Use Onshape with AI via MCP
Onshape runs entirely in the browser and brings versioning and PDM along by default – an unusually clean starting point for an AI connection. PTC does not provide an official MCP server, but active community servers built on the open REST API do exist, and we run them inside your CompanyGPT environment.
What is Onshape?
Onshape is a fully cloud-based CAD system from PTC. Design, version control and data management run in the browser without a local installation; changes are versioned continuously, and branching and merging work much like in software development. Across the DACH region Onshape is used mainly by agile development teams and start-ups.
Among CAD systems, Onshape is particularly accessible for AI agents because all data is already available through an openly documented web API. Document structures, versions, releases and bills of material can be queried directly – with no detour via a workstation or an open application.
Connection at a Glance
- MCP server
- Community, self-hosted (no official server from PTC)
- Transport
- stdio – operated as a container in your own tenant
- Authentication
- Onshape API keys (HMAC) or OAuth2
- Interfaces
- Openly documented REST API with OpenAPI specification, FeatureScript
- Operating model
- SaaS, fully browser-based with integrated PDM
- Network
- No VPN required – access via the public Onshape API
How to Connect Onshape to CompanyGPT
PTC provides no official MCP server for Onshape. Actively maintained community servers do exist, however, such as jarvis-onshape-mcp and onshape-mcp, which build on the open Onshape REST API and run as local stdio servers. Because the API is fully described via OpenAPI, the tool set can also be extended deliberately or narrowed to the queries you actually need.
We run the MCP server as a container inside your CompanyGPT environment. Authentication uses either Onshape API keys with HMAC signatures or OAuth2 – depending on whether access should run through a technical account or on behalf of individual users. As Onshape is a SaaS product, HTTPS access to the Onshape API is sufficient; no network link into your company network is required.
Inside CompanyGPT, your administrators decide by role and group which teams may use the integration. The scope of the tools provided – for example read-only queries limited to certain documents or workspaces – is defined during setup.
Typical Use Cases
How AI agents in CompanyGPT work with Onshape
Rediscover documents
Design searches for documents relating to a project or part name and receives hits with workspace, version and last modification.
Check release states
Before handover to manufacturing, the agent clarifies which version of a model is released and which changes have been made since.
Prepare bills of material
For purchasing and quotation work, the assistant reads the bill of material of an assembly and provides it as a structured overview.
Frequently Asked Questions
Onshape and AI – the most important answers
Does Onshape have an official MCP server?
No. As of August 2026 the Onshape GitHub organization contains no MCP server. What is available are active community projects built on the open REST API and operated yourself.
Why is Onshape well suited for an MCP connection?
Because the whole system is cloud-based and provides a fully documented REST API with an OpenAPI specification. That removes the workstation dependency typical of desktop CAD.
How does the integration authenticate?
Through Onshape API keys with HMAC signatures or via OAuth2. The API key route suits a technical account with a fixed scope, OAuth2 suits access on behalf of individual users.
Do we need a VPN connection?
No. Onshape is a SaaS product and access runs over HTTPS against the Onshape API. A network link into your company network is not needed for this integration.
Do our CAD data stay under control?
The MCP server runs in your own cloud tenant, as does CompanyGPT. Access is limited to the permissions of the account in use; the assessment of Onshape as a provider continues to follow your contract with PTC.
Onshape and Your AI – GDPR-Compliant with CompanyGPT
CompanyGPT is the enterprise AI assistant in your own cloud tenant: all relevant AI models, your company data and integrations like Onshape – centrally managed, with roles and permissions. We set up the connection together with you.
Onshape is a trademark of its respective owner (PTC Inc.). Its mention describes compatibility and does not imply any partnership or endorsement. Availability and scope of the connection depend on the respective vendor.