Troubleshoot CADshift AI for AutoCAD connections

Start with the Status button on AutoCAD’s CADshift tab. It says whether an AI has used this AutoCAD, whether Copilot can reach it, and where the CADshift server is installed.

The assistant can’t see CADshift

The app shows no CADshift tools, or says it has no way to work in AutoCAD.

Restart the app completely. Most apps read their tools only when they start. For Claude Desktop, closing the window is not enough: right-click its icon in the notification area (next to the clock) and choose Quit, then open it again.
Check that it is connected. Open the app’s settings and look for cadshift-autocad (each app page shows where). Or run --list-clients.
Connect it again with the app closed. Claude Desktop rewrites its settings when it exits, so a change made while it was open can be lost. Quit the app, then connect it again: with one command if the command takes that app, or by hand on the app’s page.
Check the path. If you set it up by hand, the path must point at cadshift-mcp-autocad.exe and, in a .json file, every backslash must be doubled. See Find the path.
Is the CADshift server there? Press Status in AutoCAD: the MCP server row shows where it is. Not found means CADshift needs installing again.
Open AutoCAD. The app can see the tools without AutoCAD, but every tool needs AutoCAD open with the CADshift plugin loaded. If the CADshift tab is missing from the ribbon, restart AutoCAD; if it is still missing, install CADshift again.
Using a local model? The tools may be there and the model simply not calling them. See what to expect from local models.

Copilot says it can’t reach AutoCAD

Copilot answers “No AutoCAD is connected for this account. Open AutoCAD with CADshift on your PC and sign in…”, or something like it.

Is AutoCAD open? Copilot works in the AutoCAD on your PC, so AutoCAD must be running, with the CADshift tab on the ribbon.
Are you signed in? Press Status on the CADshift tab and read the Copilot row:

The Copilot row says	What to do
Signed in; connected: Copilot can use this AutoCAD	All good. Ask Copilot again.
Not signed in…	Press Sign in on the CADshift tab and sign in on cadshift.com.
Signed in; signing in (see the browser)	Finish the sign-in in your browser.
Signed in; connecting	Wait a few seconds and press Status again. Check your internet connection.
Signed in; sign-in needed	Your sign-in has expired. Press Sign in again.
Off: turned off by your administrator	Your IT team has turned the Copilot connection off on this PC. Ask them.

Same account in both places? Sign in from AutoCAD with the same work Microsoft account you use in Copilot. The relay finds your PC by that account.
Trial or plan? If Copilot answers with a message about your trial or plan, your CADshift trial has ended. Choose a plan on the CADshift AI for AutoCAD page.

Invalid JSON

The installer, or the --register command, says an app was not connected because its settings file is not valid JSON.

CADshift never overwrites a settings file it can’t read, because your other tools and settings are in it. Fix the file, then connect again:

Open the file named in the message in Notepad.
Look for the usual mistakes: a missing or extra comma between entries, a missing } or ], quotes that don’t match, or a single \ in a path (it must be \\).
Fix it and save. If you can’t find the mistake, send the file to [email protected], after removing any passwords or API keys in it. (Avoid pasting it into a website: other tools’ keys are often stored in it.)
Run --register for the app again.

If the file was fine before CADshift touched it and you want it back, the copy from before CADshift’s first change is next to it, ending in .cadshift-original. The copy from just before the last change ends in .cadshift-backup.

Set by your administrator

A CADshift window in AutoCAD says Set by your administrator and won’t let you change a setting, or the installer’s result page starts each line with Set by your administrator.

Your IT department manages that setting for your PC (with Group Policy or Intune), and it can’t be changed on the PC. For example, IT may turn off the Copilot connection, or decide which AI apps the installer connects. In that case the installer connects the apps IT chose, whatever you tick on the Connect your assistant page. Ask your IT team. You can still connect an app by hand unless your company’s rules say otherwise.

Where the logs are

When you email [email protected], attach these files. Press Windows + R, paste the folder below and press Enter:

%LOCALAPPDATA%\CADshift\autocad-mcp

File	What’s in it
`setup.log`	What the installer and the `--register` / `--unregister` commands did to each app
`plugin.log`	AutoCAD plugin start-up, and the Copilot connection (lines starting `relay:`)

The AI apps keep their own logs too. Claude Desktop’s are in %APPDATA%\Claude\logs: mcp.log, and mcp-server-cadshift-autocad.log for CADshift.