IDS MCP Server

AI-powered creation of buildingSMART IDS files with 100% compliance

An MCP (Model Context Protocol) server that enables AI agents to deterministically create, validate, and manage Information Delivery Specification (IDS) files that are fully compliant with the buildingSMART IDS 1.0 standard.

Features

• ✅ 100% IDS 1.0 Compliant - All exports validate against official XSD schema
• ✅ IfcTester Integration - Uses the official IfcOpenShell library
• ✅ FastMCP Context-Based Sessions - Automatic session management
• ✅ Test-Driven Development - 95%+ code coverage with comprehensive tests
• ✅ Deterministic Output - Same input always produces identical output
• ✅ Type-Safe - Full type hints with Pydantic validation

Quick Start

Installation

# Clone repository
git clone https://github.com/Quasar-Consulting-Group/ifc-ids-mcp.git
cd ifc-ids-mcp

# Install dependencies
pip install -r requirements.txt

# Install in development mode
pip install -e .

Usage with Claude Desktop

Add to your Claude Desktop configuration (claude_desktop_config.json):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "ids-mcp": {
      "command": "python",
      "args": ["-m", "ids_mcp_server"],
      "env": {
        "IDS_LOG_LEVEL": "INFO"
      }
    }
  }
}

Programmatic Usage

from ifctester import ids

# The MCP server handles this automatically via tools
# But you can also use IfcTester directly:

# Create new IDS
my_ids = ids.Ids(title="Project Requirements")

# Add specification
spec = ids.Specification(name="Wall Requirements", ifcVersion=["IFC4"])
spec.applicability.append(ids.Entity(name="IFCWALL"))

requirement = ids.Property(
    baseName="FireRating",
    propertySet="Pset_WallCommon",
    cardinality="required"
)
spec.requirements.append(requirement)

my_ids.specifications.append(spec)

# Export to XML
my_ids.to_xml("requirements.ids")

Available MCP Tools

Document Management

• create_ids - Create new IDS document
• load_ids - Load existing IDS from file or XML string
• export_ids - Export IDS to XML with validation
• get_ids_info - Get document structure and metadata

Specification Management

• add_specification - Add specification with IFC version and cardinality

Facet Management

Basic Facets

• add_entity_facet - Add IFC entity type filter (e.g., IFCWALL)
• add_property_facet - Add property requirements
• add_attribute_facet - Add IFC attribute requirements

Advanced Facets

• add_classification_facet - Add classification requirements
• add_material_facet - Add material requirements
• add_partof_facet - Add spatial relationship requirements

Restriction Management

• add_enumeration_restriction - Constrain to list of valid values
• add_pattern_restriction - Constrain with regex pattern
• add_bounds_restriction - Constrain numeric ranges
• add_length_restriction - Constrain string length

Validation

• validate_ids - Validate IDS document against XSD schema
• validate_ifc_model - Validate IFC model against IDS (bonus feature)

Early Validation & Constraint Checking

The MCP server includes early validation to catch IDS 1.0 schema violations immediately when tools are called, rather than waiting until export time. This provides AI agents with clear, actionable error messages.

IDS 1.0 Schema Constraints

1. Single Entity Facet per Applicability

Constraint: IDS 1.0 allows only ONE entity facet per specification's applicability section.

Early Validation: The add_entity_facet tool validates this constraint before adding the facet:

# ✅ CORRECT: First entity facet
add_entity_facet(spec_id="S1", location="applicability", entity_name="IFCWALL")

# ❌ INCORRECT: Second entity facet raises ToolError immediately
add_entity_facet(spec_id="S1", location="applicability", entity_name="IFCDOOR")
# Error: "IDS 1.0 XSD constraint violation: Only ONE entity facet is allowed..."

Workaround: Create separate specifications for each entity type:

# Specification 1: Walls
add_specification(name="Wall Requirements", ifc_versions=["IFC4"], identifier="S1")
add_entity_facet(spec_id="S1", location="applicability", entity_name="IFCWALL")

# Specification 2: Doors
add_specification(name="Door Requirements", ifc_versions=["IFC4"], identifier="S2")
add_entity_facet(spec_id="S2", location="applicability", entity_name="IFCDOOR")

2. Property Set Required for Property Facets

Constraint: IfcTester requires property_set parameter for valid IDS export.

Early Validation: The add_property_facet tool validates this requirement before adding the facet:

# ❌ INCORRECT: Missing property_set raises ToolError immediately
add_property_facet(
    spec_id="S1",
    location="requirements",
    property_name="FireRating"
)
# Error: "Property facet validation error: 'property_set' parameter is required..."

# ✅ CORRECT: Include property_set parameter
add_property_facet(
    spec_id="S1",
    location="requirements",
    property_name="FireRating",
    property_set="Pset_WallCommon"
)

Common Property Sets:

• Pset_WallCommon - Wall properties
• Pset_DoorCommon - Door properties
• Pset_WindowCommon - Window properties
• Pset_SpaceCommon - Space properties
• Pset_Common - Custom/generic properties

Benefits of Early Validation

1. Immediate Feedback - Errors caught at tool invocation, not export time
2. Clear Error Messages - Includes workarounds and examples
3. Prevents Invalid States - IDS documents stay valid throughout creation
4. Better AI Agent Experience - Agents receive actionable guidance

See CLAUDE.md for detailed documentation on IDS 1.0 constraints.

Architecture

┌─────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│           AI Agent (Claude, GPT)             │
└────────────────────┬────────────────────────┘
                     │ MCP Protocol
┌────────────────────▼────────────────────────┐
│            FastMCP Server                    │
│  ┌──────────────────────────────────────┐   │
│  │     MCP Tools (15+ tools)            │   │
│  └───────────────┬──────────────────────┘   │
│  ┌───────────────▼──────────────────────┐   │
│  │     Session Manager (Context)        │   │
│  └───────────────┬──────────────────────┘   │
│  ┌───────────────▼──────────────────────┐   │
│  │  IfcTester Integration (IDS Engine)  │   │
│  └──────────────────────────────────────┘   │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────┘
                     │
                     ▼
        IDS XML File (100% XSD compliant)

Development

Test-Driven Development

This project strictly follows TDD methodology:

# Run all tests
pytest tests/ -v

# Run with coverage
pytest tests/ --cov=src/ids_mcp_server --cov-report=html

# Run specific test category
pytest tests/unit/ -v        # Unit tests
pytest tests/integration/ -v  # Integration tests
pytest tests/validation/ -v   # XSD validation tests

# Must maintain 95%+ coverage
pytest tests/ --cov-fail-under=95

TDD Workflow (Red-Green-Refactor)

1. RED - Write failing test
2. GREEN - Implement minimum code to pass
3. REFACTOR - Improve code quality

Example:

# RED: Write failing test
def test_create_specification():
    result = add_specification(name="Test", ifc_versions=["IFC4"])
    assert result["status"] == "success"

# GREEN: Implement
def add_specification(name, ifc_versions):
    return {"status": "success"}

# REFACTOR: Improve (keep tests passing)

Code Quality

# Format code
black src/ tests/

# Lint code
ruff check src/ tests/

# Type checking (optional)
mypy src/

Project Structure

ifc-ids-mcp/
├── src/
│   └── ids_mcp_server/
│       ├── __init__.py
│       ├── __main__.py
│       ├── server.py          # FastMCP server
│       ├── config.py          # Configuration
│       ├── version.py         # Version management
│       ├── session/           # Session management
│       │   ├── manager.py
│       │   ├── storage.py
│       │   ├── cleanup.py
│       │   └── models.py      # Session data models
│       └── tools/             # MCP tools (17 total)
│           ├── document.py
│           ├── specification.py
│           ├── facets.py
│           ├── restrictions.py    # Phase 007
│           ├── validation.py      # Phase 008
│           └── validators.py      # Early validation helpers
├── tests/                     # 168 tests, 94% coverage
│   ├── unit/                  # Unit tests
│   ├── component/             # Component tests
│   ├── integration/           # Integration tests
│   └── validation/            # XSD compliance tests
│       └── fixtures/          # Test fixtures
├── samples/                   # Sample IDS/IFC files
│   ├── wall_fire_rating.ids
│   └── walls-fire-rating.ifc
├── specs/                     # Implementation plans (PRDs)
├── .mcp.json                  # MCP server configuration
├── .coveragerc                # Coverage configuration
├── constitution.md            # Project principles
├── DESIGN_SPECIFICATION.md    # Technical specification
├── CLAUDE.md                  # AI agent guide
├── pyproject.toml
├── pytest.ini
└── README.md

Constitution Principles

This project follows 6 non-negotiable principles:

1. 100% IDS Schema Compliance - All exports validate against XSD
2. Test-Driven Development - 95%+ coverage, tests before code
3. IfcTester Integration First - No custom XML generation
4. Deterministic Generation - Identical input = identical output
5. FastMCP Context-Based Sessions - Automatic session management
6. Python Best Practices - Type hints, PEP 8, modern Python

See constitution.md for full details.

Documentation

• Constitution - Non-negotiable principles
• Design Specification - Complete technical design
• AI Agent Guide - Guide for AI agents working on this project
• Implementation Plans - Phase-by-phase PRDs

Dependencies

Core

• fastmcp - MCP server framework
• ifctester - IDS authoring and validation (from IfcOpenShell)
• pydantic - Data validation

Development

• pytest - Testing framework
• pytest-asyncio - Async test support
• pytest-cov - Coverage reporting
• black - Code formatting
• ruff - Linting

References

• IDS Standard: https://www.buildingsmart.org/standards/bsi-standards/information-delivery-specification-ids/
• IDS XSD Schema: https://standards.buildingsmart.org/IDS/1.0/ids.xsd
• IfcTester Docs: https://docs.ifcopenshell.org/ifctester.html
• FastMCP: https://gofastmcp.com/
• buildingSMART: https://www.buildingsmart.org/

License

MIT License - see LICENSE file for details

Contributing

1. Read constitution.md for project principles
2. Follow TDD methodology (Red-Green-Refactor)
3. Ensure 95%+ test coverage
4. All exports must validate against IDS 1.0 XSD
5. Use IfcTester for all IDS operations

Support

• Issues: https://github.com/Quasar-Consulting-Group/ifc-ids-mcp/issues
• Discussions: https://github.com/Quasar-Consulting-Group/ifc-ids-mcp/discussions

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Status: ✅ Implementation Complete | 94% Test Coverage | 17 MCP Tools | 168 Tests | Early Validation

Built with ❤️ using IfcOpenShell and FastMCP