LM Studio

LM Studio runs models on your own PC and can give them tools through MCP. You need LM Studio 0.3.17 or newer.

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

1. Open mcp.json

1. Open LM Studio and start a chat.
2. In the right-hand sidebar, open the Program tab.
3. Choose Install → Edit mcp.json. The file opens in LM Studio’s own editor.

The file is %USERPROFILE%\.lmstudio\mcp.json.

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.

3. Check that it worked

1. Load a model that supports tool use.
2. Open AutoCAD with a drawing.
3. In the Program tab, cadshift-autocad appears under your integrations. Turn it on for the chat if it isn’t.
4. Ask: “Use CADshift to list the layers in the open drawing.”
5. LM Studio shows a confirmation before each tool call, with what it will send. Choose to allow it once, or always for that tool. You can change “always allow” later in App Settings → Tools & Integrations.

If the model answers without calling a tool, it most likely doesn’t handle tools well: try a larger model. Other problems: Troubleshooting.

Official guide: Use MCP servers in LM Studio.