AnythingLLM

AnythingLLM Desktop (version 1.8.0 or newer) can give its agent tools through MCP. It reads them from one file in its storage folder.

The quick way is one command (--register anythingllm). The steps below do the same by hand.

1. Open the MCP file

1. In AnythingLLM, open Settings and go to Agent Skills. Opening this page creates the MCP file if there isn’t one yet.
2. Press Windows + R, paste the line below and press Enter. Notepad opens the file.

notepad "%APPDATA%\anythingllm-desktop\storage\plugins\anythingllm_mcp_servers.json"

If you moved AnythingLLM’s storage folder, the file is in its plugins folder instead. To open the storage folder from the app, click the version number at the top right and choose the storage option.

2. Add CADshift

If the file has no servers yet, make it look like this:

{
  "mcpServers": {
    "cadshift-autocad": {
      "command": "C:\\Users\\YOUR-NAME\\AppData\\Local\\Programs\\CADshift\\AutoCAD MCP\\server\\cadshift-mcp-autocad.exe",
      "args": []
    }
  }
}

Replace YOUR-NAME with your Windows user name (how to find the path). If other servers are already there, add the "cadshift-autocad": { ... } part next to them, separated by a comma. Save the file.

3. Load it and check

1. Back on the Agent Skills page, choose Refresh. AnythingLLM reads the file again and starts CADshift; no restart needed.
2. cadshift-autocad appears with its tools and no error on its card.
3. Open AutoCAD with a drawing.
4. Use a workspace in Agent chat mode (the workspace’s gear icon → Chat Settings; Agent is the recommended mode, and it uses MCP tools by itself). If the message box shows an @ symbol, start your message with @agent: "@agent use CADshift to list the layers in the open drawing."

If the card shows an error, see Troubleshooting. If the agent answers without using a tool, the model may not handle tools well: try a larger one.

Official guides: MCP on AnythingLLM Desktop and Chat modes.