Resources
Install Guide
BIM Monkey is a locally-installed Autodesk Revit plugin for licensed architects and AEC professionals. It is not remote access software — it runs entirely on your own machine inside your existing Revit installation. Subscription required.
An API key is required to use BIM Monkey. The plugin alone won't generate anything — all generation runs through our cloud backend, which requires an active trial or subscription.
Sign up at bimmonkey.ai → Your API key will be emailed to you instantly.
Claude Code is required as the agent orchestrator for Banana Chat. It's Anthropic's CLI tool that runs locally on your machine and drives all in-Revit AI actions — not the Claude.ai website or app. The installer will walk you through activation if you don't have it yet. Claude Code requires an Anthropic account with billing enabled. Generation sessions are billed to your account at standard API rates — typical sessions cost $0.75–$1.50.
Revit Plugin Installer · For licensed AEC professionals
What the installer does
- Checks for Claude Code, Node.js, Python, and the MCP Python package — installs anything missing automatically.
- Detects your installed Revit version(s) and pre-selects the right plugin.
- Asks for your BIM Monkey API key — saves it to Claude Code automatically during setup.
- Asks for your Anthropic API key — saves it to Claude Code so Banana Chat can run generation sessions on your machine.
- Copies the plugin DLL and
.addinmanifest to your Revit Add-Ins folder:%APPDATA%\Autodesk\Revit\Addins\<year>\— this is where Revit loads third-party plugins from. You can verify the files landed there after install. - Creates a
BIM Monkeyworking folder in your Documents with knowledge files and supporting resources pre-configured — no manual setup. - Installs all required Python packages and browser tools — MCP, PyMuPDF, Playwright with Chromium, and the Vicinity Map toolchain (numpy, osmnx, geopandas, matplotlib, shapely). No action needed.
- Registers the BIM Monkey MCP server in Claude Code — this is what connects Banana Chat to the Revit bridge so Claude can read and write your model directly.
- Installs and configures Banana Chat — the in-Revit AI assistant. Open it from the BIM Monkey ribbon, give instructions in plain language, and it executes them in your open model.
- Launches Revit automatically when setup is complete — load your model and start generating.
All of the following are installed automatically — anything already on your machine is detected and skipped. Existing Python 3.10–3.13 installs are all compatible.
- Claude Code — the AI terminal that orchestrates all generation
- Node.js LTS — required to run Claude Code
- Python 3.10+ (3.12 installed if not already present) — required for the bridge
- MCP — Python package the bridge uses to talk to Claude Code
- PyMuPDF — converts redline PDFs to images so Claude can read handwritten markup
- Playwright with Chromium — renders your firm's drawing library during generation
- Vicinity Map packages (numpy, osmnx, geopandas, matplotlib, shapely) — generate OpenStreetMap-based street maps automatically
- Roslyn C# compiler (Microsoft.CodeAnalysis.CSharp 4.9.2) — bundled with the plugin; powers
executeRevitScript, which compiles and runs C# against the live Revit API at runtime so Banana Chat can reach any Revit API surface without a plugin rebuild
Claude API cost per session
Generation sessions use Banana Chat on your machine with your Anthropic API key — typical cost is $0.75–$1.50 per session. See How It Works for the full breakdown.
Requirements
- Autodesk Revit 2024, 2025, or 2026.
- Windows 10 or 11.
- Your BIM Monkey API key (emailed to you on signup).
- Claude Code — Anthropic's CLI that drives all in-Revit AI actions. Not the Claude.ai website or chat — a separate terminal tool. Requires an Anthropic account with billing enabled. Get Claude Code API key →
Run the installer
- Download
BIM Monkey Setup.zipusing the button above. - Extract the zip, then run
BIM Monkey Setup.exeinside. - If Windows shows a SmartScreen popup, click More info → Run anyway.
- Follow the wizard — it installs Node.js, Python, and Claude Code, and configures your API keys automatically.
The installer is signed with an EV code signing certificate. If SmartScreen still appears, click More info → Run anyway — this can occur on new releases until the file builds reputation with Microsoft's systems.
Generate your first CD set
- Revit opens automatically when the installer finishes. Load your model.
- In the BIM Monkey tab → Server Control, click Start Server. Wait about 5 seconds, then click Server Status to confirm the pipe is ready before continuing.
- In the AI Enablement panel, click Banana Chat to open the AI assistant inside Revit.
- Tell Banana Chat to generate: "Create the full CD set" or "Generate all sheets for this project." It reads your model, plans the document set, and builds all sheets, views, details, and schedules directly in Revit.
- Watch the chat panel for progress. When it finishes, generated sheets are marked with
*in the Project Browser.
If a session is interrupted, tell Banana Chat to resume — it skips sheets that already exist and picks up where it left off.
Train on your firm's standards
Your API key also logs you into the BIM Monkey dashboard at app.bimmonkey.ai. Upload your firm's completed CD sets as PDFs — BIM Monkey analyzes every page and adds it to your private style library, which is used as the reference every time Banana Chat runs a document generation in Revit.
After each run, tell Banana Chat what needs to change — "the bathroom elevations always go on A3.2", "the stair section was missing". It stores corrections permanently and applies them automatically the next time you generate for that project.
Upload completed sets only — 100% construction documents, not works in progress. The quality of your uploads directly determines the quality of each document generation. Log in with your bm_... API key.
Troubleshooting
Installer freezes or Next button stays greyed out
Click Recheck — the installer will re-scan for everything that's installed and unlock Next once all prerequisites are found. If it's still stuck, cancel the installer and run it again from scratch.
Plugin doesn't appear in Revit Add-Ins tab
Run the installer again with Revit fully closed. If it still doesn't appear, check that the installer completed without errors and that you selected the correct Revit version. Check Revit's journal file for load errors.
Claude can't connect to Revit
The server takes about 5 seconds to fully initialize after clicking Start Server. Click Server Status to confirm the pipe is ready — it will show "Pipe: Ready" when Claude can connect. If you switch Revit files mid-session, click Stop Server then Start Server and wait again before running generation.
Banana Chat is working on the wrong model
Check the Model: label at the top of Banana Chat — it should show the name of your currently open Revit file. If it's blank or shows the wrong file, click Stop Server then Start Server to re-lock onto the active model before running any commands.
API key rejected
Re-run the installer and re-enter your key. BIM Monkey keys start with bm_; your Anthropic (Claude Code) key starts with sk-ant-. If you've lost your BIM Monkey key, email [email protected].
SmartScreen blocks the installer
Click More info → Run anyway. The installer is EV code signed — SmartScreen may still appear on new releases until the file builds reputation with Microsoft's systems.
Subscription ended
Your training library is never deleted — all uploaded drawings and corrections are preserved. Resubscribe at bimmonkey.ai/pricing to resume generation and pick up exactly where you left off.
Questions?
Email [email protected].