Kord
Plug-ins
pidgen setup guide
pidgen lets you ask Claude to create, read and edit P&IDs and 3D piping models in Autodesk Plant 3D on your own machine. Every change is shown to you as a plan and an overlay in Plant 3D first, and nothing is applied until you say yes. Setup takes about five minutes.
Software
Autodesk Plant 3D 2027
System
Windows · no admin rights
AI client
Claude Desktop or Claude Code
Version
0.6.0 · 22 Oct 2026
Install
Close Plant 3D, then run the installer
Close Plant 3D. Open your downloads and double-click
pidgen-setup.exe. If Windows shows “Windows protected your PC”, click More info, then Run anyway. A window lists what was installed; press any key to close it.It installs the Plant 3D plug-in and a small local server for Claude, for your Windows user only, registers
pidgenin Claude Desktop and Claude Code (whichever you have), and lists itself under Settings → Apps.Start Plant 3D and Claude
Start Plant 3D 2027 and open a project. The command line shows
pidgen loaded. If Plant 3D asks whether to load pidgen.dll, choose Always load. Then quit Claude Desktop from its system tray icon (closing the window is not enough) and start it again, or start a new Claude Code session.Check that Claude sees Plant 3D
In a new chat, ask: “Check the Plant 3D status.” Claude should name your project, the open drawing and pidgen version 0.6.0. In Claude Desktop,
pidgenalso appears in the tools menu of the message box.
First test
Use a test project
Try pidgen in a test project, never in a production P&ID. If your projects are in Autodesk Docs, every saved drawing uploads to Docs for the whole team, so copy a project of your own to try it.
What are the tagging conventions in this Plant 3D project? List the pump, tank, valve and instrument symbols I can use.
Read-only. Claude reads the project before it writes anything.
Create a new P&ID drawing called TEST-01 in this project. In it, draw a feed tank feeding a centrifugal pump, which pumps through a check valve and a gate valve into a heat exchanger. Tag everything using our conventions, number from 101, and label equipment, valves and lines.
Claude shows a plan and a coloured overlay in Plant 3D (cyan = added). Say yes and it is applied as one step; press U in Plant 3D to undo it.
Create a 3D model drawing called MODEL-01 in this project. Place a vertical vessel T-101 and a centrifugal pump P-101 about 12 feet apart, and route a 4 inch line in spec AS from the vessel's side nozzle to the pump suction with a ball valve in it.
3D piping. Claude reads the project's specs and equipment packages first, then shows the model as a cyan overlay in an isometric view before asking.
- When Claude asks permission to use a tool, keep
apply_changesandsave_drawingon “ask each time”. The read-only tools are safe to always allow. - Nothing is saved until you ask Claude to save. Saving updates the project database, and on Autodesk Docs projects it uploads the new version.
- Close extra Plant 3D windows. pidgen talks to the first one started.
Update
pidgen does not update itself. When a new version comes out, this page has the new installer: repeat steps 1 to 3 and the installer replaces the old version. Your Claude registration and Plant 3D settings are kept. To see which version you have, ask Claude to check the Plant 3D status, or look under Settings → Apps → pidgen for Plant 3D.
If something is off
| You see | What to do |
|---|---|
| “Windows protected your PC” | SmartScreen does not know this installer yet. Click More info, then Run anyway. |
| The browser says the file “isn't commonly downloaded” | Edge and Chrome say this about new, unsigned installers. Open the downloads list, choose Keep (in Edge: … → Keep → Show more → Keep anyway). |
| Claude has no Plant 3D tools | Quit Claude Desktop from the tray icon and start it again. If they are still missing, run the installer again. In Claude Code, claude mcp get pidgen should say Connected. |
| “Plant 3D is not reachable” | Start Plant 3D 2027 and open a project. If Plant 3D was running during the install, restart it. |
| No “pidgen loaded” in Plant 3D | Check that %APPDATA%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins\pidgen.bundle exists, then restart Plant 3D. |
| “Plant 3D did not finish in time” | Click once into the Plant 3D window and close any dialog there, then ask Claude to read the drawing and try again. |
| Answers about the wrong drawing | Several Plant 3D windows are open. Close the extra ones. |
Logs are in %USERPROFILE%\pidgen\logs. Send them with your question to support@withkord.com.
Uninstall
Close Plant 3D, then open Settings → Apps → Installed apps, find pidgen for Plant 3D and choose Uninstall. It removes the plug-in, the local server and the pidgen entries in Claude. Restart Plant 3D and Claude afterwards.