Tools and capabilities#

Tool availability#

By default, you can see all tools at startup. When you pass --dynamic-tool-discovery, tools that require an active AEDT connection are hidden until PyAEDT-MCP has one.

Always available (no AEDT connection required)#

Tool	Description
`check_aedt_installed`	Check whether AEDT is installed on the system.
`check_aedt_status`	Report current connection state. Use before every workflow to decide between `launch_aedt` and `connect_to_aedt`.
`launch_aedt`	Start a new AEDT instance.
`connect_to_aedt`	Connect to an already-running AEDT instance via gRPC.
`get_pyaedt_logs`	Read the local PyAEDT log file (useful for startup and environment debugging).

Available after connecting to AEDT#

When disconnect_from_aedt is called (and dynamic discovery is enabled), these tools are hidden again.

Tool	Description
`disconnect_from_aedt`	Release the current AEDT connection.
`clear_aedt`	Close all open projects and release the AEDT process.
`list_projects`	List all currently open AEDT projects.
`list_designs`	List designs inside a project.
`open_project`	Open an AEDT or AEDTZ project file.
`save_project`	Save the active project to disk.
`create_design`	Create a new design (HFSS, Maxwell, Icepak, Circuit, and so on).
`analyze_design`	Run the configured solver analysis on the active design.
`export_config`	Export the current setup/sweep configuration as JSON.
`export_results`	Export solver results (Touchstone, profile, convergence, mesh).
`run_python_code`	Execute inline PyAEDT Python code in the persistent session.
`run_python_script`	Execute a Python script file in the persistent session.
`get_model_info`	Return a structured summary of the active design.
`screenshot`	Capture the current 3D modeler view as an image.

Optional (enabled only with `--include-context`)#

Tool	Description
`get_guidelines_for`	Return authoritative PyAEDT workflow guidelines for a specific topic (`workflow`, `hfss`, `maxwell`, `icepak`, `circuit`, `geometry`, `mesh`, `boundaries`, `postprocessing`, and `parametric`).

Note

When --connect is used on startup, the connection is locked and launch_aedt, connect_to_aedt, and disconnect_from_aedt are disabled for the lifetime of the server.

Tool usage#

Establish a connection#

Always start by confirming installation and connection state:

“Check whether AEDT is installed.”

“What is the current connection status?”

Then launch a new AEDT instance or connect to one that is already running:

“Launch a new AEDT session.”

“Connect to the AEDT instance on localhost port 50051.”

Work with projects and designs#

“List the currently open projects.”

“Open C:/work/my_filter.aedt.”

“Create a new HFSS design named PatchAntenna.”

“Save the active project.”

Run inline PyAEDT code#

Use run_python_code for geometry creation, parameter updates, boundary assignment, and any step that does not have a dedicated tool.

Your code runs in the persistent Python session of the current AEDT instance. Imports and variables from one call are available in later calls.

Use run_python_script when you want to run a complete Python file in the same session. If a script is large, you can split it into smaller chunks and run them with run_python_code.

Run an analysis#

“Analyze the active design.”

“Run setup ‘Setup1’ on the active design.”

Inspect the model#

“Take a screenshot of the current view.”

“Get a summary of the active design including its boundaries and variables.”

“Show the last 50 PyAEDT log lines.”

Export results#

“Export the simulation results as a Touchstone file to C:/results/.”

“Export the current design configuration.”

Get workflow guidance#

When you start the server with --include-context, you can ask for topic-specific PyAEDT guidance.

“Get the HFSS workflow guidelines.”

“Get the geometry creation guidelines.”

These topics are available: workflow, hfss, maxwell, icepak, circuit, geometry, mesh, boundaries, postprocessing, parametric.

Tool timeouts#

Every tool has a timeout guard so that a stalled AEDT call cannot hang the server indefinitely.

Tier	Timeout	Tools
Quick	30 seconds	`check_aedt_status`, `check_aedt_installed`, `get_pyaedt_logs`, `list_projects`, `list_designs`, and `get_model_info`
Medium	120 seconds	`launch_aedt`, `connect_to_aedt`, `disconnect_from_aedt`, `open_project`, `save_project`, `create_design`, `screenshot`, `clear_aedt`, and `export_config`
Long	600 s	`run_python_script`, `run_python_code`, `analyze_design`, and `export_results`

Best practices#

For recommendations on using PyAEDT-MCP effectively, see Best practices.