Connect Claude, ChatGPT or any AI assistant to 3ds Max

How it works

AEC Pilot adds a small connector inside 3ds Max. Any assistant that speaks MCP (the Model Context Protocol) can then read the open scene, change it and take a viewport capture. The connector runs on your PC and only accepts connections from it.

• Claude Code and Claude Desktop
• ChatGPT / Codex
• Cursor and Google Antigravity

Set it up in three steps

• 1. Open the Setup Guide: AEC Pilot menu → Settings → Setup Guide. On a narrow 3ds Max window the AEC Pilot menu sits under the » arrows.
• 2. Click Configure next to the assistant you use. Its other MCP servers are kept and the old file is backed up. Using the Claude app too? Configure Claude Desktop as well.
• 3. Restart and connect: quit your assistant once and reopen it, since it reads its settings only at startup. Start the connector (“Connector is running, port 8050”) and click Test connection.

Setup reference for 3ds Max

What to ask first: a worked example

The scene is the balcony that AEC Pilot built in the photo-to-render example, open in 3ds Max 2025:

• “Are you connected to aec-max?” It names the 3ds Max window, the port and the open scene.
• “Count the objects by layer, with their polygon counts.” 1,476 objects on 7 layers, 341,894 triangles, read from the open scene.
• “Give the chair cushions a terracotta fabric.” A new material on the 8 cushion pieces; nothing is saved until you save.
• “Take a viewport capture and tell me what you see.” The assistant looks at its own work.
• “Make an interactive bar chart of polygon count by layer.” In Claude it comes back as a chart you can point at and switch between triangles and objects.
• “Hide the city meshes but keep the sky and the sea.” 1,340 objects hidden, nothing deleted.

Watch the setup on YouTube · From one photo to a V-Ray render

If it does not connect

• The assistant does not list aec-max: quit it completely and open it again; closing the window is not always enough.
• Test connection fails: check that the connector is started in Settings and that 3ds Max is open with a scene.
• No AEC Pilot menu: widen the 3ds Max window or open the » arrows at the end of the menu bar.

Troubleshooting · 3ds Max MCP · More guides

Requests to try

• “Which layers hold the most polygons?”
• “List the materials in this scene and where they are used.”
• “Select every object on the Furniture layer.”
• “Add a camera looking at the table from eye height.”
• “Make the wall light warmer.”
• “Show me the viewport and tell me what looks wrong.”

Frequently asked questions

How do I connect Claude to 3ds Max?

Install AEC Pilot, open AEC Pilot → Settings → Setup Guide in 3ds Max, click Configure next to Claude, restart Claude once and start the connector. There is no config file to edit by hand.

Does it work with ChatGPT or Cursor?

Yes. ChatGPT / Codex, Cursor, Google Antigravity and any other assistant that speaks MCP can connect the same way.

Can the assistant see my viewport?

Yes, when it asks for a viewport capture. It uses that image to check what it changed.

Does my scene leave my PC?

No. The connector runs inside 3ds Max on your machine and only accepts local connections; your files are never uploaded to AEC Pilot. Your assistant sees the answers to what you ask and the captures it requests.

Which 3ds Max versions are supported?

3ds Max 2024 to 2027, from the same installer as Revit, AutoCAD and the other Autodesk apps.

Is there an AI inside 3ds Max without another app?

Yes: Pilot Chat docks inside 3ds Max and works with your own Claude, ChatGPT, Gemini or DeepSeek key. AEC Pilot adds no AI fee.