IFC Open BIM Workflow

Process IFC🌐IFCOpen standard for BIM data exchange.View in glossary files for open BIM🏛️BIMIntelligent 3D model-based design for buildings.View in glossary collaboration with external partners.

Workflow Overview

CLI Approach

Step 1: Upload IFC File

raps object upload my-bucket model.ifc

Step 2: Translate to SVF2

URN=$(raps object urn my-bucket model.ifc --output plain)
raps translate start "$URN" --format svf2 --wait

Step 3: Verify Translation

raps translate manifest "$URN"

Step 4: Extract IFC Data

# Get metadata
raps derivative metadata "$URN" --output json > ifc-metadata.json

# Get IFC property sets
raps derivative properties "$URN" --output json > ifc-properties.json

# Get model hierarchy
raps derivative tree "$URN" --output json > ifc-tree.json

Step 5: Analyze IFC Content

# Count elements by IFC type
cat ifc-properties.json | jq '
  group_by(.properties.IfcType) |
  map({type: .[0].properties.IfcType, count: length}) |
  sort_by(-.count)'

# List all property sets
cat ifc-properties.json | jq '[.[].properties | keys] | flatten | unique'

CI/CD Pipeline

# .github/workflows/ifc-processing.yml
name: IFC Processing Pipeline

on:
  push:
    paths:
      - 'ifc/**/*.ifc'

env:
  BUCKET: ifc-exchange-${{ github.repository_id }}

jobs:
  process-ifc:
    runs-on: ubuntu-latest
    steps:
      - uses: actions/checkout@v4

      - name: Install RAPS
        run: cargo install raps

      - name: Setup bucket
        env:
          APS_CLIENT_ID: ${{ secrets.APS_CLIENT_ID }}
          APS_CLIENT_SECRET: ${{ secrets.APS_CLIENT_SECRET }}
        run: |
          raps bucket create --key "$BUCKET" --policy persistent --region US 2>/dev/null || true

      - name: Process IFC files
        env:
          APS_CLIENT_ID: ${{ secrets.APS_CLIENT_ID }}
          APS_CLIENT_SECRET: ${{ secrets.APS_CLIENT_SECRET }}
        run: |
          mkdir -p ./ifc-reports

          for ifc in ifc/**/*.ifc; do
            [ -f "$ifc" ] || continue

            filename=$(basename "$ifc")
            name="${filename%.ifc}"

            echo "Processing: $ifc"

            # Upload
            raps object upload "$BUCKET" "$ifc"

            # Translate
            URN=$(raps object urn "$BUCKET" "$filename" --output plain)
            raps translate start "$URN" --format svf2 --wait

            # Extract metadata
            raps derivative metadata "$URN" --output json > "./ifc-reports/${name}-metadata.json"
            raps derivative properties "$URN" --output json > "./ifc-reports/${name}-properties.json"

            # Generate report
            echo "# IFC Report: $filename" > "./ifc-reports/${name}-report.md"
            echo "Processed: $(date)" >> "./ifc-reports/${name}-report.md"
            echo "" >> "./ifc-reports/${name}-report.md"
            echo "## Element Count by Type" >> "./ifc-reports/${name}-report.md"
            cat "./ifc-reports/${name}-properties.json" | jq -r '
              group_by(.properties.IfcType) |
              map({type: .[0].properties.IfcType, count: length}) |
              sort_by(-.count) |
              .[] | "- \(.type): \(.count)"
            ' >> "./ifc-reports/${name}-report.md"
          done

      - name: Upload reports
        uses: actions/upload-artifact@v4
        with:
          name: ifc-reports
          path: ./ifc-reports/

Pipeline Flow

MCP Integration

Process IFC from Partner

User: "We received IFC files from the structural engineer. Upload them and check if they translated correctly."

AI Response:

The structural IFC file has been uploaded and translated successfully.

Model Summary:

• File: structural-model.ifc
• Status: Complete
• Elements: 2,847 total

By IFC Type:

• IfcColumn: 156
• IfcBeam: 89
• IfcSlab: 12
• IfcFooting: 24
• IfcWall: 45
• IfcConnection: 2,521

Compare IFC Versions

User: "Compare the structural IFC we received today with last week's version"

AI Response:

IFC Version Comparison:

Element Type	Last Week	Today	Change
IfcColumn	148	156	+8
IfcBeam	85	89	+4
IfcSlab	12	12	0
IfcFooting	24	24	0
Total	2,789	2,847	+58

New elements appear to be in Grid Lines E-F, Levels 3-4.

IFC Validation

Check Required Properties

# Verify all elements have required properties
cat ifc-properties.json | jq '
  [.[] | select(
    .properties.GlobalId == null or
    .properties.Name == null
  )] | length'

Export Property Set Summary

# List all Pset definitions
cat ifc-properties.json | jq '
  [.[].properties | to_entries | .[] | select(.key | startswith("Pset_"))] |
  group_by(.key) |
  map({pset: .[0].key, count: length})'

Validate IFC Schema

# Check IFC types distribution
cat ifc-properties.json | jq '
  group_by(.properties.IfcType) |
  map({
    type: .[0].properties.IfcType,
    count: length,
    hasGlobalId: ([.[] | select(.properties.GlobalId != null)] | length),
    hasName: ([.[] | select(.properties.Name != null)] | length)
  }) |
  sort_by(-.count)'

Related

• Model Coordination Pipeline
• Metadata Extraction
• Cookbook: AEC & BIM