OpenTakeoff — Claude Code MCP server: what it does, how to install
OpenTakeoff lets AI agents read building plans, verify scale, and compute material takeoff quantities. It connects directly to the shared estimation canvas.
claude mcp add opentakeoff -- npx -y opentakeoff-mcpWhat OpenTakeoff does
The server exposes 58 tools for interacting with plan sheets. OpenTakeoff bridges the agent and the human estimator around the same document. Every recorded measurement stores scale, coordinates, calculation method, and review state. If someone recalibrates a sheet, the engine recalculates associated quantities at once.
Automatic room flood detection is gated in the default build. Agents trace areas via measure_polygon unless you pass OPENTAKEOFF_ONE_CLICK=1 when running the server. The canvas runs entirely in the browser, while optional background screen captures rely on the Python 3 standard library.
What it helps with
- calculate room floor areas and wall lengths from architectural PDFs
- update material quantities when a plan sheet is recalibrated
- assign review statuses to AI-generated takeoffs
- track geometry, authorship, and scale provenance for every measurement
Example prompts for the agent
- Load
floor_plan.pdf, set sheet scale from the reference dimension, and calculate room areas usingmeasure_polygon. - Inspect
level1_plan.pdfand check if any imported sheets have scale conflicts.
How to install OpenTakeoff
Platform CLI
claude mcp add opentakeoff -- npx -y opentakeoff-mcpPlatform CLI
codex mcp add opentakeoff -- npx -y opentakeoff-mcpConfig file
{
"mcpServers": {
"opentakeoff": {
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"opentakeoff-mcp"
]
}
}
}Config file
{
"servers": {
"opentakeoff": {
"type": "stdio",
"command": "npx",
"args": [
"-y",
"opentakeoff-mcp"
]
}
}
}Platform CLI
gemini mcp add opentakeoff npx -y opentakeoff-mcpStep by step, with commands for each platform: How to add an MCP server to Claude Code, Codex, Cursor, VS Code, Gemini CLI and more
Questions about OpenTakeoff
How to install OpenTakeoff in Claude Code?
Run the command claude mcp add opentakeoff -- npx -y opentakeoff-mcp.
What does OpenTakeoff do?
It turns architectural drawings into quantifiable takeoff data, letting agents measure lines, areas, and fixture counts on calibrated sheets.
Why are room detection tools disabled by default?
The detect_rooms and one_click verbs are gated while being tested on larger plan datasets. You can unlock them with OPENTAKEOFF_ONE_CLICK=1.
