ts-ifc-api

BIM Interoperability API for Revit, Archicad and IFC

Features • Quick Start • Development • Production • Documentation

🎯 Goals

This project provides a complete BIM interoperability layer for architectural software, enabling seamless conversion between:

Revit (.rvt) ↔ IFC
- RVT → IFC: Cloud-based via Autodesk Platform Services (APS/Forge)
- IFC → RVT: Local via Revit Plugin
Archicad (.pln) ↔ IFC
- Both directions via Archicad Plugin (local)
Revit ↔ Archicad (via IFC as intermediate format)

System Architecture Overview

graph TB
    subgraph Client["🌐 Client Browser"]
        Frontend["React Frontend<br/>Port 3001"]
    end

    subgraph Backend["🖥️ Backend Services"]
        NodeAPI["Node.js API<br/>Port 3000<br/>• REST API<br/>• WebSocket Manager"]
        PythonBridge["Python Bridge<br/>Port 5000<br/>• Plugin Communication"]
    end

    subgraph Cloud["☁️ Cloud Services"]
        APS["Autodesk APS/Forge<br/>• RVT → IFC Conversion"]
    end

    subgraph Plugins["🔌 Desktop Plugins"]
        RevitPlugin["Revit Plugin<br/>Port 8082<br/>• IFC → RVT"]
        ArchicadPlugin["Archicad Plugin<br/>Port 8081<br/>• PLN ↔ IFC"]
    end

    Frontend <-->|"HTTP/WebSocket"| NodeAPI
    NodeAPI <-->|"Cloud API"| APS
    NodeAPI <-->|"WebSocket Bridge"| PythonBridge
    PythonBridge <-->|"WebSocket"| RevitPlugin
    PythonBridge <-->|"WebSocket"| ArchicadPlugin

    style APS fill:#e1f5ff
    style RevitPlugin fill:#fff9c4
    style ArchicadPlugin fill:#c8e6c9
    style NodeAPI fill:#f3e5f5
    style PythonBridge fill:#f3e5f5

Key Components

REST API (Node.js + TypeScript + Fastify)
Autodesk Platform Services (Cloud conversion for RVT → IFC)
Python Bridge (Flask + Plugin communication)
Desktop Plugins (Revit C# + Archicad C++)
Web Interface (React + TanStack Router)
Documentation (Fumadocs + Code Hike)

✨ Features

✅ Real-time conversion progress via WebSocket
✅ Multi-format support: RVT, PLN, IFC
✅ Chain conversions: Automatic Revit → IFC → Archicad workflows
✅ Plugin status monitoring in real-time
✅ Job management with automatic cleanup (TTL-based)
✅ Internationalization: Portuguese and English support
✅ File download after conversion
✅ RESTful API with Scalar/Swagger documentation
✅ WebSocket Context: Global state management for jobs
✅ Dark mode support in web interface
✅ Cross-platform backend (Windows, Linux, macOS)
✅ Drag-and-drop file upload

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

Node.js >= 18.0.0 (LTS recommended: 20.x)
pnpm >= 8.0.0
Python >= 3.8 (3.13+ recommended)

Installation

Windows:

git clone https://github.com/Shobon03/ts-ifc-api.git
cd ts-ifc-api
scripts\setup.bat

Linux/Mac:

git clone https://github.com/Shobon03/ts-ifc-api.git
cd ts-ifc-api
chmod +x scripts/*.sh
./scripts/setup.sh

Or manually:

pnpm install
cd backend/python
python -m venv venv
source venv/bin/activate  # Windows: venv\Scripts\activate
pip install -r requirements.txt

💻 Development

Start all services in development mode with hot-reload:

pnpm dev

Or start services individually:

pnpm dev:backend        # Node.js API (port 3000)
pnpm dev:python         # Python bridge (port 5000)
pnpm dev:frontend       # React app (port 3001)
pnpm dev:documentation  # Fumadocs docs (port 3002)

Ports After Initialization

Service	URL	Description
Backend API	http://localhost:3000	Node.js REST API + WebSocket
Python Bridge	http://localhost:5000	Archicad plugin communication
Frontend	http://localhost:3001	React web interface
Documentation	http://localhost:3002	Fumadocs documentation site
API Reference	http://localhost:3000/docs	Scalar API documentation

🏭 Production

Build

Windows:

scripts\build.bat

Linux/Mac:

./scripts/build.sh

Or with pnpm:

pnpm build

Run

Windows:

scripts\start.bat

Linux/Mac:

./scripts/start.sh

Or with pnpm:

pnpm start

Production with PM2

# Install PM2
npm install -g pm2

# Build
pnpm build

# Start with PM2
pm2 start ecosystem.config.js

# Configure to start on boot
pm2 startup
pm2 save

For detailed build and deployment instructions, see BUILD.md.

📚 Documentation

Complete documentation is available at http://localhost:3002 (when running pnpm dev:documentation).

User Guide

Introduction: What is the system and how it works
Getting Started: Your first conversion
File Conversion: Detailed guide for all conversion types
Troubleshooting: Common issues and solutions

Developer Guide

Architecture: System overview and component interaction
Setup: Environment configuration
Backend Node.js: Fastify API and WebSocket
Backend Python: Flask bridge and Archicad integration
Frontend: React application with TanStack Router

Plugin Development

Revit Plugin: C# WebSocket plugin for IFC → RVT import (RVT → IFC handled by APS)
Archicad Plugin: C++ plugin for bidirectional PLN ↔ IFC conversion

API Reference

Endpoints: Complete REST API documentation
WebSocket Protocol: Real-time communication spec
Data Models: TypeScript types and Zod schemas

Quick Links

🏗️ Project Structure

ts-ifc-api/
├── backend/
│   ├── node/                 # Fastify REST API + WebSocket
│   │   ├── src/
│   │   │   ├── routes/      # API endpoints
│   │   │   ├── services/    # Business logic
│   │   │   ├── ws/          # WebSocket handlers
│   │   │   ├── types/       # TypeScript types
│   │   │   ├── utils/       # Utilities
│   │   │   └── tests/       # Unit tests
│   │   └── README.md
│   └── python/              # Flask + Archicad API bridge
│       ├── src/
│       │   ├── server.py    # Flask application
│       │   └── archicad/    # Archicad integration
│       └── README.md
├── frontend/                # React web application
│   ├── src/
│   │   ├── routes/         # TanStack Router pages
│   │   ├── components/     # React components
│   │   ├── lib/            # WebSocket, i18n, utils
│   │   └── assets/         # Styles and static files
│   └── README.md
├── plugins/
│   ├── revit/              # Revit C# plugin (95% complete)
│   │   └── IfcToRevitConverter/
│   │       └── README.md
│   └── archicad/           # Archicad C++ plugin (65% complete)
│       └── ArchiCAD-IFC-Plugin/
│           ├── BUILD_INSTRUCTIONS.md
│           └── README.md
├── documentation/          # Fumadocs documentation site (Next.js 15)
│   ├── content/docs/
│   │   ├── user-guide/
│   │   ├── developer-guide/
│   │   ├── plugins/
│   │   └── api/
│   └── README.md
├── scripts/                # Build and setup automation
│   ├── setup.bat / setup.sh
│   ├── build.bat / build.sh
│   └── start.bat / start.sh
├── BUILD.md               # Detailed build instructions
├── DEPLOY_CHECKLIST.md    # Production deployment guide
└── README.md              # This file

🔧 Technology Stack

Backend

Node.js 18+ with TypeScript (20.x LTS recommended)
Fastify 5.6 - Fast web framework
Zod 4.1 - Schema validation
@fastify/websocket - WebSocket support
Axios - HTTP client
APS SDK - Autodesk Platform Services (for RVT → IFC cloud conversion)

Frontend

React 19.2 - UI library
TanStack Router 1.133 - File-based routing
TanStack Query 5.90 - Server state management
Tailwind CSS 4.1 - Styling
Vite 7.1 - Build tool
React Hook Form + Zod - Form validation
Lucide React - Icons

Python Bridge

Flask 3.1 - Web framework
Archicad 28.3000 - Archicad API

Plugins

Revit API 2025.4 + .NET 8.0 (C#)
Archicad API DevKit 28.4 + C++17
Boost.Beast - WebSocket/HTTP (Archicad)
WebSocketSharp - WebSocket server (Revit)

Documentation

Fumadocs - Documentation framework (Next.js 15)
Code Hike - Code highlighting and annotations
MDX - Markdown with React components

🚦 System Status

Component	Status	Completeness
Backend Node.js	✅ Production Ready	100%
Backend Python	✅ Production Ready	100%
Frontend	✅ Production Ready	100%
Revit Plugin	✅ Production Ready	100%
Archicad Plugin	✅ Production Ready	100%
Documentation	✅ Complete	100%

Conversion Methods

Conversion	Method	Technology
RVT → IFC	☁️ Cloud	Autodesk Platform Services (APS/Forge)
IFC → RVT	🖥️ Local	Revit Plugin + Python Bridge
PLN → IFC	🖥️ Local	Archicad Plugin + Python Bridge
IFC → PLN	🖥️ Local	Archicad Plugin + Python Bridge

Conversion Flow Diagrams

RVT → IFC (Cloud-based via APS)

sequenceDiagram
    participant User
    participant Frontend
    participant Node.js
    participant APS as Autodesk APS

    User->>Frontend: Upload RVT file
    Frontend->>Node.js: POST /models/generate-ifc
    Node.js->>APS: Upload to OSS bucket
    Node.js->>APS: Start conversion job

    loop Poll status every 5s
        Node.js->>APS: Check manifest
        APS-->>Node.js: Progress: 0-100%
        Node.js-->>Frontend: WebSocket update
    end

    APS-->>Node.js: Conversion complete
    Node.js->>APS: Download IFC
    Node.js->>Node.js: Save to disk
    Node.js-->>Frontend: Download URL
    User->>Frontend: Download IFC

IFC → RVT (Local via Revit Plugin)

sequenceDiagram
    participant User
    participant Frontend
    participant Node.js
    participant Python
    participant Revit as Revit Plugin

    User->>Frontend: Submit IFC file
    Frontend->>Node.js: POST /models/convert-from-ifc
    Node.js->>Python: Trigger conversion
    Python->>Revit: WebSocket command
    Revit->>Revit: Import IFC → RVT
    Revit-->>Python: Progress updates
    Python-->>Node.js: Forward progress
    Node.js-->>Frontend: WebSocket update
    Revit-->>Python: Conversion complete
    Python-->>Node.js: Forward completion
    Node.js-->>Frontend: Download URL
    User->>Frontend: Download RVT

PLN ↔ IFC (Local via Archicad Plugin)

sequenceDiagram
    participant User
    participant Frontend
    participant Node.js
    participant Python
    participant Archicad as Archicad Plugin

    User->>Frontend: Upload PLN/IFC file
    Frontend->>Node.js: POST /models/...
    Node.js->>Python: Trigger conversion
    Python->>Archicad: WebSocket command
    Archicad->>Archicad: Convert PLN ↔ IFC
    Archicad-->>Python: Progress updates
    Python-->>Node.js: Forward progress
    Node.js-->>Frontend: WebSocket update
    Archicad-->>Python: Conversion complete
    Python-->>Node.js: Forward completion
    Node.js-->>Frontend: Download URL
    User->>Frontend: Download result

Current Features

✅ Complete conversion pipeline: All formats fully supported (RVT ↔ IFC ↔ PLN)
✅ Hybrid architecture: Cloud (APS) for RVT→IFC, Local plugins for other conversions
✅ Real-time progress tracking: WebSocket communication for all conversions
✅ Production ready: All components tested and stable
ℹ️ IFC Validation: UI available, backend integration planned for future release

🤝 Contributing

Contributions are welcome! Please follow these guidelines:

Fork the repository
Create a feature branch (git checkout -b feature/amazing-feature)
Commit your changes (git commit -m 'Add amazing feature')
Push to the branch (git push origin feature/amazing-feature)
Open a Pull Request

Development Setup

See BUILD.md for detailed development environment setup.

Future Enhancements

IFC validation backend integration
Extended unit and integration test coverage
Docker containerization
Performance optimizations for large models
Additional IFC schema versions support

📝 License

This project is licensed under GPL-3.0 - see LICENSE for more details.

About

This project is a part of my final thesis for my undergraduate Computer Science degree.

Name		Name	Last commit message	Last commit date
Latest commit History 36 Commits
.vscode		.vscode
backend		backend
documentation		documentation
frontend		frontend
plugins		plugins
scripts		scripts
.env.example		.env.example
.gitignore		.gitignore
AUTHORS		AUTHORS
BUILD.md		BUILD.md
COPYING		COPYING
DEPLOY_CHECKLIST.md		DEPLOY_CHECKLIST.md
LICENSE		LICENSE
README.md		README.md
biome.json		biome.json
ecosystem.config.js		ecosystem.config.js
package.json		package.json
pnpm-lock.yaml		pnpm-lock.yaml
pnpm-workspace.yaml		pnpm-workspace.yaml

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ts-ifc-api

🎯 Goals

System Architecture Overview

Key Components

✨ Features

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

Installation

💻 Development

Ports After Initialization

🏭 Production

Build

Run

Production with PM2

📚 Documentation

User Guide

Developer Guide

Plugin Development

API Reference

Quick Links

🏗️ Project Structure

🔧 Technology Stack

Backend

Frontend

Python Bridge

Plugins

Documentation

🚦 System Status

Conversion Methods

Conversion Flow Diagrams

RVT → IFC (Cloud-based via APS)

IFC → RVT (Local via Revit Plugin)

PLN ↔ IFC (Local via Archicad Plugin)

Current Features

🤝 Contributing

Development Setup

Future Enhancements

📝 License

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