PRECICE_LIB|OPENFOAM_ADAPTER_LIB|OPENINJMOLDSIM|OPENINJMOLDSIM_BASHRC)='
# 7. Confirm.
ankusdrive doctor # each family: ready via <solver> (in container)
ankusdrive doctor --verify-image # …and that the image is signed by this repo
```
The `run` flags are least privilege, and each is there because the solvers genuinely
do not need what it removes — verified by running the live solver suites with them on.
`--network none` in particular: nothing in a mesh is a reason to reach the internet.
**Don't copy the image's `ANKUSDRIVE_FREECADCMD` or `ANKUSDRIVE_CALCULIX_PATH`** — those
name paths inside the container, while FreeCAD and `ccx` run on your Mac.
A `config.toml` written for a native install is the one trap here: its absolute paths
are read as in-container paths. `ankusdrive doctor` now catches that and says so.
The alternative substrate on macOS is a Multipass VM, which you provision yourself —
[`docs/MACOS.md`](docs/MACOS.md) has the full per-solver reality on a Mac, and
[`docs/CONTAINER_SUBSTRATE.md`](docs/CONTAINER_SUBSTRATE.md) the container path in depth.
### The solver images, and checking they are ours
| image | what it is | size |
|---|---|---|
| `ghcr.io/gchen19/ankusdrive-solvers` | **what you want**: solvers and their runtime libraries, nothing else | 1.15 GB amd64 / 0.88 GB arm64 |
| `ghcr.io/gchen19/ankusdrive-heavy` | the CI image — also carries FreeCAD, the driver venv and every build toolchain, because the whole test suite runs inside it | 5.3 GB / 4.5 GB |
Both are public, multi-arch (`linux/amd64` + `linux/arm64`, each built natively) and
tagged `latest` plus `sha-<commit>`.
Every published manifest is **signed through Sigstore** with a short-lived GitHub OIDC
identity — no key to store or leak — and carries provenance naming the repository,
workflow and commit that built it, plus a CycloneDX SBOM of what is inside:
```bash
bash scripts/verify-container-image.sh # the slim image, :latest
bash scripts/verify-container-image.sh ghcr.io/gchen19/ankusdrive-solvers@sha256:<digest>
```
Needs the GitHub CLI (`gh` ≥ 2.49, authenticated). Verify a **digest** and then run
that digest: verifying `:latest` today and pulling `:latest` next week are two
different images. `ankusdrive doctor` prints the digest the running container was made
from, and `--verify-image` checks it.
There are three answers, and only one is alarming: **verified**; **unsigned** (an image
you built yourself, or one published before signing existed — silence it with
`ANKUSDRIVE_ALLOW_UNVERIFIED_IMAGE=1`); and **mismatch**, an image carrying provenance
from somewhere else, which no setting silences. Verification never blocks a solve.
**Building your own** — a subset, or with your own changes — takes minutes, because
nothing is compiled (the prebuilt solver trees are copied):
```bash
tools/build_solver_image.sh --solvers "openfoam fsi" -t my-solvers:dev # 0.69 GB
```
### Windows quickstart (PowerShell)
Windows is a first-class target (core CAD + CalculiX FEM run natively against a stock
FreeCAD 1.1 install), and the whole core install is one script — venv, pinned
dependencies, `doctor`, and the MCP registration line with **resolved absolute paths**:
```powershell
# 1. Install FreeCAD 1.1.x from https://www.freecad.org/ (default C:\Program Files\FreeCAD 1.1).
# Nothing needs to go on PATH — AnkusDrive globs the versioned install dir itself.
# 2. Clone and run the core installer. Windows PowerShell 5.1 is enough; no admin needed.
git clone https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive.git
cd AnkusDrive
powershell -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File scripts\install-core.ps1
```
That creates `.venv`, installs AnkusDrive with the pins that matter (notably `mcp<2` —
`mcp` 2.x installs cleanly and then breaks `ankusdrive mcp`), verifies the resolved
`mcp`/`numpy`/`Pillow`, runs `ankusdrive doctor` + `ankusdrive ping`, completes a real MCP
stdio handshake, and finally prints your registration block. Useful switches:
`-Python 'C:\Program Files\Python313\python.exe'` to pick an interpreter,
`-Extras mbd,fluids` for the pip-wheel solver families, `-Persist` to write the FreeCAD
path into `%APPDATA%\ankusdrive\config.toml` (MCP hosts launch with a minimal
environment, so a `$env:` set in your terminal will **not** reach them).
**3. Register it with your MCP host.** The script prints these with your real paths
filled in — a GUI host doesn't inherit your shell `PATH`, so the absolute path matters:
```powershell
# Claude Code
claude mcp add ankusdrive -- C:\Users\you\AnkusDrive\.venv\Scripts\ankusdrive.exe mcp
# Claude Desktop: %APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json
# { "mcpServers": { "ankusdrive": {
# "command": "C:\\Users\\you\\AnkusDrive\\.venv\\Scripts\\ankusdrive.exe",
# "args": ["mcp"] } } }
```
Then restart the host; you should see the `ankusdrive__*` tools appear.
Supported Python: **3.10 – 3.14** (3.14 verified end-to-end on Windows 11 —
`pip install`, MCP stdio handshake, and `ankusdrive ping` → `freecad=1.1.1`). The script
checks your interpreter *before* pip runs, so a too-new CPython says so instead of
failing inside the resolver.
Optional solvers (SU2, Elmer, PrusaSlicer, WSL-backed OpenFOAM) come afterwards via
`scripts\install-solvers.ps1`. For the Linux-only solvers (OpenFOAM, FSI,
injection molding, YADE, openEMS, Bempp), run `ankusdrive container setup
--install-engine` once WSL is installed. It runs them from the prebuilt image with
Docker inside WSL
([how](docs/WINDOWS.md#linux-only-solvers-docker-inside-wsl-recommended)). Full per-solver reality, the test suite, and the WSL2
route: [`docs/WINDOWS.md`](docs/WINDOWS.md).
### Ubuntu 24.04+ / containers (apt has no FreeCAD)
FreeCAD was **dropped from Ubuntu 24.04's `universe` repo**, so `apt install
freecad` finds no candidate there, and upstream's snap/flatpak both fail in a
container or sandboxed agent environment (no snapd session, no FUSE). The path
that works everywhere is the official **AppImage, extracted**:
```bash
scripts/install-freecad-appimage.sh # or: scripts/install-solvers.sh freecad
```
It downloads the pinned release AppImage, checks its SHA-256, unpacks it with
`--appimage-extract` (a userspace squashfs unpack — **no FUSE, no root, no
snapd**, which is why it works in a container), symlinks `freecadcmd`, `freecad`,
`ccx` and `gmsh` into `/usr/local/bin`, and then **live-verifies** the result with
`ankusdrive ping` plus a real CalculiX solve (`ankusdrive fem cantilever`). Without a
writable `/opt` it installs to `~/.local/opt/freecad` instead; `--prefix` /
`--bindir` override both, `--appimage FILE` reuses a download you already have.
The symlink step is optional: AnkusDrive also probes
`/opt/freecad/squashfs-root/usr/bin` (and `~/.local/opt/freecad*/…`) directly, so
a hand-extracted AppImage in either prefix is auto-discovered. `ccx` and `gmsh`
ride along inside the AppImage, so structural FEM works off this one download.
### Telling AnkusDrive where FreeCAD lives
AnkusDrive auto-discovers `freecadcmd` in this order: `$ANKUSDRIVE_FREECADCMD`,
then `shutil.which(...)` on PATH (trying `freecadcmd`, `FreeCADCmd`, and
`freecad.cmd`), then a **per-OS** list of standard install locations:
| OS | Auto-discovered locations (newest version wins) |
|---|---|
| macOS | `/Applications/FreeCAD.app/Contents/Resources/bin/freecadcmd` |
| Linux | `/usr/bin`, `/usr/local/bin`, `/snap/bin/freecad.cmd`, extracted AppImage under `/opt/freecad*/squashfs-root/usr/bin` or `~/.local/opt/freecad*/…`, `~/.local/bin` |
| Windows | `C:\Program Files\FreeCAD *\bin\freecadcmd.exe` (version-globbed), `C:\Program Files (x86)\…`, `%LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\FreeCAD *\bin\…` |
So a stock installer on any of the three needs **no configuration**. For a
non-default install, point AnkusDrive at the binary directly:
```bash
export ANKUSDRIVE_FREECADCMD=/path/to/freecadcmd # macOS/Linux
```
```powershell
$env:ANKUSDRIVE_FREECADCMD = "D:\Apps\FreeCAD\bin\freecadcmd.exe" # Windows
```
`ankusdrive doctor` prints which of the three layers (env / PATH / auto) actually
resolved FreeCAD, plus every candidate it checked — the fastest way to debug a
"FreeCAD not found" on a new box.
### Drawing export (PDF/SVG)
`export_drawing` builds 2-D mechanical drawings (multi-view PDF/SVG/DXF with
dimensions) entirely headless. **DXF** uses FreeCAD's own writer and needs
nothing extra. **PDF and SVG** are composed and rasterised with `reportlab` +
`svglib`, and because that runs inside the *worker* — FreeCAD's bundled Python,
not the host venv — the two packages must be installed into **FreeCAD's Python**:
```bash
# Resolve FreeCAD's bundled Python from freecadcmd itself (portable across the
# macOS .app, a Linux distro package, and an extracted AppImage). freecadcmd
# prints a startup banner after the script output, so match a marker line
# rather than taking the last line:
printf 'import sys; print("DPREFIX="+sys.prefix)\n' > /tmp/_fcprefix.py
FREECAD_PREFIX="$(freecadcmd /tmp/_fcprefix.py 2>/dev/null | sed -n 's/^DPREFIX=//p')"
FREECAD_PY="$FREECAD_PREFIX/bin/python" # some builds: $FREECAD_PREFIX/bin/python3
# Pin svglib<1.6 — newer svglib pulls rlPyCairo -> pycairo, a native build we
# don't use (our drawings are line art, no gradients).
"$FREECAD_PY" -m pip install reportlab "svglib<1.6"
# Verify:
"$FREECAD_PY" -c "import reportlab, svglib; print('drawing export ready')"
```
Without this, `export_drawing` still produces `.dxf`; `.pdf`/`.svg` raise a clear
`ModuleNotFoundError`. FreeCAD already bundles `Pillow` (reportlab needs it), so
no separate install is required.
### Wiring it into an MCP host
The MCP server speaks stdio. Point your host at the `ankusdrive` binary and
let it run the `mcp` subcommand.
**Claude Desktop** — add to `~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json`
(macOS) or `%APPDATA%\Claude\claude_desktop_config.json` (Windows):
```json
{
"mcpServers": {
"ankusdrive": {
"command": "ankusdrive",
"args": ["mcp"]
}
}
}
```
If `ankusdrive` isn't on the host process's PATH, use an absolute path —
e.g. `/Users/<you>/.local/bin/ankusdrive` (pipx default) or
`/absolute/path/to/AnkusDrive/.venv/bin/ankusdrive` (clone+venv).
**Claude Desktop, one click** — download `ankusdrive-<version>.mcpb` from the
[latest release](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/releases/latest) and open it.
Claude Desktop sets up its Python environment with `uv`, so no `pipx` step is needed
— FreeCAD 1.1 still is. The install dialog has one optional field, the FreeCAD
command path, for a FreeCAD that auto-discovery cannot find.
**Claude Code** — register once:
```bash
claude mcp add ankusdrive -- ankusdrive mcp
```
**Other hosts (Cursor, Continue, custom MCP clients)** — same shape: stdio
transport, command = `ankusdrive`, args = `["mcp"]`.
After restarting the host, you should see 280+ `ankusdrive__*` tools become
available. If startup hangs or the host reports a closed connection, run
`ankusdrive ping` directly — that exercises the same worker boot path with
cleaner error messages.
**Tool families (toolsets).** Every tool definition takes up the client's context, and
all 283 come to roughly 114k tokens. Tools are grouped into families you can switch on
and off: `core` (always on), `drawings`, `fem`, `components`, `sheet_metal`, `assembly`,
`intent`, `manufacturing`, `hand_calcs`, `simulation`, `plm`, `rendering`.
- **pip / pipx / uvx / clone:** every family is on unless you set
`ANKUSDRIVE_TOOLSETS`, e.g. `ANKUSDRIVE_TOOLSETS=drawings,fem,simulation`, or
`toolsets = "..."` in `config.toml`.
- **Claude Desktop extension:** `core`, `drawings` and `fem` are on by default
(~31k tokens); turn others on in the extension's settings.
`setup_status` lists the families that are off and exactly how to enable each one.
**`run_script`** executes Python the agent writes, with full access to your files and
processes. It's controlled by `ANKUSDRIVE_ALLOW_RUN_SCRIPT` (env, or `allow_run_script`
in `config.toml`):
- **pip / pipx / uvx / clone:** allowed unless set to `false`.
- **Claude Desktop extension:** **off by default**; turn it on in the extension's
settings.
When it's off, the tool isn't offered at all, and `setup_status` says how to enable it.
## Simulation solvers & review-video demos
The base install (FreeCAD + `pip install ankusdrive`) covers geometry, the analytic
oracles, and the MCP surface. The heavy simulation families each shell out to an
**external solver**, discovered at runtime by [`ankusdrive/solvers.py`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/ankusdrive/solvers.py)
(`$ANKUSDRIVE_<SOLVER>_PATH` → `PATH` → standard install dirs). A family whose solver is
absent degrades to a clean `{ok: false, reason, install}` dict instead of crashing — check
what currently resolves with **`ankusdrive doctor`** (cross-platform, no server boot needed),
the `solve_capabilities` MCP tool, or the install script's `list`. The install script
installs the pip-wheel solvers and provisions the native ones —
`scripts/install-solvers.sh` on Linux/macOS (apt/conda + source builds), and
[`scripts/install-solvers.ps1`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/scripts/install-solvers.ps1) on Windows (pip extras +
portable SU2/Elmer/PrusaSlicer downloads; CalculiX auto-detected from FreeCAD's bundle).
**Persistent config:** every `ANKUSDRIVE_*` path can instead live in
`~/.config/ankusdrive/config.toml` (`%APPDATA%\ankusdrive\config.toml` on Windows;
`ANKUSDRIVE_CONFIG` overrides): `freecadcmd = "..."` at top level, one lowercased key per
solver var under `[solvers]` (`su2_path`, `elmer_path`, `openfoam_bashrc`, ...). Env vars
still win when set; the file is the layer that survives an MCP host's minimal launch
environment. `ankusdrive doctor` reports the file and which layer resolved each value.
**Where a solve's files go:** every built-in solve writes its deck — a `.sif` plus
mesh, an OpenFOAM case tree, a `.inp`, a sliced `.gcode` — into its own directory under
`<system temp>/ankusdrive-cases`, and reports that directory as `case_dir`. They are
kept, because a result names them and a second tool is handed them (a warpage solve
consumes the cooling case a fill solve wrote), and they are **reaped oldest-first** once
the root passes 64 directories or 4 GB — never touching one written within the last
hour, so a running solve cannot be pulled out from under itself. `solve_capabilities`
reports the root and the live numbers under `cases`. Tune with `ANKUSDRIVE_CASE_ROOT`,
`ANKUSDRIVE_CASE_KEEP`, `ANKUSDRIVE_CASE_MAX_GB`, `ANKUSDRIVE_CASE_GRACE_S`, or turn
reaping off with `ANKUSDRIVE_KEEP_SCRATCH=1`. A `case_dir` **you** supply is never
touched, wherever it lives.
Every solve result also carries `deck` — a manifest of what the solver was handed,
taken the moment its first step launched, before it wrote any output into the same
directory: `{digest, count, bytes, files: {path: hash}}`. A `session_transcript`
compares it with `s.deck(...)` ahead of that solve's checks, so a replayed number that
drifted arrives already explained — `~ case.sif` printed right above the failing check
means the problem changed; `deck matches the recording` means it did not, and the
solver or the environment did. CalculiX FEM results carry their `.inp` the same way.
**Platform note:** the solver *discovery* layer is fully cross-platform (per-OS install
dirs, Windows `PATHEXT`/`.exe`, env overrides), so `ankusdrive doctor` gives an honest report
on macOS/Linux/Windows. The **pip-wheel** families (MBD, topology, optics, fluids) install
identically everywhere. The **native-binary** families differ by OS — CalculiX ships inside
every FreeCAD install; SU2 and PrusaSlicer have good Windows/macOS binaries; Elmer has a
portable Windows zip but no macOS binaries; the
**OpenFOAM-backed** families (CFD, FSI, injection molding) — plus YADE, openEMS and
Bempp — rely on a Linux shell + linker glue. On macOS they run through the **signed
solver container**, native on Apple Silicon and with no source builds: see
[macOS quickstart](#macos-quickstart--solvers-in-a-container). On Windows they run
through WSL. See
[`docs/WINDOWS.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/docs/WINDOWS.md) and [`docs/MACOS.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/docs/MACOS.md) for the full
per-solver reality and setup on each OS.
The review-video demos under [`scratch/`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/tree/main/scratch) turn a solver result into a GIF a human
can watch — the **real exported geometry** in motion with the matching oracle overlaid on
the frame (written to `artifacts/`). Each needs its family's solver plus `matplotlib`, and
the CFD one needs `meshio` (on top of the base `numpy`/`Pillow`):
```bash
pip install matplotlib meshio # frame rendering + reading OpenFOAM's VTK output
```
| Review-video demo (`scratch/…`) | Solver it drives | Install |
|---|---|---|
| `dog_clutch_cad_sim.py` — rigid-body contact via `p.vhacd` | **PyBullet** (pip wheel) | `pip install 'ankusdrive[mbd]'` |
| `meshing_gears_video.py` — MBD gear train | **PyBullet** (pip wheel) | `pip install 'ankusdrive[mbd]'` |
| `modal_shape_video.py` — FEM modal shapes | **CalculiX** `ccx` (FreeCAD FEM) | `apt install calculix-ccx` (Linux); FreeCAD finds `ccx` on `PATH` |
| `thermal_field_video.py` — transient thermal field | **Elmer** | `apt install elmerfem-csc`; ensure `ElmerSolver` on `PATH` (or set `ANKUSDRIVE_ELMER_PATH`) |
| `cfd_field_video.py` — CFD field (lid-driven cavity) | **OpenFOAM** + `meshio` | OpenFOAM via apt/conda, then `source <install>/etc/bashrc` (or set `ANKUSDRIVE_OPENFOAM_BASHRC`); `pip install meshio` |
All of them also use FreeCAD for the geometry/meshing, so run each with the same
interpreter that launches the worker — e.g. `.venv/bin/python3 scratch/cfd_field_video.py`.
### Optics
Two optics engines sit behind the MCP surface, in two licensing/runtime lanes:
| Lane | Tools | Engine | Install |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sequential — lens design + optimization | `optics_lens_design`, `optics_lens_optimize`, `optics_raytrace` | **optiland** / rayoptics (MIT/BSD, in-process) | `pip install 'ankusdrive[optics]'` — or `scripts/install-solvers.sh optics` |
| Non-sequential — tracing through STL solids | `optics_solid_trace` | **KrakenOS** (GPL-3.0, **out-of-process only**) | `pip install 'ankusdrive[optics_gpl]'` — or `scripts/install-solvers.sh optics_gpl` |
The sequential engines import in-process, so install the `optics` extra into the **same
interpreter that launches the worker** (like the other wheels). The non-sequential engine
is GPL-3.0 and is therefore **never imported by AnkusDrive** — it runs in a separate
subprocess ([`ankusdrive/optics_gpl_runner.py`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/ankusdrive/optics_gpl_runner.py)), the same
arm's-length boundary used for the GPL Elmer/OpenFOAM binaries. The worker locates a
Python that can import KrakenOS automatically (from where the wheel is installed); override
with `ANKUSDRIVE_OPTICS_GPL_PYTHON=/path/to/python`. Because of that isolation the GPL extra
is **opt-in**: the no-argument `install-solvers.sh` run installs only the permissive
extras and prints how to add `optics_gpl`. Rendered examples for both lanes (lens layout,
spot diagram, optimization, prism TIR, and a ball-lens spherical-aberration study) live in
[`examples/optics/optics_gallery/`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/tree/main/examples/optics/optics_gallery) — regenerate with
`.venv/bin/python examples/optics/optics_gallery.py` (and `…_3d.py`, `optics_ball_lens.py`), or
bootstrap everything in one shot (installs both lanes, then renders every figure):
```bash
scripts/install-solvers.sh --optics-gallery
```
## Architecture sketch
```
┌────────────┐ ┌────────────┐ ┌──────────────────────┐
│ MCP host │ ───► │ AnkusDrive │ ───► │ freecadcmd worker │
│ (Claude) │ │ (Python) │ IPC │ (long-lived Python) │
└────────────┘ └────────────┘ └──────────────────────┘
▲ ▲ │
│ │ ▼
└── CLI user ────────┘ .FCStd / .inp / .vtk
```
Key decision: **long-lived worker with JSON-over-stdin/stdout**, not subprocess-per-call. FreeCAD startup is ~1–2s; re-paying that per tool call is unacceptable for an interactive agent. The worker is a small Python loop launched under `freecadcmd`, reading commands, dispatching to handlers, returning structured results (including object IDs so follow-up calls can reference created geometry).
## FreeCAD API surface we care about
Notes gathered from the scripting docs and the FEM Python tutorial:
**Core (App):**
- `App.newDocument(name)` / `App.ActiveDocument` / `doc.recompute()` / `doc.save(path)`
- `doc.addObject("Part::Box", "name")` — typed object creation; properties set after (`box.Height = 5`)
- `doc.supportedTypes()` for introspection; `obj.TypeId`, `obj.isDerivedFrom("Part::Feature")`
**Modeling:**
- `Part` — `makeBox`, `makeCylinder`, `makeSphere`, boolean `cut/common/fuse`, fillets, lofts (OpenCASCADE under the hood)
- `Draft` — 2D primitives, `move`, arrays
- `Sketcher` + `PartDesign` — parametric sketch-driven solids (most "real" mechanical design happens here)
- `FreeCAD.Vector`, `Placement` for positioning
**FEM (`ObjectsFem` + `femtools`):**
- `ObjectsFem.makeAnalysis(doc, "Analysis")` — container
- `makeSolverCalculixCcxTools` / `makeSolverElmer` — solver objects with tunables (`GeometricalNonlinearity`, `ThermoMechSteadyState`, …)
- `makeMaterialSolid` — assign `YoungsModulus`, `PoissonRatio`, `Density`
- Constraints: `makeConstraintFixed`, `makeConstraintForce`, `makeConstraintPressure`, `makeConstraintDisplacement`, contact/tie/spring, thermal
- Mesh: `makeMeshGmsh` + `femmesh.gmshtools.GmshTools(...).create_mesh()` (or Netgen)
- Run: `femtools.ccxtools.FemToolsCcx().run()`
- Results: iterate `analysis.Group` for `Fem::FemResultObject`; read `.DisplacementVectors`, stress fields
**Headless invocation:**
- `freecadcmd script.py` — runs script then exits
- `freecadcmd` with no args — interactive Python REPL (what the worker will drive)
- `--console`, `-M <moddir>`, `-P <pypath>`, `--pass <args>`, `FreeCAD.ConfigGet(...)` for env info
- `FreeCADGui` is **not** available headless — keep design logic in `App`/`Part`/`Fem` only
## How an agent reaches FreeCAD: three layers
AnkusDrive exposes FreeCAD through three layers, each with a different audience
and a different cost-of-use. Knowing which layer a feature lives in tells you
how to invoke it.
### Layer 1 — typed MCP tools (the agent surface)
280+ first-class MCP tools span the **core mechanical-design surface**, a broad
**engineering-analysis / simulation surface**, and a **design-control (PLM)
layer**. They have validated parameters, structured returns, and stable handles
for chaining. This is the happy path — what an agent uses for things people do
every day.
| Domain | What's covered |
|---|---|
| Document lifecycle | `new_document`, `open_document`, `save_document`, `list_documents`, `set_active_document`, `close_document`, `restart_worker` |
| Geometry primitives | `add_primitive` (box/cyl/sphere), `boolean_op`, `export_shape` (STEP/IGES/BREP/STL) |
| Selection (stable refs) | `list_faces`, `list_edges`, `query_faces`, `resolve_face`, `resolve_edge`, `register_handle`, `verify_feature` |
| PartDesign | `make_body`, `make_datum_plane`, `make_sketch`, `add_sketch_geometry`, `add_sketch_constraint`, `add_sketch_external`, `close_sketch`, `pad`, `pocket`, `revolve`, `hole`, `loft`, `sweep`, `helix`, `partdesign_fillet`, `partdesign_chamfer`, `linear_pattern`, `polar_pattern`, `mirrored`, `thickness`, `draft` |
| Direct modeling & feature ops | `fillet_edges`, `chamfer_edges`, `shell_solid`, `add_rib`, `engrave_text`, `oring_groove`, `transform`, `scale_shape`, `copy_shape` |
| Parametric components | `add_gear`, `add_rack`, `add_sprocket`, `add_pulley`, `add_spring`, `add_fastener`, `add_bearing`, `add_thread`, `list_thread_options` |
| Metrology & inspection | `measure_distance`, `measure_angle`, `bounding_box`, `check_shape`, `section_view`, `min_clearance`, `envelope_check`, `interference_check` |
| Generic property access | `get_object`, `set_property` |
| Functional intent & invariants | `annotate_face`, `list_face_roles`, `classify_face_sides`, `check_airtight_path`, `declare_intent`, `verify_intent` |
| Performance contracts | `declare_performance`, `verify_performance` — a quantitative spec ("Cd ≤ 0.30 at 30 m/s", "Δp ≤ 50 Pa", "first mode ≥ 200 Hz") persisted on the part and re-proved after every edit, with a three-state verdict: a measurement whose uncertainty band straddles the limit is `indeterminate` (escalate), never a pass. The contract is consulted at the gates (#261): `merge_assembly`, `substitutability_check` and `component_contract_check` read the last recorded verdict, so an unmet spec blocks a merge and an *unverified* one is reported as its own outcome rather than passing silently |
| Design-space studies (DOE) | `study_submit` — sweep recipe/tool parameters over a full grid or a Latin hypercube and keep the WHOLE search as a table, not just the last point. A response is any AnkusDrive tool + a metric path (including a whole `verify_performance` verdict, so points stay comparable across fidelity tiers); screening responses evaluate inline, solver responses fan out concurrently behind one collector job. Sampling is deterministic from `seed`, so re-submitting a crashed or widened study re-runs only the new points and reports the rest as cache hits |
| Optimize to a spec | `optimize_submit` — vary bounded parameters until every constraint passes, then report whether it was **proven**. A bounded Nelder-Mead (derivative-free; there is no adjoint through a CFD solve) over the same objective/constraint mapping the contract layer uses, with a screen→solver fidelity ladder. Two rules come from the contract layer: an `indeterminate` constraint is a measurement problem, not a failed step (it neither attracts nor repels the search), and convergence is not proof — a margin narrower than its own uncertainty band is reported unproven, however tidily the simplex converged |
| Assembly & interfaces | `make_assembly`, `add_part`, `list_assembly_parts`, `merge_assembly`, `publish_interface`, `interface_align_check`, `assembly_lock`, `assembly_lock_check`, `bom_extract` |
| Drawings (TechDraw, headless) | `make_drawing_page`, `add_projection_group`, `add_section_view`, `add_thumbnail`, `add_dimension`, `add_annotation`, `add_feature_note`, `add_gdt_callout` (feature control frames), `set_title_block`, `fit_page`, `export_drawing` (PDF/SVG/DXF), plus completeness/legibility gates `drawing_gate`, `drawing_legibility` |
| Inspection (first-article) | `balloon_drawing` (revision-stable balloon numbering), `inspection_plan` (characteristic list with a measurement method per row, by the gauge-maker's 10:1 rule), `fai_report` (AS9102-Form-3-*shaped* CSV/SVG/PDF — not a certified submission); `drawing_gate(require_ballooned=True)` makes a ballooned print a release requirement |
| Release packages (vendor / RFQ) | `release_package` — the one-call deliverable bundle for an item at a revision: STEP + drawings (PDF/SVG/DXF) + recursive BOM + inspection package + a blake2b-checksummed manifest. Gated *before* anything is written: the item must be in a releasable lifecycle state (or `draft=True`, which watermarks every artifact PRELIMINARY), `drawing_gate` must pass for every included page, and the title block's part number / revision / material must match the items registry — a mismatch is a failure with a naming diff, never a silent fix. Byte-reproducible (the same revision re-releases to identical checksums), stamps the ECO into the manifest and the print, and `rfq=True` adds quantity breaks + the `cost_estimate` rollup while dropping internal-only artifacts |
| Off-the-shelf parts (buyability) | `catalog_search` (what standard components exist, in which sizes and stocked lengths), `catalog_nearest` (snap a wanted size to a real one — asked for an M4×13 it answers 12 and 16), `catalog_check`, `standard_part_designate` (canonical designations: `ISO 4762 M4×12 A2`, `608-2RS`, `AS568-214 NBR70`, stamped on the part at creation), `designation_check`, `bom_extract(orderable=True)` (per-line stocked / not_stocked with alternatives) |
| Visual feedback | `render_view`, `render_views` (8 preset views, multi-view sheets), `render_photoreal` / `render_photoreal_submit` (Blender studio scene with per-part appearance for whole assemblies, or the FreeCAD Render add-on renderers; `renderer="auto"`), `render_capabilities` |
| FEM (FreeCAD/CalculiX/Elmer) | `fem_new_analysis`, `fem_set_solver`, `fem_set_material`, `fem_set_nonlinear_material`, `fem_add_constraint` (fixed/force/pressure/displacement/temperature/heatflux/initial_temperature), `contact_setup`, `fem_mesh`, `fem_mesh_refinement`, `fem_modal`, `fem_buckling`, `fem_run`, `fem_run_submit` (the same CalculiX solve off the MCP channel; results readers accept its `job_id`), `fem_results`, `fem_result_probe` (stress/disp/temp at a point or face), `fem_modal_results`, `fem_buckling_results`, `fem_thermal_results`, plus the legacy `fem_cantilever_demo` |
| Engineering oracles & hand-calcs | machine elements (`gear_rating`, `bearing_life`, `belt_drive`, `spring_check`, `bolted_joint_check`, `press_fit_stress`, `seal_check`), structural (`beam_modal`, `beam_buckling`, `plate_check`, `hertz_contact`, `elastica_deflection`, `plastic_collapse`, `random_vibration`, `harmonic_response`), durability (`fatigue_check`, `fracture_check`, `creep_flag`, `wear_estimate`), thermal (`thermal_lumped`, `thermal_transient_1d`, `thermal_composite_wall`, `h_estimate`), tolerance/GD&T (`tolerance_stackup`, `fit_check`, `fit_class`, `gdt_check`) |
| Simulation families (external solvers, async) | screens + full solves that shell out to OpenFOAM/Elmer/CalculiX/openEMS/YADE/KrakenOS, most via a submit→poll job pattern: thermal/CHT (`cht_channel_submit`, `cht_graetz_submit`, `thermal_transient_submit`, `thermal_radiation_submit`), CFD (`cfd_pipe_flow`, `cfd_body_drag`, `cfd_internal_flow_submit`, `cfd_external_flow_submit` — including the virtual wind tunnel: hand it a solid and get Cd/Cl/Cm from an integrated force, gated against the sphere drag curve; every steady solve carries a trust block (convergence, checkMesh, measured y+) and `cfd_mesh_independence_submit`/`grid_convergence` put a Richardson/GCI error band on geometry with no analytic twin), EM (`em_skin_depth`, `em_dc_resistance`, `em_field`, `em_conduction_submit`, `em_induction_submit`, `em_fullwave_submit`), acoustics (`acoustic_screen`, `acoustic_fem_submit`, `acoustic_radiation_submit`), FSI (`fsi_*`), molding (`molding_screen`, `molding_fill_submit`, `molding_warpage_submit`), drop/impact (`drop_impact`, `bar_impact`, `impact_dynamics_submit` — the meshed part flown into a rigid floor, flat / edge / corner, gated against the exact St-Venant bar), granular/DEM (`granular_screen`, `dem_pack_submit`, `dem_flow_submit`), optics (`optics_lens_design`, `optics_lens_optimize`, `optics_raytrace`, `optics_solid_trace`), multibody (`mechanism_kinematics`, `mechanism_simulate_submit`), topology (`topology_optimize_submit`, `topology_to_solid`) |
| Async jobs | `job_status`, `job_result`, `job_list` — poll/collect any `*_submit` long-running solve; `solve_capabilities` reports which solvers currently resolve |
| Materials & fluids | `material_list`, `material_get`, `material_select`, `fluid_props` — mechanical-property / molding / CoolProp thermophysical corpora behind a typed lookup |
| Sheet metal | `sheet_base` (base flange), `sheet_flange` / `sheet_tab` / `sheet_hem` (bends placed by stable edge tag), `sheet_unfold` (K-factor flat pattern + per-bend allowance/deduction, with the K in force and its source echoed into every result), `sheet_refold` (round-trip verification against the folded solid), `sheet_flat_export` (layered DXF — CUT / BEND_UP / BEND_DOWN, the file a laser/brake shop quotes from), `sheet_check` (min bend radius by material, min flange, hole-to-bend, refold collision) |
| Manufacturing & Design-for-X | `dfm_check` (also runs the sheet-metal press-brake rules when handed a sheet part), `dfa_check`, `moldability_check`, `optics_moldability_check`, `pack_check`, `cost_estimate`, `slice_estimate`, `slice_gcode_submit`, `laminate_properties`, `drop_impact` |
| CNC (machinability + machining time) | `cnc_machinability_check` (setups from the tool-approach census, undercuts, tool L/D, sharp/small internal corners, thin walls — pure geometry, no CAM engine), `cnc_time_estimate` (material-removal-rate model: removed volume / MRR plus finishing area, ±50 % against the flat table's ±100 %; feeds `cost_estimate(machine_time_hr=…)`) |
| Tolerance ↔ cost | `tolerance_cost_check` (per-dimension IT grade, the cheapest process that holds it naturally, a relative cost index, and a flag when a dimension is tighter than the declared process can hold without a secondary operation), `suggest_loosening` (*the loosest tolerance that works* — greedy loosening, every step re-verified against `tolerance_stackup`'s cpk); `cost_estimate(tolerance_class=…)` puts the same curve in the rollup |
| Design control / PLM | items & part numbers (`items_new`, `items_validate`, `items_resolve`, `items_check_manifest`), recipes (`recipe`, `recipe_list`, `recipe_schema`, `recipe_validate`), feature templates (`feature_instantiate`, `feature_list`, `feature_schema`, `feature_validate`), variant families (`family_materialize`, `family_validate`), lifecycle/revision (`lifecycle_transition`, `lifecycle_editable`, `lifecycle_classify_change`, `lifecycle_apply_change`), change control (`eco_create`, `eco_validate`, `change_impact`, `where_used`, `baseline_create`, `baseline_verify`), interface registry + substitutability (`get_interface`, `substitutability_check`), projects (`scaffold_project`, `project_validate`, `project_check_references`, `project_resolve_manifest`) |
| Operations | `transaction_open`, `transaction_commit`, `transaction_abort` |
| Session transcripts | `session_transcript`: the session so far as a Python script that regenerates it (model, drawings, simulations) through these same tools. Handles are variables, job polls are one `s.wait(job)`, measured results are `s.check()` lines that stop a drifted replay, and paths are relative to `WORKDIR`. It is also the **analysis provenance** record: every hand-calc and solve is kept and checked whole, `run_script` carries its SHA-256, and a `PROVENANCE` block names AnkusDrive / FreeCAD / platform / substrate plus every solver the session reached — path, substrate and probed version. Read-only: it returns the script as text. Tool calls are kept in server memory unless you opt into the durable journal: `ANKUSDRIVE_JOURNAL_DIR` appends every call to a per-session JSONL file, and `journal_export` / `ankusdrive journal export` turn a past session back into the same record ([PRIVACY.md](PRIVACY.md)) |
All tools return JSON; geometry-creating tools return a `handle` (e.g.
`pad_1`) that subsequent calls reference. The heavy simulation families return
a `{ok: false, reason, install}` dict (rather than crashing) when their solver
isn't installed — see [Simulation solvers](#simulation-solvers--review-video-demos).
### Layer 2 — generic property reflection
For the long tail of "I just need to tweak this one property" without a
dedicated tool:
- **`get_object(handle)`** — dump every entry in `obj.PropertiesList` with
Quantities → float (mm/deg), Vectors → list, Placements → dict.
- **`set_property(handle, name, value)`** — set any single property by name.
Use this when a typed tool exists for the object kind but doesn't expose the
exact property you need (e.g. `Refine` on a Pad, `Sections` ordering on a
Loft, internal tunables on a CCX solver).
### Layer 3 — `run_script` (the universal escape hatch)
For features that have **no first-class MCP tool at all** — e.g. Path
workbench (CAM toolpaths), Surface workbench, Arch/BIM, Spreadsheet,
TechDraw dimensions, contact/spring FEM constraints, B-spline sketcher
operations, expression-engine bindings, anything in a workbench AnkusDrive
doesn't wrap.
```python
run_script(code='''
import Path
job = Path.Job.Create("Job", [_resolve("pad_1")])
__result__ = {"job_name": job.Name}
''')
```
Inside the script, the worker pre-injects: `App` / `FreeCAD`, `Part`,
`ObjectsFem`, plus `_register(prefix, obj)` / `_resolve(handle)` /
`_handles` so scripts can register new objects into the same handle
registry that typed tools use. Set `__result__ = ...` to a JSON-serializable
value to return data; print statements go to /dev/null.
The escape hatch costs more (the agent has to write FreeCAD Python) but
makes the entire FreeCAD API reachable. The Phase 2 plan's "After Phase 2"
section calls out which run_script patterns deserve promotion to typed
tools — that's how the surface grows over time.
### Regenerating a session
`session_transcript()` returns the session so far as a script:
```python
with Session() as s:
r2 = s.add_primitive(kind='box', w=40.0, d=20.0, h=5.0)
box_1 = r2['handle']
r3 = s.add_primitive(kind='cylinder', h=5.0, r=3.0)
cylinder_1 = r3['handle']
r4 = s.boolean_op(op='cut', base=box_1, tool=cylinder_1)
s.check(r4, 'volume', 3964.657082647114)
s.save_document(path=str(WORKDIR / 'bracket.FCStd'))
```
Save it and run `python transcript.py [WORKDIR]` to rebuild the session in a fresh
worker. `ankusdrive.replay.Session` calls the same functions the MCP server serves,
so a transcript can call no tool the server doesn't have. `run_script` stays behind
its switch, and a missing solver stops the run at that step. Each `s.check()` stops
the run at the first result that differs from the recording. The script's header
lists what it can't reproduce: failed calls, `run_script` code, and files the session
read, which you copy into `WORKDIR` first.
### Auditing an analysis
The same tool answers the other question a transcript is for: *what exactly produced
this number?* A simulation session exports with its derivation intact — the closed-form
estimates are not dropped as "inspection", every number an analysis or a solve reported
becomes an `s.check()`, and the verdict fields become `s.expect()`, so a replay that
reaches a different solver or falls back to a different correlation stops there rather
than returning a plausible figure:
```python
PROVENANCE = {'env': {'ankusdrive': '0.5.5', 'freecad': {'version': '1.1.0'},
'substrate': 'container', ...},
'solvers': {'elmer': {'version': '26.2', 'via': 'container',
'path': '/usr/bin/ElmerSolver', ...}}}
with Session() as s:
s.provenance(PROVENANCE) # prints every difference from the recording
r1 = s.h_estimate(geometry='vertical_plate', characteristic_mm=100.0, t_surface_c=200.0)
s.check(r1, 'h_total_w_m2k', 8.4111, rel=0.001)
s.expect(r1, 'correlation', 'churchill_chu_vertical_plate')
r2 = s.thermal_transient_submit(half_thickness_mm=1.5, h_conv=8.0, duration_s=600.0, ...)
r5 = s.wait(r2['job_id'])
s.check(r5, ('result', 't_center_c'), 45.49120518934, rel=0.001)
s.expect(r5, ('result', 'solver'), 'elmer')
```
`s.provenance()` re-resolves the whole environment on the replaying machine and prints
what moved: a different Elmer version, a solver that relocated when the substrate
changed, a FreeCAD that is not the one that built the model. A replay on a different
solver is not a failure — it is the finding. Solver paths under `$HOME` are collapsed
to `~/…`, so the record says which install without saying who. `session_transcript`
also returns the record as `provenance` for attaching to a report; pass
`provenance=False` to skip it and the version probes it runs.
### Keeping the record: the durable journal
A transcript lives as long as the server does. For analysis that feeds a design
decision, turn on the durable journal — it is **off by default**, and one setting
enables it:
```bash
export ANKUSDRIVE_JOURNAL_DIR=~/ankusdrive-journal # or journal_dir = "..." in config.toml
```
Every tool call is then appended to `session-<start>-<pid>-<id>.jsonl` in that
directory: a header with the environment (AnkusDrive / Python / platform / substrate),
the FreeCAD each worker booted, and one line per call — arguments whole (`run_script`
code verbatim with its SHA-256), the trimmed result, the solver each solve resolved
to, and `result_digest`, a SHA-256 over the **full** result, so a result the journal
had to trim is still pinned. Writes are best-effort: a journal that cannot be written
logs a warning and never fails or changes a tool call.
After the server has exited, the file turns back into what `session_transcript`
would have returned — replay script, recorded environment, ordered call ledger with
digests:
```bash
ankusdrive journal list
ankusdrive journal export latest -o transcript.py # --json for the whole record
```
or, from an agent, `journal_export(session="latest")` (omit `session` to list).
Retention is stated, not left to the OS: at most 50 session files and 512 MB
(`ANKUSDRIVE_JOURNAL_KEEP`, `ANKUSDRIVE_JOURNAL_MAX_MB`), oldest first, never the live
session's file or one written in the last hour (`ANKUSDRIVE_JOURNAL_GRACE_S`); one
session past 64 MB (`ANKUSDRIVE_JOURNAL_FILE_MAX_MB`) keeps arguments and digests but
drops result bodies. `ANKUSDRIVE_JOURNAL_REDACT=1` hashes paths and names (document
names, labels, title-block fields) in arguments, results and errors — never
`run_script` code or handles. The trade-off: a redacted journal is auditable by
digest, but the script it exports is not runnable.
To make the record travel with the model, save with
`save_document(path, attach_provenance=True)` (off by default). The document then
carries the same record — replay script, environment and solver identities, ledger
with each result's SHA-256 — in its `Meta` map, which survives FreeCAD re-saving the
file. It covers the calls that built *that* document: the saving workspace's current
worker, from the `new_document` / `open_document` that produced it, while it was the
active document, successful calls only. `ANKUSDRIVE_JOURNAL_REDACT` applies to it too.
A save without the flag removes an earlier record. Read it back without FreeCAD:
```bash
ankusdrive journal export bracket.FCStd -o transcript.py # --json for the whole record
```
### What the CLI is (and isn't)
The CLI is **not the agent surface** — it's a human-debugging + transport
tool. Seven subcommands:
| Command | Purpose |
|---|---|
| `ankusdrive ping` / `version` | Health check — boot a worker, prove FreeCAD is reachable |
| `ankusdrive box` / `cylinder` | Single-shot primitive → .FCStd (manual smoke tests) |
| `ankusdrive export <in.FCStd> -o <out.step>` | Headless format conversion |
| `ankusdrive run <script.py>` | Execute arbitrary FreeCAD Python in a live worker (set `__result__` to return JSON) |
| `ankusdrive mcp` | **Start the MCP server over stdio** — this is how an MCP host launches AnkusDrive |
| `ankusdrive fem cantilever` | Run the built-in canned demo |
| `ankusdrive journal list` / `export <session\|latest\|file>` | Read the opt-in durable journal: list past sessions, export one as a replay script + provenance record |
Agents do not invoke the CLI. They speak MCP via stdio after the host has
launched `ankusdrive mcp`. The CLI's job is (a) to start that server and
(b) to give a human a way to poke at the worker without writing an MCP
client.
### Decision rule
| Need | Use |
|---|---|
| Standard CAD/FEM operation | First-class MCP tool (Layer 1) |
| Tool exists but I need property X | `get_object` / `set_property` (Layer 2) |
| Workbench / API not wrapped at all | `run_script` (Layer 3) |
| Smoke test from a shell, or stand up MCP | CLI |
## Multi-agent design
The roadmap above is about deepening what *one* agent can do. The
[`orchestration/`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/tree/main/orchestration) layer is about *many* agents sharing the
work: split a product into components and subassemblies, build those in
parallel (each agent cold, seeing only its own contract slice), then merge the
whole back up with the joints actually fitting. The design is written up in
[`docs/MULTI_AGENT.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/docs/MULTI_AGENT.md); it targets **partition + merge**,
not shared co-editing of one live document (a single worker = one
`App.ActiveDocument`, so concurrent mutation is a non-goal for now).
**Concurrent agents on one MCP server — workspaces.** FastMCP runs sync tools in
a thread pool, so a host can have several tool calls in flight at once. The
server keeps a *pool* of named **workspaces**, each its own freecadcmd process
with its own `App.ActiveDocument` and handle registry. Each concurrent agent
claims its own workspace with `use_workspace(name)` at the start of its session;
**handles and documents do not cross workspaces**. A client that never calls
`use_workspace` sees the historical single-worker behavior byte-for-byte
(everything routes to the `default` workspace). `Worker.call()` is internally
serialized so two threads can never interleave the stdin/stdout protocol on one
process. The pool is capped (`ANKUSDRIVE_MAX_WORKSPACES`, default 4) and idle
workspaces are reaped (`ANKUSDRIVE_WORKSPACE_IDLE_S`, default 900s) so abandoned
sessions don't leak processes; `list_workspaces` / `close_workspace` manage it.
The split of responsibilities is deliberate:
- **AnkusDrive ships the thin, tool-agnostic primitives** that make a merge
verifiable — `publish_interface` (declare a component's mating frames),
`merge_assembly` (combine component files into one assembly), and the
**gates** that decide whether a merge is sound: `interface_align_check`
(do published frames line up?), `interference_check` (do solids collide?),
`envelope_check` (does it fit its bounding budget?), plus an
`assembly_lock` / `assembly_lock_check` contract lockfile. These are real
MCP tools usable by any host.
- **`orchestration/` is the host-side *reference* coordinator** — explicitly
**not** part of the `ankusdrive` package. Given a free-text brief it
`decompose`s it into a validated manifest, fans out one builder agent per
component, `merge_assembly`s them, reads the gates, and on failure
**renegotiates** — re-dispatching only the components implicated by the
failing gate — up to a round budget. It runs against a real Anthropic client
or a scripted stub (`ScriptedClient`) for free dry runs; the merge and gates
are real worker calls either way. Any host (Claude, another tool, a human)
can use it, replace it, or ignore it — the only contract that matters is the
manifest + the component files on disk.
How well partition+merge holds up is measured by a dedicated eval ladder
(`tests/test_multiagent_m1.py` / `_m2.py`, runnable in CI) with hard-oracle
merge gates and a single-agent baseline — see
[`tests/MULTI_AGENT_EVAL.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/tests/MULTI_AGENT_EVAL.md). Early experiments have
partition performing at or above the single-agent baseline on the harder toys.
## Designs, not just parts — the design-control layer
Multi-agent orchestration partitions *one* product across a team. A separate
axis makes a *design* (not just a part) something you can parameterize, vary,
and evolve under control — the mechanisms a PLM/PDM workflow expects, mapped
onto AnkusDrive's deterministic, headless, git-diffable grain. The keystone
insight: **the build recipe is the feature tree; the parameters are its inputs;
regeneration is re-running the recipe** — so AnkusDrive gets parametric regen and
family tables without a live in-file expression engine. The full scoping and
rationale is in [`docs/DESIGN_HIERARCHY.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/docs/DESIGN_HIERARCHY.md); the
agent-facing judgment lives in the [`design-modularly`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/tree/main/skills/design-modularly)
skill.
- **Parametric hierarchy** — *recipes* (`recipe`, `recipe_validate`) are named,
declared-input build templates (AnkusDrive's PowerCopy/UDF *and* its intra-part
parametric model); a *relations* DAG drives driven dimensions from master
parameters by formula (`pitch_d = module * teeth`, arithmetic only — no
iterative solve, no double-driving); *feature templates* (`feature_instantiate`)
graft reusable features onto reference geometry by name; the typed
[`units`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/ankusdrive/units.py) layer rejects dimensionally-wrong inputs at the
door (`"5 N"` for a length is an error, not a silent mis-scale).
- **Variant families** — `family_materialize` expands a row × column design
table into a set of variants deterministically, running the recipe per row and
allocating part numbers in table order.
- **Identity & lifecycle** — *items* (`items_new`) give a part a stable
part-number identity decoupled from its file path; a *lifecycle* state machine
(`lifecycle_transition`: in_work → in_review → released → obsolete) enforces
released-immutability, and a Form/Fit/Function predicate decides revision bump
vs. new part number on a change.
- **Change control** — *ECOs* (`eco_create`) are first-class change records;
`where_used` / `change_impact` compute blast radius over the dependency graph
before you commit; `baseline_create` / `baseline_verify` pin reproducible
snapshots.
- **Versioned interfaces** — an interface-type registry (`get_interface`,
`nema17_face@1`-style named/versioned types) plus a Liskov
`substitutability_check` gate enforce Form/Fit/Function compatibility as code,
so a swapped part is verified to actually mate.
- **Projects** — `scaffold_project` + `project_validate` /
`project_check_references` promote the multi-agent directory convention to a
first-class `project.json` (manifest-of-manifests) with a master/skeleton
single-source-of-truth slot and reference-integrity guards.
Like the merge gates, these are thin, deterministic, mostly FreeCAD-free
primitives — the logic layers import and test without launching a worker.
## Status
Phase 3 closed 2026-05-10 (v0.3.0). The core mechanical-design surface from
Phase 2 (2026-04-25) is intact; Phase 3 layered intent-encoding APIs on top of
it. Since then the tool surface has grown from ~100 to **280+ tools** across
several waves: a command-tier expansion (parametric components + direct feature
ops + metrology), the **multi-agent orchestration** layer, a broad
**engineering-analysis + external-solver simulation surface** (thermal/CFD/CHT/
EM/acoustics/FSI/molding/granular/optics/multibody), and a **design-control
(PLM) layer** (items, recipes, variant families, lifecycle, ECO/change,
versioned interfaces, projects).
- **Worker + transport** — long-lived `freecadcmd` worker, newline-JSON over stdio with stdio hygiene (FreeCAD C++ chatter redirected off the protocol fd).
- **CLI** — `ping`, `version`, `box`, `cylinder`, `export`, `run`, `mcp`, `fem cantilever`, plus top-level `--version`.
- **MCP server** — FastMCP over stdio, 280+ typed tools across document lifecycle, primitives, selection (face/edge tags), full PartDesign (sketcher + pad/pocket/revolve/hole/loft/sweep/helix/fillet/chamfer/pattern/mirror/thickness/draft), direct-modeling feature ops, parametric components, metrology/inspection, generic property reflection, mass properties, assembly + interface gates, TechDraw (incl. headless PDF/SVG/DXF export, dimensions, gates), multi-view + photoreal rendering, FEM (static + modal + buckling + thermal + nonlinear + result-probe), the engineering-analysis oracles and external-solver simulation families (sync + async `*_submit`/`job_*`), the materials/fluids corpora, Design-for-X / manufacturing checks, the design-control (PLM) layer, and transactions.
- **Command tiers 1–3** — 21 new tools: parametric components (`add_gear`, `add_rack`, `add_sprocket`, `add_pulley`, `add_spring`, `add_fastener`, `add_bearing`, `add_thread`), direct feature ops (`fillet_edges`, `chamfer_edges`, `shell_solid`, `add_rib`, `engrave_text`, `oring_groove`, `transform`, `scale_shape`, `copy_shape`), and metrology/inspection (`measure_distance`, `measure_angle`, `bounding_box`, `check_shape`, `section_view`, `min_clearance`).
- **Multi-agent orchestration** — AnkusDrive ships the thin merge primitives + gates (`publish_interface`, `merge_assembly`, `interface_align_check`, `envelope_check`, `assembly_lock`/`_check`); the host-side reference coordinator (`orchestration/`) decomposes a brief, fans out per-component builders, merges, gates, and renegotiates. See [Multi-agent design](#multi-agent-design) and [`docs/MULTI_AGENT.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/docs/MULTI_AGENT.md).
- **Phase 3 intent-encoding additions** — `direction='into_body'|'away_from_body'` and `through='wall'|'body'` on pocket/hole (ray-cast wall depth handles hollow shells correctly); `intended_for='print'|'machine'|'drawing'` on hole drives ModelThread; `verify_feature` diffs actual-vs-expected volume change to catch silent failures; visibility hygiene at save hides consumed inputs; `register_handle` + `run_script` auto_register close the escape-hatch one-way trapdoor; `list_thread_options` surfaces the coupled ThreadType/ThreadSize enums dynamically; revolve has an OCCT pre-check that flags axis-coincident edges with an actionable error.
- **Selection layer** — `list_faces` / `list_edges` / `query_faces` / `resolve_*` produce stable geometric tags that survive edits; FEM constraints take tags directly.
- **Rendering** — host-side software rasterizer (`ankusdrive/render.py`) with per-pixel z-buffer (`render_view` / `render_views` return PNGs as MCP `ImageContent`), plus photoreal `render_photoreal` via the FreeCAD Render addon + an external renderer (POV-Ray / LuxCore / Appleseed / Cycles / OSPRay / PBRT). Support matrix, install, and limitations: [`docs/RENDERING.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/docs/RENDERING.md).
- **Simulation surface** — engineering-analysis oracles (machine elements, structural, durability, thermal, tolerance/GD&T) plus external-solver families that shell out to OpenFOAM / Elmer / CalculiX / openEMS / YADE / KrakenOS, discovered at runtime by [`ankusdrive/solvers.py`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/ankusdrive/solvers.py) and degrading cleanly when absent. Long solves use an async submit→poll job pattern (`*_submit` + `job_status`/`job_result`/`job_list`). Catalog and result schemas: [`docs/SIMULATION_TOOLS.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/docs/SIMULATION_TOOLS.md); proof harness: [`docs/SIMULATION_EXAMPLES.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/docs/SIMULATION_EXAMPLES.md). Materials/fluids back these via `material_*` and `fluid_props` (mechanical-property / molding / CoolProp corpora).
- **Design-control (PLM) layer** — recipes + a relations DAG (parametric regen), feature templates, variant families from a design table, item/part-number identity, a lifecycle/revision state machine, ECO change records with where-used/impact + baselines, a versioned interface registry + Liskov substitutability gate, and project containers with reference-integrity guards. Scoping + rationale: [`docs/DESIGN_HIERARCHY.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/docs/DESIGN_HIERARCHY.md). See [Designs, not just parts](#designs-not-just-parts--the-design-control-layer).
- **Tests** — ~980 test functions across ~90 files (worker / MCP / CLI / render / determinism / edit stability / negative paths / perf / multi-agent / simulation families / molding / PLM layer), runnable via `tests/run_all.sh` (Linux/macOS) or `tests/run_all.ps1` (Windows — single-interpreter, skips the Linux-only solver families; see [`docs/WINDOWS.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/docs/WINDOWS.md)). Reliability harness (Layer A classification, B diff-detection, C agent-loop closure) is gated behind `RUN_RELIABILITY=1`; see [`tests/RELIABILITY.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/tests/RELIABILITY.md).
See [`docs/ROADMAP.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/docs/ROADMAP.md) for the Phase 1/2 per-slice record — a
changelog of how the surface above was built, frozen at the close of Phase 2. Open
work (FEM contact/spring/tie refinements, `feature_tree`
introspection, deeper external-solver integrations) lives on the
[issue tracker](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/issues), not in that file.
The committed showcase — every GIF, render, drawing and exported solid the docs point
at, with the script that regenerates each one — is indexed in
[`artifacts/README.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/artifacts/README.md).
## Open questions
- **Error model**: FreeCAD raises plain Python exceptions from C++; worker catches and serializes them, but stack context across the JSON boundary is still lossy.
- **Async / concurrency**: multi-doc shipped (`list_documents` / `set_active_document` / `close_document`), and every long-running solve — CalculiX included, via `fem_run_submit` — can run off the channel through the `*_submit` + `job_*` pattern. The synchronous `fem_run` remains for small solves. One worker still means one main thread: a job's FreeCAD-side steps (writing the solver input, importing results) run on it, between requests.
## Privacy Policy
AnkusDrive runs entirely on your computer and **collects nothing**: no telemetry, no
analytics, no accounts, and no network requests from its own code. It reads and writes
only the files you point it at, plus its config file and temp working directories. Your
MCP host (e.g. Claude Desktop) sends tool inputs and results to its AI model provider
under the host's own policy. The full policy, including exactly what is stored where, is
in [`PRIVACY.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/PRIVACY.md).
Evaluating the Claude Desktop extension? The [reviewer guide](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/docs/REVIEWER_GUIDE.md)
covers installation, a setup check, and three example prompts with expected results.
## License
Licensed under the [Apache License, Version 2.0](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/LICENSE). Contributions
submitted to this project are licensed under the same terms (Apache 2.0
§5: inbound = outbound), which means contributors retain copyright but
grant the project — and everyone downstream — a perpetual, irrevocable
license to use their work, including a patent grant. The intent is to keep
the project welcoming to contributors while ensuring nobody can later
re-proprietize what they contributed.
The *code* is Apache-2.0; the *name* is not. Apache-2.0 §6 grants no trademark
rights, so the AnkusDrive word mark and the brand assets in
[`logo/`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/tree/main/logo)
are covered separately — see
[`TRADEMARKS.md`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/TRADEMARKS.md)
for what you may do without asking (referring to the project, compatibility
claims, redistribution, packaging, and forking all qualify) and
[`NOTICE`](https://github.com/gchen19/AnkusDrive/blob/main/NOTICE) for the
attribution a redistributor must carry.
## References
- [FreeCAD Scripting Basics](https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD-documentation/blob/main/wiki/FreeCAD_Scripting_Basics.md)
- [Python scripting tutorial](https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD-documentation/blob/main/wiki/Python_scripting_tutorial.md)
- [Start up and Configuration](https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD-documentation/blob/main/wiki/Start_up_and_Configuration.md)
- [FEM Workbench](https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD-documentation/blob/main/wiki/FEM_Workbench.md)
- [FEM Tutorial Python](https://github.com/FreeCAD/FreeCAD-documentation/blob/main/wiki/FEM_Tutorial_Python.md) — full cantilever example
- [Model Context Protocol](https://modelcontextprotocol.io/)
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