getting-started.md

title	Getting started

Getting Started with IfcIO

Installation

NuGet Package

Install the IfcIO library package in your .NET project:

dotnet add package IfcIO

Global CLI Tool

Install the ifcio command line tool globally:

dotnet tool install --global IfcIO.Cli

---

Quick Examples

Reading an IFC File

using IfcIO;

// Open any .ifc or compressed .ifczip file
var model = IfcModel.Open("Building.ifc");

Console.WriteLine($"Project: {model.Project?.Name}");
Console.WriteLine($"Total elements: {model.Elements.Count}");

foreach (var storey in model.Storeys)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Storey: {storey.Name} (Elevation: {storey.Elevation}m)");
}

Building an IFC4 Model Programmatically

using IfcIO;
using IfcIO.Geometry;

var model = new IfcModel(IfcSchemaVersion.Ifc4)
{
    ProjectName = "Commercial Office Tower",
    Author = "Engineering Team",
    Organization = "IOExtend"
};

var groundFloor = model.AddStorey("Ground Floor", elevation: 0.0);

// Add a wall with modern IFC4 mesh tessellation
groundFloor.AddWall("Exterior Wall 1", new IfcMeshGeometry(vertices, indices));

// Export to ISO 10303-21 STEP physical file
model.Save("OfficeTower.ifc");

// Or save compressed as .ifczip
model.SaveZip("OfficeTower.ifczip");

Exporting to glTF 2.0 (GLB) and Wavefront OBJ

using IfcIO;
using IfcIO.Exporters;

var model = IfcModel.Open("Building.ifc");

// Binary glTF 2.0 for 3D web viewers and game engines
IfcGlbExporter.Export(model, "Building.glb");

// Wavefront OBJ
IfcObjExporter.Export(model, "Building.obj");

4D Construction Scheduling & Timeline Simulation

using IfcIO;
using IfcIO.Model.Sequence;

var model = IfcModel.Open("Project.ifc");

// Access work schedules and tasks
var schedule = model.WorkSchedules.FirstOrDefault();
if (schedule is not null)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Schedule: {schedule.Name}");
    DateTime simDate = DateTime.UtcNow;

    // Temporal 4D simulation
    var activeTasks = schedule.GetActiveTasksAt(simDate);
    double progress = schedule.GetProgressAt(simDate);
    Console.WriteLine($"Progress at {simDate:d}: {progress:P1} ({activeTasks.Count} active tasks)");
}

5D Cost Planning & CBS Budgeting

using IfcIO;
using IfcIO.Model.Cost;

var model = IfcModel.Open("Project.ifc");

// Inspect 5D cost schedules
foreach (var costSchedule in model.CostSchedules)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"Cost Plan: {costSchedule.Name} - Grand Total: {costSchedule.GetTotalCost():N2} {costSchedule.Currency}");
    foreach (var item in costSchedule.AllCostItems)
    {
        Console.WriteLine($"  - [{item.CostCode}] {item.Name}: {item.TotalCost:N2} {costSchedule.Currency}");
    }
}

BCF 2.1 Archive Container

using IfcIO.Bcf;

// Open a BCF archive directly from disk or stream
using var archive = BcfArchive.Open("Issues.bcfzip");
Console.WriteLine($"Found {archive.Topics.Count} coordination topic(s):");

foreach (var topic in archive.Topics)
{
    Console.WriteLine($"[{topic.TopicStatus}] {topic.Title} (Priority: {topic.Priority})");
}

---

CLI Usage

Run standard operations from your terminal:

# Display summary info, schema version, and element counts
ifcio info Building.ifc

# Run 4D construction schedule simulation at a specific date
ifcio schedule Building.ifc --sim-date 2026-06-01 --export-csv ScheduleReport.csv

# Inspect 5D cost budgets and export tabular breakdown
ifcio cost Building.ifc --export-csv CostBreakdown.csv

# Inspect BCF coordination topics
ifcio bcf Issues.bcfzip

# Convert IFC to binary glTF 2.0 and Wavefront OBJ
ifcio export Building.ifc --glb scene.glb --obj scene.obj

# Compress IFC to .ifczip
ifcio pack Building.ifc -o Building.ifczip

# Extract IFC from .ifczip
ifcio unpack Building.ifczip -o Building.ifc

# Run 3D geometric clash detection with proximity clustering
ifcio clash Arch.ifc Mep.ifc -o Clashes.json --bcf Clashes.bcfzip --group proximity

# Compare two IFC model revisions (added, deleted, modified)
ifcio diff Baseline.ifc Revision.ifc -o Changes.json --bcf RevisionChanges.bcfzip

# Validate ISO 10303-21 STEP structure and export BCF issues
ifcio validate Building.ifc --bcf Issues.bcfzip