3ds Max MCP Server

Community

Connect AI agents to Autodesk 3ds Max over the Model Context Protocol

★ 246 Stars Category · Other Very popular

52FMRS · D

This is an unofficial MCP server maintained by an individual developer, released under the MIT license at version 1.7.2. It bridges AI clients to Autodesk 3ds Max 2023–2027 through a native bridge and exposes roughly 160 tools spanning scene reads and writes, modeling, materials, plugin introspection, MCG, tyFlow, RailClone and Forest Pack (the last marked as work in progress). Coverage is broad, but it includes entry points that execute MAXScript and Python, so clear security boundaries and permission review are required.

Reliability

8/20

Security and permissions

8/20

Maintenance

11/20

Documentation

14/20

Setup experience

11/20

Read the FMRS scoring method →

3dsmax-mcp is an MCP server that connects AI agents to Autodesk 3ds Max through a native bridge, exposing roughly 160 MCP tools for scene reads, modeling, materials, modifiers, controllers, viewport capture, procedural graphs and plugin workflows. It also supports introspection of arbitrary Max classes and ships a bundled agent skill in the form of MAXScript documentation. It requires Windows, Autodesk 3ds Max 2023–2027, and an MCP client such as Claude Desktop, Codex or Cursor. Installation is available through a setup executable or from source (Python 3.12+, uv and Git). The project is MIT-licensed and the current release is 1.7.2.

Tools

get_bridge_status

Ping the MCP bridge when diagnosing connection errors

get_session_context

Bundle bridge status, capabilities, scene summary, and selection in one call

get_plugin_capabilities

Max version, renderers, installed plugins, and class counts

query_scene

Unified reads: overview, filter, class, property, selection, delta

resolve_node_refs

Resolve names, handles, or hierarchy paths to canonical, cross-checked NodeRefs

scene_qa

Scan scene-graph hygiene and apply explicit safe naming repairs; never analyzes meshes

scene_patch

Preflight and atomically apply up to 256 mechanical node edits in one native undo step

get_hierarchy

Recursive child tree for an object

get_instances

All instances sharing the same base object

get_dependencies

Reference graph via dependents / dependent nodes

create_object

Create geometry with spatial placement feedback

delete_objects

Delete objects by name

get_object_properties

Compact properties for one object

set_object_property

Set a single object property

transform_object

Move, rotate, and/or scale by offset

analyze_node_orientation

Pivot, bbox, local axes, and world matrix for rigging and placement

clone_objects

Copy, instance, or reference clones

set_parent

Parent or unparent objects

select_objects

Change the current selection

set_visibility

Show, hide, freeze, or unfreeze

batch_rename_objects

Rename many objects in one call

add_modifier

Add a modifier to an object

remove_modifier

Remove a modifier by name

set_modifier_state

Enable/disable with viewport/render granularity

set_modifier_property

Set a modifier parameter on one or many objects

collapse_modifier_stack

Collapse the stack

make_modifier_unique

De-instance a shared modifier

inspect_modifier_properties

Compatibility alias for inspect_properties(target="modifier")

curve_model

Named curves, rounded profiles, sweeps and quad lofts with controls saved in the scene

inspect_curve

Inspect, visually target and edit spline knots and handles with stale-token protection

edit_curve

Inspect, visually target and edit spline knots and handles with stale-token protection

create_mesh

Build editable polygon cages from explicit vertices and faces

inspect_mesh

Read cage geometry, label components and map image positions to edit targets

pick_component

Read cage geometry, label components and map image positions to edit targets

mesh_edit

Undoable vertex, edge and face edits that preserve the modifier stack

loft_mesh

Matched-section quad lofts with persistent numeric parameters

geometry_qa

Check mesh boundaries, winding, degeneracy and connected components

boolean_operation

Apply, inspect, retune, rename, or extract Boolean modifier operands; supports inline repeated cutters

draw_spline

Create, read, and edit spline shapes from explicit world-space points and knots

edit_vertices

Read, move, set, or conform Editable Poly vertices in world space

get_materials

List materials assigned in the scene

get_material_library

Inspect currentMaterialLibrary and Material Editor scratch slots

backup_material_library

Save temporary/scratch material libraries to .mat files

get_material_slots

Compact slot/property readback for a material

inspect_material_network

Semantic material graph, wired slots, texture manifest, health checks

replicate_material

Preview/apply structure-preserving material clone and texture remap

assign_material

Create a material and assign it to objects

set_material_property

Set one property on an object's material

set_material_properties

Set multiple material properties at once

set_sub_material

Create or assign a Multi/Sub-Object slot

create_texture_map

Create a texture map (stored as a MAXScript global)

set_texture_map_properties

Edit a texture map global

create_material_from_textures

Build a fully wired PBR material from texture files

create_shell_material

Wrap any render + export materials in Shell Material (dual pipeline)

write_osl_shader

Write OSL to disk and compile an OSLMap

replace_material

Swap one material for another on all users

batch_replace_materials

Batch material replacement

palette_laydown

Fill Material Editor palette slots from a texture folder

smart_import

Batch-import meshes from a folder with auto PBR assignment

cosmos_search

Find compatible Cosmos models, materials and HDRIs

cosmos_download

Download a Cosmos asset without importing it

cosmos_import

Import a Cosmos asset through Corona or V-Ray

inspect_object

Deep exploratory object summary

inspect_properties

Deep property dump (target="object"|"modifier"|"baseobject"|"material")

introspect_osl

API surface for OSLMap and shader classes

walk_references

Full reference dependency walk

learn_scene_patterns

Analyze class usage patterns in the live scene

map_class_relationships

ParamBlock2 reference relationships between classes

watch_scene

Live event watcher for interactive sessions

isolate_and_capture_selected

Per-selection isolated viewport captures

main_thread

Inspect or clean up callbacks and timers running on Max's main/UI thread

discover_plugin_surface

Find plugin-related classes and entry points

discover_plugin_classes

Enumerate registered SDK classes

list_plugin_classes

List classes for a plugin or superclass family

inspect_plugin_class

SDK schema v2: bounded metadata, exact bindings and enum sources; legacy reflection retained

inspect_plugin_constructor

Creation notes for a plugin class

inspect_plugin_instance

SDK schema v2: live values, linked maps and guarded edit tokens

plugin_patch

Atomic typed PB2 edits with readback and stale/shared/animation guards

get_plugin_manifest

Structured manifest (classes, workflows, gotchas)

refresh_plugin_manifest

Rebuild manifest from live runtime

introspect_class

SDK parameter descriptors and published interface metadata

introspect_instance

Deep SDK introspection with live values

lighting_capabilities

Installed renderer routes, emitter shapes, units and color policy

create_lights

Semantic lights and environment graphs in one verified native transaction

inspect_lights

Decode actual light settings and linked emission maps

edit_lights

Guarded color, output, size, enable and shadow edits

assign_controller

Create and assign a controller to a sub-anim track

inspect_controller

Inspect one controller track

inspect_track_view

Track View-style controller hierarchy

set_controller_props

Edit script text or controller properties

add_controller_target

Add a target to script/expression/constraint controllers

keyframe_tracks

Timeline control; bounded delete/move/scale, bake/resample, tangent normalization, pose matching, and loops

list_wireable_params

Discover wireable sub-anims on an object

wire_params

Connect parameters with a wire expression

get_wired_params

List existing wire connections

unwire_params

Remove a wire

manage_layers

Create, delete, list, and configure layers; move/select objects

manage_groups

Create, ungroup, open, close, attach, detach groups

manage_selection_sets

Named selection sets

manage_scene

Hold, fetch, reset, save, scene info

Setup

Close 3ds Max and fully exit your AI clients. 2. Run 3dsmax-mcp-1.7.2-Setup.exe and select your clients. 3. Open 3ds Max and restart your AI client. The installer includes Python, dependencies, native bridges and agent skills. To update, close Max and your clients, then run the new installer. To install from source (requires Python 3.12+, uv and Git; close Max and your AI clients first): git clone https://github.com/cl0nazepamm/3dsmax-mcp.git; cd 3dsmax-mcp; uv sync; uv run python install.py. Use the default Full tool profile. To update, run git pull, uv sync, then uv run python install.py again.

Fit and risk

Best for

Technical artists and 3D professionals on Windows with 3ds Max 2023–2027 who want to automate Max from an MCP client using natural language
Teams that need to hook 3ds Max scene operations into AI agent workflows (Claude Desktop, Codex, Cursor)
Advanced users who want to extend their own tools via introspection and MCG/MAXScript

Not for

Users on operating systems other than Windows, or on 3ds Max 2022 and earlier
Users who do not want an AI client to modify or delete scene content
Users who only need to inspect 3ds Max files statically without automation

Required permissions

Control the 3ds Max scene: create, modify and delete objects and materials
Read and write scene files and .mat material library files (save, hold, merge, scan .max files)
Execute MAXScript and Python code inside Max (execute_python requires safe mode off)
Capture viewport, screen and render images
Read and write external asset and texture files through installed importers/exporters
Access the network to search for and download Cosmos assets

Risks and side effects

execute_maxscript and execute_python can run arbitrary code inside Max; execute_python requires safe mode to be turned off, which raises the risk considerably
Scripted and batch operations can modify or delete scene objects, materials and files, and mistakes may be hard to reverse (some operations have undo and preflight protection)
Writing .mat files, saving scenes or exporting assets changes files on the local machine
Integrations such as tyFlow, RailClone and Forest Pack are at different maturity levels (Forest Pack is explicitly marked as work in progress) and may be incomplete or change between releases
Depends on a native bridge with support limited to 3ds Max 2023–2027

Troubleshooting

Use get_bridge_status to ping the bridge when diagnosing connection errors
Make sure 3ds Max and the AI clients were fully closed and restarted (especially after an update)
Confirm the 3ds Max version is within 2023–2027 and that your MCP client was selected during install
Use get_plugin_capabilities to check the Max version, renderers and installed plugins
For source installs, confirm Python 3.12+, uv and Git are available, then run uv run python install.py again
Check the safe mode setting before calling execute_python

Use cases

Build editable polygon cages from explicit vertices and faces, then check topology quality

Fill Material Editor palette slots from a texture folder and build fully wired PBR materials

Batch-import an asset folder into a grid layout with automatic PBR texture assignment

Search .max files and merge only the objects you need

Create semantic lights and environment graphs, then edit lights under guarded conditions

Explore installed Max classes and plugin SDK surfaces through introspection

Build custom tools with MAXScript or Max Creation Graph

Capture viewports and renders, and watch scene events during interactive sessions

Supported clients

Claude DesktopFull support

CodexFull support

CursorFull support

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