How do I install Cadlens?

Cadlens is a local plugin. Install it using npm package: cadlens-mcp and add the generated configuration snippet to your AI app's MCP config file. Then restart your AI app.

What credentials does Cadlens need?

Cadlens requires the following credentials or environment variables: CADLENS_API_KEY, CADLENS_API_BASE, WEBHOOK_PUBLIC_URL. You can find setup instructions on the server detail page.

What AI apps work with Cadlens?

Cadlens uses the Model Context Protocol (MCP) and works with any MCP-compatible AI app, including Claude, ChatGPT / Codex, Gemini, Copilot, Cursor, and more.

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Cadlens MCP Server

by Cadlens Co

Developer ToolsUse Caution4.8MCP RegistryLocal

Free

Server data from the Official MCP Registry

Model Context Protocol server that wraps the CADLens REST API.

About

Model Context Protocol server that wraps the CADLens REST API.

Security Report

4.8

Use Caution4.8High Risk

This is a well-structured MCP server for CAD file parsing via the CADLens API. Authentication is properly enforced through environment variables, permissions align well with the stated purpose (file I/O, network calls to CADLens API), and code quality is good with proper input validation and error handling. No critical security vulnerabilities were identified. Supply chain analysis found 5 known vulnerabilities in dependencies (2 critical, 2 high severity). Package verification found 1 issue.

7 files analyzed · 10 issues found

Security scores are indicators to help you make informed decisions, not guarantees. Always review permissions before connecting any MCP server.

Permissions Required

This plugin requests these system permissions. Most are normal for its category.

env_vars

Check that this permission is expected for this type of plugin.

HTTP Network Access

Connects to external APIs or services over the internet.

File System Read

Reads files on your machine. Normal for tools that analyze or process local data.

File System Write

Writes or modifies files on your machine. Check that this is expected for the tool.

file_stat

Check that this permission is expected for this type of plugin.

What You'll Need

Set these up before or after installing:

Your CADLens API keyRequired

Environment variable: CADLENS_API_KEY

API base URL (default: https://api.cadlens.co/v1)Optional

Environment variable: CADLENS_API_BASE

Public URL for webhook auto-registration (optional)Optional

Environment variable: WEBHOOK_PUBLIC_URL

How to Install

Add this to your MCP configuration file:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "io-github-cadlens-co-cadlens-mcp": {
      "env": {
        "CADLENS_API_KEY": "your-cadlens-api-key-here",
        "CADLENS_API_BASE": "your-cadlens-api-base-here",
        "WEBHOOK_PUBLIC_URL": "your-webhook-public-url-here"
      },
      "args": [
        "-y",
        "cadlens-mcp"
      ],
      "command": "npx"
    }
  }
}

Documentation

View on GitHub

From the project's GitHub README.

cadlens-mcp

A Model Context Protocol server that wraps the CADLens REST API so MCP-aware LLM clients (Claude Desktop, Claude Code, Continue, Zed) can parse CAD files (.dwg, .dxf, .dwf, .dwfx, .dgn V7, .pdf, max 100 MB) and reason over the extracted entity / layer / metadata payloads.

Quick start

npm install
npm run build

export CADLENS_API_KEY="cadl_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
# Optional — defaults to https://api.cadlens.co/v1
export CADLENS_API_BASE="https://api.cadlens.co/v1"

node dist/index.js

Create an API key in the CADLens dashboard — the MCP server does not (and cannot) create keys.

Claude Code wiring

claude mcp add cadlens \
  --env CADLENS_API_KEY=cadl_xxx \
  --env CADLENS_API_BASE=https://api.cadlens.co/v1 \
  -- node /absolute/path/to/cadlens-mcp/dist/index.js

Claude Desktop wiring

~/Library/Application Support/Claude/claude_desktop_config.json (macOS):

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cadlens": {
      "command": "node",
      "args": ["/absolute/path/to/cadlens-mcp/dist/index.js"],
      "env": {
        "CADLENS_API_BASE": "https://api.cadlens.co/v1",
        "CADLENS_API_KEY": "cadl_xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx"
      }
    }
  }
}

Tools

Tool	What it does
`cadlens_parse_file`	Upload a local CAD file, poll until parsed (5 min budget), return summary.
`cadlens_parse_url`	Download a CAD file from a URL, then parse it like `parse_file`.
`cadlens_get_job`	Cheap status check (`PENDING` / `PROCESSING` / `COMPLETED` / `FAILED`).
`cadlens_get_result`	Fetch parsed content. `mode`: `summary` (default), `entities_by_type`, `entities_on_layer`, `full`.
`cadlens_refresh_image_url`	Re-fetch the 1h presigned PNG URL without re-downloading the full result.
`cadlens_list_jobs`	The 100 most recent jobs for the configured API key.
`cadlens_delete_job`	Delete a job and its S3 artifacts. Irreversible.

Configuration

Env var	Required	Default	Notes
`CADLENS_API_KEY`	yes	—	Created in the CADLens dashboard.
`CADLENS_API_BASE`	no	`https://api.cadlens.co/v1`	Set to `http://localhost:3001/v1` for local dev.
`WEBHOOK_PORT`	no	`0` (random)	Port for the in-process webhook receiver.
`WEBHOOK_PUBLIC_URL`	no	unset	Set to a tunnel URL (ngrok/cloudflared) to let CADLens hit the local receiver. When set, parse calls auto-register the webhook and the poller short-circuits on receipt.
`REQUEST_TIMEOUT_MS`	no	`30000`	Per-HTTP-request timeout for CADLens calls.

Webhook short-circuit (optional)

If WEBHOOK_PUBLIC_URL is set, parse_file / parse_url register a per-process webhook URL alongside the upload. The webhook handler updates an in-memory job-state cache; the poller checks that cache before each HTTP GET and returns early when COMPLETED / FAILED arrives. This trims worst-case latency by up to one full poll tick (~1 s) without changing the tool surface.

Example tunnel setup:

cloudflared tunnel --url http://localhost:8787 &
export WEBHOOK_PORT=8787
export WEBHOOK_PUBLIC_URL="https://<your-tunnel>.trycloudflare.com"

Development

npm run typecheck
npm run lint
npm test
npm run smoke   # tools/list smoke test against built binary

Project-scoped Claude agents

This repo ships five agents under .claude/agents/:

cadlens-api-debugger — diagnoses unexplained CADLens 4xx/5xx using mcp-server-reference.md.
mcp-tool-tester — drives JSON-RPC against the built server to validate tool responses.
mcp-tool-implementer — scaffolds new tools following the existing src/tools/* pattern.
cad-drawing-summarizer — uses the MCP tools to summarize a CAD file in natural language.
cad-layer-inspector — drills into a single layer of a parsed drawing.

License

MIT

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Cadlens MCP Server

About

Security Report

Findings (10)Action required

Permissions Required

What You'll Need

How to Install

Documentation

cadlens-mcp

Quick start

Claude Code wiring

Claude Desktop wiring

Tools

Configuration

Webhook short-circuit (optional)

Development

Project-scoped Claude agents

License

Reviews

No reviews yet

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