2026-10-06 · NOTE

Revit to Illustrator to Photoshop

Claude turns the Revit floor plan into a colour plan in Illustrator, then renders it in Photoshop with floor textures, shadows and furniture. All from the Claude desktop app.

Shown on the Pacific Continental Residence in Revit 2027

Revit × Claude is out: 44 Revit skills, three free to try. See the skills →

1. Connect Revit

The prompt runs through the Revit MCP server, a free add-in that lets Claude read the model you have open and make changes in it. Set it up once and it loads with Revit after that.

▸How to set up the Revit MCPopen

The full setup, with a video, is at archaiflow.com/setup.

step 1Install pyRevit

Install the latest pyRevit from pyrevitlabs.io.

step 2Add the extension, in Revit

It is in pyRevit’s own extension list, so there is nothing to download by hand.

1.Revit → pyRevit tab → Extensions. Find revit-mcp-python and install it.
2.Same tab → Settings → Routes: turn the Routes Server on.
3.Restart Revit and open a project.

step 3Install the Revit MCP

Paste this prompt to install the Revit MCP.

Paste into Claude Code, or any coding assistant

Connect the Revit MCP server to Claude Desktop on Windows.
The pyRevit extension is already installed at
%APPDATA%\pyRevit\Extensions\revit-mcp-python.extension

1. Install uv if it isn't already on PATH.
2. Add a "Revit Connector" entry to the mcpServers block of my
   claude_desktop_config.json that runs the main.py in that
   folder with uv. The repo README's "Connecting to Claude
   Desktop" section has the exact JSON shape:
   https://github.com/revit-mcp/revit-mcp-python
3. Tell me when it's done, and remind me to quit Claude Desktop
   completely and reopen it.

Quitting Claude Desktop completely and reopening it puts Revit Connector in the connectors list under the message box.

2. Connect Illustrator and Photoshop

Both run through free MCP servers that need Node.js 20 or newer. Keep Illustrator and Photoshop open while Claude works.

▸How to set up the Illustrator and Photoshop MCPsopen

step 1Install Node.js

Install the LTS version from nodejs.org.

step 2Add both servers

Paste this prompt to add the two MCPs.

Paste into Claude Code, or any coding assistant

Connect two MCP servers to Claude Desktop on Windows.

1. Check that Node.js 20 or newer is on PATH.
2. Add two entries to the mcpServers block of my
   claude_desktop_config.json, each run with npx -y:
   - "illustrator": the npm package illustrator-mcp-server
     https://github.com/ie3jp/illustrator-mcp-server
   - "photoshop": the npm package @alisaitteke/photoshop-mcp
     https://github.com/alisaitteke/photoshop-mcp
3. Tell me when it's done, and remind me to quit Claude Desktop
   completely and reopen it.

After reopening, switch on Revit Connector, illustrator and photoshop in the connectors list under the message box.

3. One prompt

Open the floor plan in Revit and open Illustrator, then paste this into a new chat.

Paste into Claude

Use the Revit model I have open, Illustrator and Photoshop.

1. Export the floor plan I have open in Revit as a DWG, with
   each room's name, area and use. Save them to a folder in
   Documents.
2. Suggest a few drawings to make from it in Illustrator and
   ask me which one.
3. Make the one I pick from the DWG: black walls, each room
   filled by its use with its name and area, a legend, a scale
   bar and a north arrow pointing to Revit's true north.
4. Export the linework and the room names as transparent PNGs
   at 300 dpi, in the plan's own position.
5. Suggest a few ways to render it in Photoshop and ask me
   which one.
6. Build it in a new Photoshop document, one layer at a time:
   paper, floor textures by room, wall and furniture shadows,
   furniture, then the linework and names on top.

Never save the Revit model.

Claude stops twice, at steps 2 and 5, so you can pick. The rest runs on its own.

4. What comes back

In Illustrator, a colour plan. In Photoshop, the same plan rendered on top of it.

Two versions of the same floor plan side by side: rooms in flat colours with a legend, and the same rooms with wood and tile textures, shadows and furniture — An example: the colour plan from Illustrator (left) and the rendered plan from Photoshop (right).

The same layers can be stacked three ways.

The same floor plan three times: with textures and shadows, with shadows only on white, and with textures only — An example: a full render, a shadow study and the materials only.

5. Why two apps

Illustrator keeps lines and text as vectors, so the plan stays sharp and every room name stays editable. Photoshop does the part that needs pixels: textures and soft shadows.

The linework is drawn once, in Illustrator, and Photoshop builds on top of it, so the two drawings never disagree.

I hope this one helped, even a little. If it did, the skills and the handbook will help a lot more: the Revit jobs that come back every day, done with Claude, in the model that is already open. Only what I have run myself and found useful on real projects goes in.

David