OpenSTAAD in Claude: drive a STAAD.Pro model from the chat

Overview

What changes when a structural model eats hours of data entry

OpenSTAAD is a desktop extension published by Bentley Systems. It links Claude to STAAD.Pro, Bentley's structural analysis software, installed and running on your computer. You describe the task, Claude prepares the code that does it through the OpenSTAAD API and runs it on your model, with nothing sent to the cloud according to Bentley.

Get up to speed on the API. discover_api lists the available skills and how to use them, and read_skills returns the detailed guidance for the ones Claude needs.

Know what it is working on. list_instances finds the running STAAD.Pro instances with each model path, and get_status reports the connection state, the version and the analysis status. Bentley says the extension can connect to several running STAAD.Pro instances at once to spread tasks across models, and that all processing stays on your machine.

Take over the repetitive part. execute_code runs validated Python on the connected model: defining load cases, extracting data, setting the same property again and again. It can read a CSV or XLSX file as input and save its result to an output file.

What Claude doesn't do here: work without STAAD.Pro open, or start a job you never asked for. A chain that re-runs models on a schedule belongs to an automation platform, covered in the Integrations hub.

Vocabulary

The vocabulary, in one minute

Five words to follow the rest without detours.

Connector: The bridge you install once between Claude and a program, here STAAD.Pro on your workstation, so Claude can use it while answering.
Tool: One named capability the connector opens to Claude. Claude decides by itself when to call it; the directory sheet lists each one.
Authorization: The access you grant a connector, once and for you alone. You can take it back at any time through the same path.
Approval: The sign-off Claude waits for in the conversation before an action that changes something, such as a structural model.
MCP: The standard connectors share: it is what lets an assistant drive outside software such as STAAD.Pro.

Connect

Install the Claude OpenSTAAD connector in three steps

01
Look for OpenSTAAD
In Claude Desktop, open the settings, then Customize and Connectors, and spot OpenSTAAD in the list. On a Team or Enterprise workspace, an Owner or Primary Owner needs to have enabled it for the organization.
02
Add it
Click Connect on its row and follow the screen that appears. If the link ever breaks, use Disconnect and connect it again. Access can also be withdrawn from the extension's side.
03
Confirm the access
Read the authorization screen before you accept: it, not Claude, defines how far the access goes. You withdraw it later by following the same path in the settings.

Tools

The 5 tools in the Claude OpenSTAAD connector

OpenSTAAD MCP Server gives Claude 5 tools: 4 that read your account, 1 that change something in it.

Four tools inform Claude, a single one acts on the model. Names stay exactly as Claude shows them.

4 read
1 write

What Claude consults (4)

4 tools

API documentation, open instances and connection status.

`discover_api`

Gives Claude the list of skills available on the OpenSTAAD API, along with usage guidance. It is the starting point before Claude prepares any script at all.

When it helps

Claude has to find out which API skills cover a task before it prepares any code.

Sourcegithub.com · October 1, 2026 ↗

`read_skills`

Returns detailed guidance for the skills Claude picked, so its script relies on the documented calls rather than on guesswork. It only reads guidance, and the model itself is left as it is.

When it helps

Claude has picked a skill and needs its detailed guidance before preparing the script.

Sourcegithub.com · October 1, 2026 ↗

`list_instances`

Finds the STAAD.Pro instances currently running, each with its model path and software version. Bentley says several instances can be connected at the same time to spread work across models.

When it helps

several STAAD.Pro instances are open and Claude has to work on the right model.

Sourcegithub.com · October 1, 2026 ↗

`get_status`

Reports whether the link to the software is live, along with the STAAD.Pro version, the model path and the analysis status.

When it helps

you want to know whether the analysis has run before asking Claude to extract results.

Watch out

it describes a model that's already open; it doesn't open one.

Sourcegithub.com · October 1, 2026 ↗

What Claude changes (1)

1 tool

Validated Python code that acts on the connected STAAD.Pro model.

`execute_code`

Approval: see the rule

Runs a validated Python script on the connected STAAD.Pro model: defining load cases, extracting data, setting properties over and over. It can read a CSV or XLSX file and save its result to a file.

What Claude asks for

no source describes a confirmation specific to this tool, so the general approval rule applies.

When it helps

a repetitive change, such as setting the same property on many members, would take hours by hand.

Watch out

overwriting an existing output file is off by default.

Sourcegithub.com · October 1, 2026 ↗

Approvals

What Claude asks before it acts

By default, Claude stops and asks for your go-ahead before every action it takes on your behalf.

For OpenSTAAD, no source describes a confirmation specific to execute_code, the only tool that changes a model, so the general rule applies. Bentley adds its own guardrails on the code and file side, detailed below. Claude has no more rights than you on your workstation. On Team and Enterprise, owners decide whether a member may let some actions through, and they can limit the connector for the whole organization.

Plans

Which plans include it

None of the 819 sheets in the official directory shows availability by plan, OpenSTAAD included: that information isn't published anywhere.

The general rule is public: desktop extensions such as OpenSTAAD install on Claude Desktop, which is open to all users. On Team and Enterprise, an Owner or Primary Owner enables the connector for the organization before members use it. Your STAAD.Pro license is handled with Bentley. For the current state, the OpenSTAAD sheet in the directory is the reference.

Limits

Where the OpenSTAAD connector stops

A connector isn't an automation: Claude only touches your model while it is answering you, never on its own.

The directory badge isn't a security audit, and Anthropic doesn't vouch for how a publisher's tools behave. Only Bentley documents this connector, on its project page and the directory sheet; no Claude help page describes it. The limits below come from those two sources. Bentley's README lists the five tools in a table, with one line each. More connectors the team has studied are listed in the Claude connectors hub.

Need help

Need help connecting OpenSTAAD MCP Server to Claude?

A person reads every message.

FAQ

Claude OpenSTAAD connector: common questions

01What can Claude do with the OpenSTAAD connector?

Claude can act on STAAD.Pro models open on your computer. It learns the OpenSTAAD API with discover_api and read_skills, finds running instances with list_instances, checks the connection and analysis status with get_status, then runs validated Python with execute_code to define load cases, extract data or set properties in bulk. Bentley describes the whole thing as running locally, and nothing starts until you ask for it in the conversation. The program has to be open.

02Can Claude change my STAAD.Pro model?

Yes, through one tool: execute_code runs Python on the connected model, for example to define load cases or apply the same property to many members at once. It can also write a CSV or XLSX results file, without overwriting an existing file by default. The four other tools only read the API documentation, the open instances and the connection status. Every file it touches must resolve inside an allowed directory, and imports or direct file access inside the code are blocked.

03Does Claude ask before running code on my model?

Claude's default is to ask for your go-ahead before each action it takes on your behalf. No source describes a confirmation specific to execute_code. Bentley adds its own protections: code is analysed before it runs, imports and file access are blocked, and every path must stay inside an allowed directory. On Team and Enterprise, owners can also restrict the connector for the whole organization. Both layers apply together. On Bentley's side, those checks happen before any read or write.

04Which Claude plans is the OpenSTAAD connector available on?

No official source publishes plan availability connector by connector, and none of the 819 directory sheets shows it. The general rule says desktop extensions install on Claude Desktop, open to all users, with an Owner or Primary Owner enabling them first on Team and Enterprise. On top of that, Bentley requires STAAD.Pro 2025 or newer installed and running. The OpenSTAAD sheet in the directory remains the reference for your account. Nobody else publishes it.

05Do my STAAD.Pro models go to the cloud?

Not according to Bentley: all processing happens locally on your machine, no data is sent to the cloud and the extension collects no telemetry. Claude itself receives what the tools return during the conversation, such as the model path or the extracted data. For large datasets, execute_code reads and writes local files directly instead of pushing everything through the conversation, and those files stay inside an allowed directory. Nothing else is described.

06Why can't Claude find any STAAD.Pro model?

Start with the prerequisites: STAAD.Pro may not be running, or the setup may miss one. Bentley asks for Windows 11 or newer and STAAD.Pro 2025 or newer, installed and open. Once the program is running with your model, list_instances should show it with its path and version, and get_status confirms the connection state. If nothing changes, disconnect the connector and connect it again, and check your Windows version too. Both prerequisites come from Bentley's README.

07Claude or an automation tool for OpenSTAAD?

They do different jobs. Claude works with you on an open model: understanding the API, preparing load cases, extracting results, fixing a series of properties. An automation tool runs on its own, on a schedule or an event, which this connector doesn't do: no calculation starts without your request. For a guided one-off task, the connector is enough; for recurring processing, an automation platform is the better fit. The two can sit side by side.

Look for OpenSTAAD

Add it

Confirm the access

Need help connecting OpenSTAAD MCP Server to Claude?