Developers

API

Generate BIM models programmatically — upload drawings, poll the job status and download the finished model.

The API mirrors what the website does: you post one or more drawings to start a model generation job, poll until it finishes, then download the result as IFC or as structured data. The base URL is https://api.makeabim.com.

API access

API access is part of the Enterprise plan — see Pricing & billing.

Authentication

Before you can use the API you need to log in on the website and copy your access token. You'll find it under API Access Token in your account settings — click Reveal to show it, then copy it.

The API Access Token card in account settings, with the token masked and Reveal and Copy buttons — Account settings → API Access Token. Reveal it, then copy it.

Send the token as a bearer token on every request:

http

Authorization: Bearer YOUR_ACCESS_TOKEN

Keep your token secret

The token identifies your account. Don't commit it to source control or expose it in client-side code.

The generation workflow

Three endpoints cover the full cycle, plus one for structured data exports:

POST / — upload the drawings and start the generation process. The response contains a model_id.
GET /api/job_status — poll with that model_id until the status is Finished (or Error / Failed).
POST /api/download_ifc_by_model_id — download the finished IFC model.
GET /api/export_model — optionally export the model's data as JSON, CSV or Excel.

Generate models one after another

Because resources are limited, only a handful of models can be generated in parallel. If you plan to generate dozens of models, run them one after another rather than all at once.

Endpoints

Start model generation

POST https://api.makeabim.com/ — sent as multipart/form-data. Returns a model_id.

Parameter	Description
`floor_plan_upload`	An ordered list of floor plans used to generate the model. Storeys go from lowest to highest.
`elevation_upload`	A list of elevation drawings used for model generation. project_data links each drawing to a cardinal direction. North is currently assumed to be up in the floor plans.
`notify_via_email`	Boolean controlling whether you receive an email notification when the model is finished. Defaults to true.
`project_data`	JSON-formatted field containing settings such as scale and default heights. Default values are used if it is left empty — see Project data below.

Check job status

GET https://api.makeabim.com/api/job_status

Parameter	Description
`model_id`	The ID of the model, returned by the request that started generation.

Download the model

POST https://api.makeabim.com/api/download_ifc_by_model_id — sent as JSON.

Parameter	Description
`model_id`	The ID of the model.
`ifc_version`	Either `ifc4x3` or `ifc2x3`.

Export model data

GET https://api.makeabim.com/api/export_model — downloads JSON, CSV or Excel data about the model.

Parameter	Description
`model_id`	The ID of the model.
`format`	`json`, `csv` or `excel`.

Project data

Drawing and settings input is called project data. It is a JSON object of the shape {"floorplans": [{...}], "elevations": [{...}]}, with one entry per uploaded drawing.

floorplans

Field	Description
`fileName`	Name of the file.
`unit`	Unit for the pixel/value measurement. Supports `m`, `ft` and `in`.
`pixels`	Distance in pixels. None if using automatic scaling.
`value`	The corresponding real-world distance in the unit above, used to set the scale for the image. None if using automatic scaling.
`storeyHeight`	Height of the storey. Default `3`.
`windowHeight`	Height of windows. Default `1.6`. Overridden by values derived from the elevation drawings if elevations are provided.
`windowHeightFromFloor`	Height of the window sill above the floor. Default `0.8`.
`doorHeight`	Height of doors. Default `2.1`. Overridden by values derived from the elevation drawings if elevations are provided.

elevations

Field	Description
`fileName`	Name of the file.
`direction`	`North`, `East`, `West` or `South`. North is currently assumed to be up in the floor plans.
`unit`	Unit for the pixel/value measurement. Supports `m`, `ft` and `in`.
`pixels`	Distance in pixels. None if using automatic scaling.
`value`	The corresponding real-world distance in the unit above. None if using automatic scaling.

Example project_data

json

{
  "floorplans": [
    {
      "fileName": "your_floorplan",
      "unit": "m",
      "pixels": 462,
      "value": "5",
      "storeyHeight": "3",
      "windowHeight": "1.6",
      "windowHeightFromFloor": "0.8",
      "doorHeight": "2.1"
    }
  ],
  "elevations": [
    {
      "fileName": "your_elevation",
      "direction": "North",
      "unit": "m",
      "pixels": null,
      "value": null
    }
  ]
}

Example Python script

Requirements:

Basic Python skills.
Save the script to a folder.
Copy your access token from your account settings on makeabim.com and paste it into the code on line 5.
One or more floor plans. The script assumes these are in the same folder as the code and named storey_0.png and storey_1.png.
The requests library, installed with pip install requests.

python

import time
import requests

API_URL = "https://api.makeabim.com/"
TOKEN = """Paste your token here. You can find it in your Account settings on makeabim.com"""
HEADERS = {
    "Authorization": f"Bearer {TOKEN}"
}


def upload_floorplans():
    files = [
        ("floor_plan_upload", open(r"storey_0.png", "rb")),
        ("floor_plan_upload", open(r"storey_1.png", "rb")),
    ]

    data = {
        "notify_via_email": "False"
    }

    print("Starting model generation...")

    response = requests.post(
        API_URL,
        headers=HEADERS,
        files=files,
        data=data
    )

    response.raise_for_status()
    json_data = response.json()

    model_id = json_data.get("model_id")

    if not model_id:
        raise Exception(f"model_id missing in response: {json_data}")

    print(f"Model id is {model_id}")
    return model_id


def poll_status(model_id):
    status = "Not started"

    while status not in ["Finished", "Error", "Failed"]:
        time.sleep(5)

        response = requests.get(
            f"{API_URL}/api/job_status",
            headers=HEADERS,
            params={"model_id": model_id}
        )

        response.raise_for_status()
        json_data = response.json()

        print(f"Response {json_data}")

        status = json_data.get("status")
        print(f"Model status {status}")

    return status


def download_ifc(model_id):
    print("Downloading model to model.ifc")

    response = requests.post(
        f"{API_URL}/api/download_ifc_by_model_id",
        headers={**HEADERS, "Content-Type": "application/json"},
        json={
            "model_id": model_id,
            "ifc_version": "ifc2x3"
        }
    )
    response.raise_for_status()

    with open("model.ifc", "wb") as f:
        f.write(response.content)


def download_excel(model_id):
    print("Downloading model data to model.xlsx")

    response = requests.get(
        f"{API_URL}/api/export_model",
        headers=HEADERS,
        params={
            "model_id": model_id,
            "format": "excel"
        }
    )

    response.raise_for_status()

    with open("model.xlsx", "wb") as f:
        f.write(response.content)


def main():
    model_id = upload_floorplans()
    status = poll_status(model_id)

    if status != "Finished":
        raise Exception(f"Model generation failed with status: {status}")

    download_ifc(model_id)
    download_excel(model_id)
    print("Finished.")


if __name__ == "__main__":
    main()

Example Bash script

The same flow with curl and jq. Replace your_token_here with your access token.

bash

#!/bin/bash
authorization='Authorization: Bearer your_token_here'
url="https://api.makeabim.com/"

echo "Starting model generation"
response=$(curl -X POST "$url" -H "$authorization" \
  -H 'Content-Type: multipart/form-data' \
  -F floor_plan_upload=@storey_0.png \
  -F floor_plan_upload=@storey_1.png \
  -F notify_via_email='False' --silent)
model_id=$(jq -r '.model_id' <<< $response)
echo "Model id is $model_id"

model_status="Not started"
while [ "$model_status" != "Finished" ] && [ "$model_status" != "Error" ] && [ "$model_status" != "Failed" ]; do
    sleep 5
    response=$(curl -X GET "$url/api/job_status?model_id=$model_id" -H "$authorization" --silent)
    echo "Response $response"
    model_status=$(jq -r '.status' <<< $response)
    echo "Model status $model_status"
done

echo "Downloading model to model.ifc"
curl -X POST "$url/api/download_ifc_by_model_id" -H "$authorization" \
  -H "Content-Type: application/json" \
  --data "{\"model_id\":\"$model_id\",\"ifc_version\":\"ifc2x3\"}" > model.ifc

echo "Downloading model data to model.xlsx"
curl -X GET "$url/api/export_model?model_id=$model_id&format=excel" -H "$authorization" > model.xlsx

echo "Finished."

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