bim is a free tool your AI assistant runs on your Windows PC. Your files stay on your machine. No admin rights, no account.
Claude Code · Cursor · Codex · any tool that can run shell commands. Revit 2024, 2025, and 2026.
Install bim-cli on this Windows machine and then use it.
Step 1 — install. Run this exactly:
powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command 'iwr -useb https://bimcli.com/install.ps1 -OutFile $env:TEMP\bim-install.ps1; powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File $env:TEMP\bim-install.ps1'
The installer is per-user (no admin), idempotent, and prints `BIM_INSTALLED_OK <version> <path>` as its final line on success.
Step 2 — refresh PATH in your current session:
bash: export PATH="$PATH:$LOCALAPPDATA/bim-cli"
pwsh: $env:Path += ";$env:LOCALAPPDATA\bim-cli"
Step 3 — orient:
bim doctor --json # environment readiness; each failed check has a fix field
bim describe --json # full driver/verb/arg schema; each driver has a docs URL
Fetch the docs URL for any driver you plan to use before issuing commands.
Calling convention: `bim <format> <verb> [args]`. stdout is JSON, stderr is human.
Error envelope: `{"ok":false,"error":{"kind":"...","message":"...","hint":"..."}}`.
Exit codes: 0 ok · 1 generic · 2 usage · 3 not-found · 4 permission · 5 conflict.
After describe + doctor, summarize what's installed and wait for my task.
It self-installs, then orients itself from bim describe --json — no configuration and nothing for you to decide. Agents can read the full reference at /llms.txt, and each driver's own /…/llms.txt.
Find missing sheets, unresolved callouts and titleblock mismatches in a PDF drawing set, as JSON findings your assistant can act on.
bim pdf set.check drawings.pdfFlood zone for any US address, plus zoning, landmark and transit layers where covered, in one PDF report.
bim site assess --address "350 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY"Export a whole sheet set to PDF from a prompt. Revit 2024, 2025 or 2026 must be installed; bim drives it for you.
bim revit export --all-sheets --output ./pdfShrink a PDF locally with one command: no upload, no Acrobat, drawings unchanged.
bim pdf optimize drawings.pdfPipe a Revit schedule into a spreadsheet, or read a spreadsheet and write the values back into the model.
bim revit schedule-read --name "Door Schedule" | bim excel write doors.xlsxMost of bim-cli works without Revit or any other desktop app. Each prompt installs bim-cli (if needed) and gets you a real result in about a minute.
Install bim-cli if it is not installed yet (run exactly, then add %LOCALAPPDATA%\bim-cli to PATH): powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command 'iwr -useb https://bimcli.com/install.ps1 -OutFile $env:TEMP\bim-install.ps1; powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File $env:TEMP\bim-install.ps1' Then run a site report for this address:bim site assess --address " " > assess.json bim site flood.map --lat --lon --out flood.png # lat/lon are top-level fields in assess.json bim pdf report --data assess.json --flood-map flood.png --out site-report.pdf Summarize the flood zone, zoning, landmark status and transit for me, then open site-report.pdf.
Install bim-cli if it is not installed yet (run exactly, then add %LOCALAPPDATA%\bim-cli to PATH): powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command 'iwr -useb https://bimcli.com/install.ps1 -OutFile $env:TEMP\bim-install.ps1; powershell -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -File $env:TEMP\bim-install.ps1' Then work on this PDF:bim pdf info --file " " # pages, sheet sizes, text layer bim pdf optimize --file " " # smaller copy, same drawings Tell me the page count and sheet sizes, and how much smaller the optimized copy is.