GoCalc.AI for Revit — User Tutorial

1 Launch & Setup

GoCalc.AI runs as two parts: a desktop chat window and a lightweight HTTP server that runs inside Revit (2022 or above). Both must be active for AI commands to reach your model.

How the System Works

Desktop Chat

→

HTTP Request

→

Revit Server (port 8765)

→

Revit API

→

Model Changes

GoCalc AI Ribbon Tab in Revit

GoCalc AI

⚙Server

☰Actions

Step-by-Step Launch

Open Revit (2022 or above) and load a project GoCalc.AI requires Revit 2022 or above with an open project. Any file works — a new or existing model.
Click "GoCalc AI → Server" in the Revit ribbon This starts the IPC HTTP server on port 8765 inside Revit. You must do this before opening the chat window. A status message in Revit confirms the server is listening.
Launch GoCalc_AI_REVIT.exe Double-click GoCalc_AI_REVIT.exe in the dist folder to open the chat window. No Python installation is required. If running from source, use start.bat or python app.py instead.
Add your API key to aimodel.json Open aimodel.json beside the exe and paste in at least one provider key — for example "ANTHROPIC_API_KEY": "sk-ant-..." or "OPENAI_API_KEY": "sk-...". The app will not be able to send messages until a valid key is present.
Register your license Click the License button in the toolbar and enter your key. Contact us to obtain your license key.
Verify the connection The top bar of the chat window shows "Connected to Revit" in green when both parts are running correctly. If it says "Revit offline", restart the Server step.
Type your first command and press Enter Try: "What's in this Revit model?" — the AI will query your model and reply in plain English.

⚠️

API key required. GoCalc.AI needs at least one AI provider API key to function. Open aimodel.json beside the exe and fill in your key before sending any messages. Supported providers: OpenAI, Anthropic (Claude), Google (Gemini), and Ollama.

⚠️

Start the Server first. If you open the chat window before clicking Server in the Revit ribbon, the status will show "Revit offline" and no commands will be executed. Simply click Server in the ribbon — the status updates automatically without restarting the chat window.

⚠️

Revit 2022 or above required. GoCalc.AI uses the pyRevit IPC server which requires Autodesk Revit 2022 or a later version. Older versions are not supported.

2 Interface Overview

The GoCalc.AI window is divided into four main areas.

🗂

Left Sidebar — History

Saved conversations listed by title and date. Click any entry to reload it. Click × to delete.

💬

Chat Area

Your messages appear on the right (green), AI replies on the left (white). Executed Revit actions are shown in a green log below each AI response.

🖼

File Preview Strip

Thumbnails of attached images and file badges appear here before sending. Click ✕ on any preview to remove it.

⌨️

Composer

Type your message. Enter sends, Shift+Enter inserts a new line.

🛠

Toolbar

Buttons for attaching files, switching models, managing your license, picking themes, and more.

🟢

Status Bar

Shows real-time connection state: Connected to Revit (green) or an error when the server isn't reachable.

Toolbar Button Reference

Button	What it does
📎 Attach files	Open a file picker to select images, PDFs, or text files to include in your next message.
🗑 Clear files	Remove all pending attachments at once.
➕ New conversation	Start a fresh chat. The current conversation is auto-saved to the sidebar.
⚡ Actions	Browse, test, and manage all available Revit actions.
🔑 License	Enter or update your GoCalc.AI license key.
ℹ About	View the version, disclaimer, and support contact details.
🎨 Style	Open the theme picker to choose from 10 colour themes.
🔌 Test API Keys	Verify that your configured AI provider credentials are working.
📌 Always on top	Keep the GoCalc.AI window floating above all other windows, including Revit.
Model dropdown	Switch between AI models without restarting the app (when enabled).

3 Chatting with the AI

GoCalc.AI understands natural language. Describe what you want to do — the AI decides which Revit actions to call, executes them, and replies in plain English.

Example Conversations

What's currently in this model?

I'll check the model summary for you now.

• get_model_summary

Your model contains: 12 walls, 4 floors, 24 columns, 18 beams, 6 grids, 3 levels, 8 doors, and 10 windows.

Create a 4×3 grid system with 5 metre spacing

Creating a 4×3 rectangular grid at 5m spacing…

• create_grid_system

Done! Grids A–D (columns) and 1–3 (rows) have been placed in your model at 5 metre intervals.

Place 400×400 concrete columns at every grid intersection on Level 1

Placing concrete columns at all grid intersections on Level 1…

• place_columns_at_grid_intersections

Placed 12 columns at every grid crossing on Level 1 using the 400×400 concrete type.

What Happens When You Send a Message

AI receives your message Your text (and any attached files) is sent to the selected AI provider.
"Thinking…" indicator appears The AI processes your request and decides whether to call one or more Revit actions.
Actions execute inside Revit If actions are needed, they run via the server in real time. You'll see changes appear in your Revit model immediately.
Tool log is displayed Every action called appears in the green log below the AI reply (e.g., • place_columns_at_grid_intersections).
AI replies in plain English The AI describes what was done, including counts, results, or any errors that occurred.

💡

Always specify units. Say "5 metres" or "5m" rather than just "5". GoCalc.AI converts to Revit's internal foot units automatically — you never need to do that yourself.

4 Revit Actions

GoCalc.AI includes 30+ built-in actions that directly control your Revit model. The AI calls these automatically — you never need to name them explicitly unless you want to.

Project Information

get_project_info get_model_summary list_views list_grids

Action	What it returns	Example prompt
`get_project_info`	Project name, file path, Revit version	"Tell me about this project."
`get_model_summary`	Counts of walls, floors, columns, beams, grids, levels, doors, windows, rooms	"What's in the model?"
`list_views`	All views in the model	"What views exist?"
`list_grids`	Grid names and positions	"List the grids."

Grid & Level Creation

create_grid_system create_levels

Create Grid System

Places a rectangular grid. Specify rows, columns, and spacing in metres.
"Create a 5×4 grid at 6m spacing."

Create Levels

Adds new levels at specified elevations.
"Add levels at 0m, 3m, 6m, and 9m."

Wall Creation

create_wall create_walls_on_grid

Create Wall

Places a wall between two XY points with a height and level.
"Create a wall from (0,0) to (10,0), 3m tall at Level 1."

Create Walls on Grid

Automatically creates walls along all grid lines in the model.

Floor / Slab

create_floor_on_grid_bay create_floor_slab_at_level set_floor_thickness

Floor on Grid Bay

Creates a slab in a specific grid bay.
"Add a floor slab in bay A1 at Level 2."

Floor Slab at Level

Places a full slab at a given level.
"Create a 200mm concrete slab at Level 1."

Set Floor Thickness

Changes the thickness of an existing floor type.
"Change the Level 1 slab thickness to 250mm."

Column Operations

create_concrete_column_type list_column_types place_column place_columns_at_grid_intersections place_columns_at_all_grids place_columns_grid_4x4 change_column_type adjust_selected_column_height

Action	What it does	Example prompt
`place_column`	Places one column at a specific XY location and level	"Place a column at (5,10) on Level 1."
`place_columns_at_grid_intersections`	Places columns at every grid crossing at one level	"Place columns at all grid intersections on Level 2."
`place_columns_at_all_grids`	Same as above but across all levels automatically	"Place columns at every grid intersection on all levels."
`create_concrete_column_type`	Creates a new concrete column family type	"Create a 600×600 concrete column type."
`list_column_types`	Lists all available column types in the model	"What column types are available?"
`change_column_type`	Swaps the type on currently selected columns	"Change the selected columns to 500×500."
`adjust_selected_column_height`	Changes the height of selected columns	"Make the selected columns 4 metres tall."

Beam Operations

list_beam_types place_beam_between_selected_columns connect_selected_columns_with_beam connect_all_selected_columns_with_beams

Place Beam Between Columns

Connects two selected columns with a beam. Select two columns in Revit first.
"Add a beam between the two selected columns."

Connect All Selected

Connects all currently selected columns with beams in one operation.
"Connect all selected columns with beams."

List Beam Types

Returns all beam family types in the model so you can reference them by name.

Selection & Counting

count_elements count_selected_objects get_selected_elements select_columns_at_level select_beams_at_level

Annotation & Visualisation

draw_circle_at_column color_selected_objects rotate_elements

Colour Selected Objects

Applies a colour override to selected elements in the active view.
"Colour the selected columns red."

Rotate Elements

Rotates selected elements by a specified angle.
"Rotate the selection 45 degrees."

Draw Circle at Column

Draws a detail circle annotation at a column location for markup purposes.

Data Export

export_columns_to_custom_folder

Exports column data (location, type, level) to a CSV file in a folder you choose. "Export the column schedule to my Desktop."

🔧

Creating Custom Actions: If a built-in action doesn't cover your need, ask the AI to create one. For example: "Create an action that exports beam data to Excel." The AI will write and install the new action automatically — no restart required. Custom actions appear in the Actions Browser immediately.

Actions Browser

Click the Actions button in the toolbar to open the full Actions Browser:

Feature	How to use it
Search / Filter	Type in the search box to filter actions by name in real time.
Test Run	Select an action and click Test Run to execute it with its default test arguments.
Double-click	Double-click any action to immediately test-run it.
Delete	Remove custom actions you no longer need. Built-in actions cannot be deleted.

5 Files & Voice Input

GoCalc.AI is multimodal — you can send images, documents, and spoken commands alongside your text.

Attaching Images

📋

Paste from Clipboard

Press Ctrl+V anywhere in the chat window to paste a screenshot directly. Ideal for sharing your current Revit view without saving a file.

📁

Attach Files

Click the attach button in the toolbar and browse for PNG, JPG, JPEG, BMP, GIF, or WebP images. You can attach multiple files at once.

✕

Remove Before Sending

Each attachment shows a thumbnail with a ✕ button. Click it to remove that file before you send your message.

💡

Take a screenshot of your Revit view, paste it with Ctrl+V, and ask "Does the column layout in this image look structurally correct?" — the AI will analyse the image and give you feedback.

Supported Document Types

File Type	How the AI uses it
PDF	Reads the text content; useful for attaching specification documents or design briefs.
CSV	Reads the data rows; useful for column schedules or coordinate lists.
TXT / MD	Reads the content as plain text.
JSON / PY	Reads the file as structured data or code.

Voice Input

Click the 🎤 microphone button The button turns red and shows a stop icon (⏹). Speak your command clearly.
Click ⏹ to stop recording Your speech is sent to OpenAI Whisper for transcription.
Review and send The transcribed text appears in the composer. Edit it if needed, then press Enter to send.

⚠️

Voice input uses OpenAI Whisper for transcription. An OpenAI API key must be configured even if you're using Claude or Gemini as your main AI model.

6 Conversation History

GoCalc.AI automatically saves every conversation so you can pick up where you left off or review past work.

💾

Auto-Saved

Every message exchange is saved after each reply. You never need to manually save.

🔄

Reload Any Conversation

Click any conversation in the left sidebar to restore the full message history and continue from there.

➕

Start New

Click New Conversation in the toolbar. The current chat stays saved in the sidebar.

🗑

Delete

Click the × button next to any conversation to permanently remove it.

ℹ️

Conversations are stored locally in conversation_history.json in the application folder. The sidebar shows each conversation's title (derived from your first message) and its creation date and time.

7 AI Models

GoCalc.AI supports four AI providers. Switch between them anytime using the model dropdown in the toolbar.

🟢

OpenAI (ChatGPT)

GPT-4.1, GPT-4o, o1, o3, o4-mini and more. Excellent all-around for Revit tasks and required for voice transcription (Whisper).

🟣

Anthropic (Claude)

Claude Opus, Sonnet, and Haiku. Excellent for detailed reasoning and longer, multi-step conversations.

🔵

Google (Gemini)

Gemini Pro and Flash models. Strong at image analysis and multimodal queries.

⚪

Ollama (Extended)

Kimi, Qwen3, DeepSeek, Mistral, Gemma, and 25+ more models for specialised use cases.

💡

Not sure which model to use? Start with the default (usually GPT-4o or Claude Sonnet). Switch to a faster model like gpt-4.1-mini or claude-haiku for quick, simple queries to save time and costs.

8 Themes

Click the Style button in the toolbar to open the theme picker. Your selection is saved automatically and applied every time you open GoCalc.AI.

Dark Purple

Ocean Dark

Forest

Midnight Red

Slate Gray

Warm Dark

Light Cloud

Light Sage

Light Warm

Arctic Blue

The currently active theme is highlighted with an accent border in the picker. Click any swatch to preview and apply it instantly.

9 License Registration

GoCalc.AI requires a valid license to operate. Contact us to obtain your license key.

Contact us to get your license key Reach out to us via the About dialog or our website to request a license key.
Click the License button in the toolbar The License Registration dialog opens.
Enter your license key Paste or type your license key into the license key field.
Click Register The app validates your key online and activates your license.
Confirmation appears Your username and email are displayed in the dialog to confirm successful registration.

ℹ️

The license is validated automatically each time you open GoCalc.AI. You can re-register a new key at any time without reinstalling the app.

⚠️

Your license is personal — please do not share it. It can be used on multiple computers, but only one computer at a time. To switch machines, close the app on the current computer first, then open it on the other. After a license is released, please allow 8 hours before activating it on a different computer.

10 Keyboard Shortcuts

Shortcut	Action
`Enter`	Send message
`Shift` + `Enter`	Insert a new line in the message
`Ctrl` + `V`	Paste image from clipboard into attachments
Click 🎤 then ⏹	Start / stop voice recording
Double-click an action	Test-run the action in the Actions Browser
Click × in sidebar	Delete a saved conversation
`Ctrl` + `Z` (in Revit)	Undo the last AI-executed Revit change

11 Tips & Best Practices

📐

Always specify units

Say "5 metres" or "5m" rather than just "5". Unit conversion to Revit feet is automatic.

📸

Use screenshots for context

Paste a Revit screenshot with Ctrl+V and ask questions about what's shown. The AI can see and analyse images.

🔁

Build models incrementally

Create the grid first, then place columns, then add beams — each as a separate message for best results.

🧹

New conversation for new tasks

Start a fresh conversation when switching to a different part of the project to avoid the AI being confused by earlier context.

📌

Always on top

Enable "Always on top" so the GoCalc.AI window stays visible while you work in Revit — no alt-tabbing needed.

🔍

Query before you place

Use "List the column types" or "What levels exist?" before placing elements to confirm the exact names to reference.

⚡

Select in Revit first

For actions that operate on a selection, select the elements in Revit first, then ask GoCalc.AI to act on "the selected elements."

🤖

Request custom actions

If no built-in action covers your need, just ask: "Create an action that exports beam data to Excel." The AI writes and installs it instantly.

Example Prompts to Try

# Query the model
"What elements are currently in this Revit model?"
"List all beam types available in the model."
"How many walls are in this model?"
"What views exist in this project?"

# Create structure
"Create a 6×4 rectangular grid at 5 metre spacing."
"Add levels at 0m, 3.5m, 7m, and 10.5m."
"Place 400×400 concrete columns at all grid intersections on Level 1."
"Create a 200mm floor slab in bay A1 at Level 1."
"Connect all selected columns with beams at Level 2."

# Modify & annotate
"Change the selected columns to the 500×500 type."
"Make the selected columns 4 metres tall."
"Colour the selected columns blue in the current view."
"Rotate the selected elements 45 degrees."

# Export
"Export the column schedule to a CSV file on my Desktop."

💡

Undo is your safety net. Because GoCalc.AI executes real Revit API commands, press Ctrl+Z in Revit to undo any AI-generated change you don't want to keep — exactly the same as undoing a manual operation.