Open Infra Studio — GIS, NLCS and civil design for Open CAD Studio

Open, scriptable GIS and civil design inside CAD. Open Infra Studio is a plugin for Open CAD Studio for infrastructure and civil engineering, anywhere in the world. It is a free, open-source (GPL) alternative to commercial civil-CAD and desktop-GIS suites: GIS context and civil design in one drawing, driven from the ribbon, from scripts or by an AI agent.

Worldwide:

• GIS workbench, modelled on the FreeCAD GIS(2BIM) workbench. Set the project location anywhere in the world, in a built-in coordinate system, automatic UTM or any EPSG code. Then pull aerial photos, WMS/WFS/XYZ layers and OpenStreetMap straight into the DWG.
• Civil design (second ribbon tab "Civiel"), after Hakan Seven's FreeCAD Road workbench. It covers:
  • survey points and LandXML;
  • terrain (TIN, contours, height analysis);
  • alignments with stationing;
  • length profiles, design profiles and cross sections;
  • corridors with daylight, earthworks and a mass balance.
• CityGML and CityJSON import: 3D city models from anywhere (CityGML 1.0–3.0, CityJSON 1.x/2.0 and CityJSONSeq), reprojected to the project location and streamed object by object, so files of a whole city district load in seconds.
• IFC 4.3 export: the whole drawing as IFC4X3_ADD2 for BIM and infra software. Every object gets its IFC class (terrain, buildings, pavements, cables and pipes, boreholes, earthworks …), axes become IfcAlignments with horizontal and vertical layout, georeferenced, with object data as property sets.
• Scriptable and agent-ready: every command takes arguments and reports back as JSON. An MCP server (mcp/) lets an AI agent build whole models.

Plus deep Dutch integration:

• Dutch base data to NLCS: BGT, cadastral map (BRK) and KLIC deliveries on NLCS layers, with object data and a finished drawing sheet. Design changes go back to the BGT as a BGT mutation (IMGeo-GML).
• AHN heights: spot heights, contour lines and length profiles from AHN4, and the AHN5 point cloud attached in 3D.
• 3D city and landscape model: the AHN terrain coloured by the aerial photo, 3D BAG buildings (LoD 1.2–2.2), the whole BGT in 3D, KLIC cables and pipes in 3D under a see-through ground, and the subsurface: BRO cone penetration tests and boreholes as columns of soil layers.

Regional profiles: Netherlands, United States and International. Interface language, application defaults and drawing jurisdiction are separate choices under Localisation (GIS_LOCALISATION). The US profile provides USGS topography/3DEP, Census boundaries and NRCS soil-map shortcuts, plus a regional service filter. Existing civil/library tools still produce NLCS layers; choosing the US profile does not certify US CAD-standard compliance. Use a metric project CRS; drawing units may be metres, international feet or historical US survey feet. See localisations and international research for sources, tested services, geodetic requirements and current limits.

_{Open Infra Studio in one minute (MP4, 64 s): the application and its 3D model, 2D drawings to NLCS, map services in Paris, Cologne and Zurich, historical maps of the Netherlands, KLIC and CPTs under a see-through ground. Click the image to play.}

_{Example drawing: BGT, cadastre and a KLIC delivery around the Grote Kerk in Dordrecht. A1 at 1:500, made with five commands. Available as DWG, PDF and PNG.}

What makes Open Infra Studio different

Features you will not easily find together in one tool, let alone a free one:

1. GIS and civil design in one CAD drawing. No export–import between a GIS program and a CAD program: map services, open data, terrain, alignments, corridors and drawing sheets all live in the DWG.
2. 600+ map services in 45 countries, searchable. A built-in catalogue of checked public WMS, WFS and tile services without API keys. Search by place or theme in several languages (cadastre, kadaster, Flurstücke, cadastro), see what covers the place on the map, and load it reprojected into the project's coordinate system.
3. Any coordinate system. Built-in systems, automatic UTM worldwide, any EPSG code fetched from epsg.io once; WMS, WFS and tile data are reprojected on the fly.
4. Open 3D city models from anywhere. CityGML 1.0–3.0 and CityJSON 1.x/2.0, streamed object by object and filtered to the project area while reading: a 97 MB city tile loads in under two seconds.
5. Underground in 3D. KLIC cables and pipes as tubes at their (assumed) depth, BRO cone penetration tests and boreholes as soil columns classified with Robertson (2010), and a see-through ground to look at it all from below.
6. History at the click of a button. Every Dutch topographic map since 1815 (Topotijdreis) and the cadastral maps of 1832 (HisGIS) as underlays, next to Natura 2000, the geomorphological map and the soil map.
7. A full 3D city model in one command. Terrain coloured by the aerial photo, every building from 3D BAG (roof colours from the photo, walls by year of construction), the whole BGT in 3D, trees, water at its level.
8. Drawing-standard aware. Every object lands on its NLCS layer with its source attributes as object data; NLCS check and repair, quantities per object, and design changes back to the BGT as an IMGeo-GML mutation.
9. Civil design after the FreeCAD Road workbench. Survey points, LandXML, TIN, alignments with stationing, length, design and cross sections, corridors with daylight and a mass balance.
10. Agent-ready. Every command takes arguments and answers in JSON; an MCP server exposes 39 tools, so an AI assistant can build whole models.
11. International first, Dutch when you need it. English and Dutch interface following Open CAD Studio's language; the Dutch modules sit in one group and can be switched off.
12. Open BIM out. One command writes the drawing as IFC 4.3, with alignments, the georeference and the object data: ready for any IFC 4.3 viewer or BIM tool.
13. Free and open source (GPL-3.0). No licence fees, no lock-in, built on the open-source Open CAD Studio.

At a glance

Coordinate systems	14 built in, automatic UTM worldwide, any EPSG code via epsg.io
Service catalogue	612 checked public services (430 WMS, 136 WFS, 46 XYZ) in 45 countries, Europe, Africa and worldwide, searchable by place, theme and coordinate system, plus built-in presets and your own servers
3D city models	CityGML 1.0–3.0 and CityJSON 1.x/2.0 import, reprojected and filtered to the project area while reading
Historical maps	Topotijdreis (every Dutch topographic map 1815–2014) and HisGIS 1832 cadastral maps, via map tile caches and XYZ tiles
Map backgrounds	5: OpenStreetMap, PDOK BRT (standard and grey), PDOK aerial photo, Sentinel-2
One-click imports	11 OpenStreetMap themes, 11 PDOK datasets, 11 quick buttons
Civil design	survey points (PNEZD/PENZD/CSV), LandXML 1.x, TIN, alignments, length, design and cross sections, corridors with 4 assemblies, earthworks with a mass balance
File formats	24 file formats to open (vector GIS, rasters and height grids, point clouds, survey points, LandXML, CityGML/CityJSON, KLIC), 9 kinds of output files including IFC 4.3, 12 web service and data protocols: see File formats
Automation	arguments and JSON results for every CIV_ command and the GIS data commands; MCP server with 39 tools
Commands	35 GIS_* commands for the ribbon, scripts and automation
Code	about 29,000 lines of Rust, 120 unit tests; Linux, Windows and macOS builds

Plus, for the Netherlands:

NLCS 5.02 built in	3,659 objects in 32 main groups, 10 disciplines, 4 drawing statuses, 256 colours
NLCS linetypes	543 (107 plain dash patterns, 436 with symbols or text)
BGT → NLCS	719 rules from the official NLCS-BGT 5.0 mapping; designs go back to the BGT as IMGeo-GML 2.1.1
BGT	42 PDOK collections in 11 groups, current objects only
KLIC	13 IMKL 2.0 themes: electricity (LS/MS/HS), data, gas (LD/HD), water, district heating, sewer, chemicals; areas with an eis voorzorgsmaatregel hatched, extra detailinfo marked, and the attachments (letters, conditions, sketches) to open from the window
AHN	AHN4 DTM/DSM at 0.5 m (PDOK WCS); AHN4/AHN5 point clouds (COPC), only the octree nodes of the project area are downloaded
3D BAG	every building in LoD 1.2, 1.3 or 2.2, with BAG id, year of construction and height as object data
KLIC in 3D	cables and pipes as tubes at their (assumed) depth under a see-through ground
BRO subsurface	cone penetration tests and boreholes as 3D soil columns (Robertson 2010 classification)

In Open CAD Studio

The ribbon tab "Open Infra — GIS" puts the worldwide tools first. Everything that only works in the Netherlands sits in one compact group of menus, and can be switched off (see Language and Dutch modules). Labels follow the interface language; the Dutch label is given in brackets.

Group	Button	What it does
Location	Geolocation (Geo-locatie)	Set the project location. Click it on the map, or search an address, street, place, parcel, lat, lon or RD x y; worldwide via Nominatim, in the Netherlands also PDOK. Choose the coordinate system (built in, automatic UTM, or any EPSG code via epsg.io), draw or type the bounding box, and choose absolute or relative coordinates. The location is stored in the drawing (NOD XRecord OPENINFRA/SITE).
	Area · Point info · Coordinates	Pick the import area in the drawing, read a point's coordinates, convert coordinates.
Maps & data	Services worldwide	The service browser: search 600+ WMS, WFS and tile services in 45 countries, see what covers a place, and load a layer (see below).
	WMS / TMS · WFS	Any server: browse its layers or feature types, Test on the map, then import as image underlay or as vectors with attributes. Historical maps too: Topotijdreis (every Dutch topographic map 1815–2014, an ArcGIS tile cache in RD) and the HisGIS cadastral maps of 1832.
	OpenStreetMap	Worldwide themes: buildings, roads, rail, water, civil structures, land use, cables and pipelines, fences, house numbers.
	Quick (world) ▾	One click: OpenStreetMap map, Sentinel-2 satellite image, OpenStreetMap vectors.
	Open file	GeoJSON, Shapefile, GeoPackage, KML/KMZ, GPX, GML, CSV, GeoTIFF, ASC, JPG/PNG with world file, LAS/LAZ.
Elevation	Spot heights · Contours · Profile	Heights from AHN4 in the Netherlands and from Terrain Tiles elsewhere: spot heights in a grid, labelled contour lines, and length profiles with a band of distances and heights.
Netherlands	Dutch base data ▾	BGT · BRK · KLIC window, BGT import and update, cadastre, KLIC delivery, GWSW sewers, BRO CPTs and boreholes, the AHN window and point cloud, the PDOK catalogue.
	Dutch maps ▾ · Dutch vector data ▾	One click: aerial photo, cadastral map, AHN, Natura 2000, geomorphological map, soil map, HisGIS 1832, Topotijdreis; BAG, parcels, NWB roads and hectometre posts, ProRail tracks.
	NLCS ▾	NLCS check and repair, quantities, bill of quantities, BGT mutation.
Output	Drawing sheet (Tekenblad) · Servers	Drawing sheet around the import area: frame, title block, legend of the layers used, north arrow, scale bar and coordinate crosses. Manage presets and your own WMS/WFS/XYZ servers.
Library	Infrastructure · Vehicles · Catalogue · Swept path	94 parametric infrastructure items on NLCS layers, checked connectors and regeneration of connected objects; design vehicles and swept paths.

Infrastructure library and drawing skills

The infrastructure library covers paving, kerbs, sewers and fittings, drainage, utilities, lighting, green spaces, street furniture, signs, annotations and configurable sections. Connections check system, diameter, direction and socket occupancy. Kerbs can follow a surface edge; dependent objects are regenerated when parameters change. The geometry is custom and schematic, classified using NLCS 5.0.2.

See the library guide, complete item inventory and DWG/DXF examples. Six repository skills in .agents/skills support civil drawing workflows. MCP provides infra_catalog, infra_place, infra_inspect and infra_update.

Language and Dutch modules

• Language: English or Dutch. Open Infra Studio follows Open CAD Studio's interface language (language in its settings.json; with "system" the system locale, as the host does) and falls back to English. A choice made in the workbench (NL / EN in the navigation column) overrides that.
• Dutch modules on/off: next to the language choice. Off removes the Netherlands group from the GIS ribbon and the Dutch 3D menu from the Civiel ribbon, for users elsewhere. Both are stored in <config>/OpenCADStudio/open-infra/settings.json (language, netherlands) and take effect after a restart.
• Icons: the workbench windows have their own icon in the taskbar (a map pin for GIS, a profile for Civiel).

Service browser: WMS, WFS and tiles worldwide

The page Services wereldwijd / Services worldwide (ribbon button in Kaarten & data, command GIS_SERVICES) searches one catalogue:

• the 19 built-in presets;
• 612 checked public services without an API key from GIS2BIM's worldwide list (assets/servers/world.json);
• your own servers.

What it offers:

• Search in free text, in Dutch or English, over name, provider, country, region and theme. Theme words work in several languages: kadaster, percelen, cadastre, parcels, Flurstücke and cadastro all find cadastral services; luchtfoto / aerial / orthophoto, hoogte / elevation / DEM and bodem / geology work the same way. Place names work too, also in other languages (Bayern, Vlaanderen, Wenen).
• Filter chips for the 17 categories and for the type (WMS, WFS, XYZ tiles).
• Op deze locatie / At this location keeps the services whose coverage contains the centre of the workbench map, or the project location. Pan and zoom the map to a place, or click it, to see what is available there. Local services come first, then national ones, then worldwide ones. Open CAD Studio does not share its view with plugins, so the workbench map stands in for it.
• Results are grouped by country. Each shows the name, provider, type, category, coordinate systems (the request CRS first) and licence.
• A chosen service fetches its GetCapabilities in the background. The page then lists the layers or feature types, each with its WGS 84 extent and its coordinate systems, and says whether the location lies inside. The map shows the service's coverage (orange) and the layer's extent (green).
• Coordinate systems side by side: the project CRS next to the service's. Each service CRS is marked built in, via epsg.io or cannot transform, and a line says how the data will reach the project CRS. When none of the service's systems can be transformed, the page warns.
• Load into the drawing for the project area, through the same code as the WMS and WFS pages. WMS and tiles become image underlays, reprojected when the server lacks the project CRS. WFS features come with their attributes as object data. Add to my servers keeps a copy among your own servers. Open on the WMS/WFS page gives all the import options.
• Other service (URL): open any WMS, WFS or tile URL in the same view.
• QGIS connections: on the page Serverbeheer / Server management, read a connections file exported from QGIS (Data Source Manager ▸ Save connections, for WMS/WMTS, WFS or XYZ tiles), or drop it on the window. A preview lists every connection with its type and address; tick the ones to add and they are stored in one save and appear in the service browser under QGIS. Names, addresses and the zoom range of XYZ tiles (zmin, zmax) come along; {-y} (TMS) and {q} (quadkey) tile addresses work. Connections that need a password, send their own HTTP headers or referer, invert the axis order, or use tiles Open Infra cannot draw (512 px, elevation tiles, other placeholders) are shown with the reason and are not added. Passwords are never read into Open Infra. Connections already among your servers or the presets are marked and skipped, so importing the same file twice adds nothing.

Coverage is a bounding box in WGS 84 per service. tools/import_gis2bim_servers.py takes the state, province or city the coverage text names (German Länder, Austrian and Australian states, Flanders, Wallonia, Brussels, UK nations, Spanish and Italian regions, cities such as Vienna, Prague, Toronto and Cape Town), otherwise the country or region. A box is coarse: it can include a strip of a neighbouring country.

The separate weekly catalogue health report checks public endpoints and preset layers, saves JSON and Markdown artifacts, and lists failed probes without changing the catalogue. Pull-request tests use fixed offline fixtures.

For scripts and the MCP server (gis_services, gis_service_load):

GIS_SERVICES ZOEK="cadastral parcels" HIER ID=s1          → data.services: id, type, name, provider, country, coverage,
                                                             category, url, default_layer, crs, license, terms, bbox
GIS_SERVICES ZOEK=luchtfoto CATEGORIE=aerial TYPE=WMS LON=16.37 LAT=48.21 LIMIET=10
GIS_SERVICE_LOAD DIENST=w-de-by-ldbv-alkis-parzellarkarte-25832 [LAAG=<layer>] [RESOLUTIE=0.25] [LIMIET=5000]

The Civiel tab (civil design)

A second plugin, openaec.open-infra-civiel, adds the ribbon tab "Open Infra — Civiel". It shares the engine and the project location with the GIS tab. Everything goes on NLCS layers.

Group	Tools	What they do
Punten (points)	Punten importeren (import points) · Punt plaatsen (place point) · Punten exporteren (export points) · LandXML	Survey points from PNEZD/PENZD/CSV files: separator, decimal comma and north/east order are detected. Points go on OG-HOOGTEPUNT with number, height and code. Clicked points get their ground height from the TIN or AHN. LandXML 1.x brings in points, surfaces and alignments (lines, curves, clothoid spirals).
Oppervlak (surface)	TIN maken (create TIN) · Hoogtelijnen · Hoogteanalyse (height analysis) · Grondverzet (earthworks)	A TIN (Delaunay, longest-edge filter) from points, 3D lines, contour lines or AHN, as 3D faces on OG-TRIANGULATIE: status B for existing ground, N for a design. Then: exact contours on the TIN; elevation bands with a legend; cut and fill between design (N) and existing (B), or against a level.
As (alignment)	As maken (create alignment) · As verschuiven (offset alignment) · Station / offset	An alignment from a polyline or from points of intersection with curve radii (by layout). It gets stationing 0+100 on AM-KILOMETRERING, tangent points BB/EB/HP on AM-TANGENTPUNT and radius labels. Then: offset lines; station and offset of any point.
Profielen (profiles)	Lengteprofiel (length profile) · Ontwerpprofiel (design profile) · Dwarsprofielen (cross sections)	Length profile over the TIN or AHN, with stationing, heights and an alignment band. The design profile comes from PVIs or a line drawn in the profile: parabolic vertical curves (crest and sag, with L and R), and grade labels. Cross sections along the alignment in a grid of views.
3D model	CityGML/JSON · View ▾ (terrain + aerial photo, see-through ground, water level) · 3D Netherlands ▾	Open 3D city models (CityGML, CityJSON) from anywhere; the terrain of any place in the world with its aerial or satellite photo; make the ground transparent to look at cables, pipes and soil columns beneath. The Dutch menu: the whole 3D model in one go, 3D BAG, BGT in 3D, KLIC in 3D, BRO CPTs in 3D, water level. See below.
Corridor	Corridor	An assembly swept along the alignment and its design profile (or a level). Assemblies: weg, fietspad, snelweg, dijk (road, cycle path, motorway, dike); lane and shoulder widths, cross slopes, fill/cut slopes, crest and superelevation in curves (with runoff) are all adjustable. The corridor builds: daylight to the ground; a design TIN (status N); 3D feature lines (asphalt edge, shoulder, toe and crest of slope); cut and fill per section with average-end-area volumes and a mass balance (CSV); optional section views with the design.
3D-model (3D model)	3D BAG · Terrein + luchtfoto (terrain + aerial photo) · BGT naar 3D (BGT to 3D)	See below.

Grading (feature lines, plateaus and slopes into one design surface, exact TIN-to-TIN volumes, mass haul): see docs/civiel-grading.md.

Geotechnics (soil profiles from BRO CPTs and boreholes, slope stability with Bishop and Fellenius, settlement of fills with Koppejan or Terzaghi; a calculation aid, not a stamped design): see docs/geotechnics.md.

Bladen (sheets, plan production): sheet sets along an alignment with plan and profile in paper-space layouts, a PDF per sheet, and labels that follow their source — see docs/civiel-bladen.md.

Corridor parts (kerbs, footways, cycle paths, ditches, pavement layers), your own assemblies as JSON, junctions and roundabouts: see docs/civiel-corridor.md. Exchange: CIV_LANDXML_EXPORT writes LandXML 1.2 (points, TINs, alignments with ground and design profiles, corridor feature lines), checked against the XSD and read back; see docs/civiel-uitwisseling.md.

Sewer design (group Riolering: runs of manholes and pipes with their invert levels, length profile, checks, GWSW-OroX and CSV export) is described in docs/civiel-riolering.md.

Clothoids, design criteria checks (ROA, NOA, AASHTO), sight distance and rail (cant, turnouts): see docs/civiel-as-spoor.md.

The window page Civiel — instellingen (settings) holds all settings, and they also apply to the ribbon buttons. Checked on a real road near Dordrecht: the corridor's average-end-area volumes and the independent TIN-to-TIN grid volume agree within 2 %.

Survey codes to linework and symbols, parcels, water drops, catchments and ponds, swept paths in reverse and NEN 2443 parking bays: see docs/civiel-overig.md.

3D city and landscape model

Terrein + luchtfoto (CIV_FOTOTERREIN [CEL=] [FOTO=])	The ground of the project area as a 3D surface, anywhere in the world. Each cell takes the colour of the photo beneath it, quantised to a palette, with one mesh per colour; gaps (water, under buildings) are filled from their lowest neighbour. Heights: AHN in the Netherlands (cells of 2 m by default), elsewhere the Terrain Tiles mosaic, mostly US-government data (NASA SRTM, USGS 3DEP and GMTED2010, NOAA ETOPO; cells of 10 m by default, 5 m at best). Photo (FOTO=auto): the PDOK aerial photo (8 cm) in the Netherlands, the USGS National Map imagery (public domain) in the United States, and Sentinel-2 cloudless by EOX (10 m, the 2016 mosaic under CC BY 4.0) elsewhere. FOTO=pdok, usgs, sentinel2 or sentinel2-2017 … sentinel2-2025 chooses one; the later Sentinel-2 years are CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (non-commercial), and the command says so. Tested at Half Dome (Yosemite) and the Matterhorn.
3D BAG (CIV_BAG3D)	Every building from the 3D BAG (TU Delft, CC BY 4.0) in LoD 1.2, 1.3 or 2.2, with BAG id, year of construction and height as object data. STIJL=mooi ("nice", the default): crisp planes, each roof in its colour on the aerial photo, walls by year of construction, monuments in stone, windows per storey and a plinth into the ground. STIJL=maquette: a white architectural model. STIJL=realistisch or nlcs: two plain colours, or the layer colours.
Waterpeil (water level, CIV_WATERPEIL PEIL=<m NAP>)	A water surface at a level over the project area: what floods, and which share of the area lies lower (AHN ground). Again with another level moves the same surface.
KLIC in 3D (CIV_KLIC3D [<delivery>] [VERGROOT=1])	The cables and pipes of a KLIC delivery as 3D tubes under the AHN ground, in IMKL colours on their NLCS layers: at the depth the delivery gives, otherwise at the usual cover depth per network type (data and low voltage 0.6 m, medium voltage and gas 0.8 m, water 1.0 m, high voltage 1.2 m, gravity sewer 2.0 m). The diameter comes from the delivery where present. Ducts and cable beds are grey sleeves; appurtenances are short columns. The object data says whether the depth came from the delivery or was assumed. Without a file, the delivery imported last on the GIS tab is used. VERGROOT= thickens the tubes for overview pictures.
Maaiveld doorzichtig (see-through ground, CIV_DOORZICHT [PCT=70] [ALLES] [UIT])	Makes every ground surface (terrain, BGT in 3D, water, TIN) transparent, so cables, pipes and soil columns can be seen beneath it from any angle. Buildings stay solid unless ALLES is given; UIT makes the ground opaque again.
CityGML/JSON (CIV_CITYGML <file> [STIJL=])	A 3D city model from a file: CityGML 1.0, 2.0 or 3.0 (.gml, .xml), IMGeo/BGT GML, CityJSON 1.x/2.0 (.city.json) or CityJSONSeq (.city.jsonl). The file's coordinate system (EPSG codes, RD + NAP 7415, the German AdV names such as ETRS89_UTM32*DE_DHHN2016_NH) is transformed to the project location, and only objects in the project area are kept while reading. Buildings get roof and wall meshes on the NLCS building layers, in the same styles as the 3D BAG (walls by year of construction when the file has it); the highest LoD per object is used. Roads, green, water, bridges, tunnels and land use go to the NLCS layer of their BGT counterpart, relief (TIN) to the triangulation layer. 2D objects (IMGeo) are made 3D like CIV_BGT3D: draped on the AHN, water at its level, buildings extruded. Tested with the NRW LoD2 tiles (Cologne, 56–97 MB, 1,600–4,500 buildings in 1–2 s) and 3D BAG CityJSON.
BGT naar 3D (CIV_BGT3D)	The whole BGT of the project area in 3D, on its NLCS layers. Areas are draped on the ground: the edges every 3 m, a grid inside, and holes respected. Buildings and walls are extruded to the AHN surface, water lies at its level, bridges at deck height, lines are draped, and posts and trees become 3D symbols (trees with a round crown). Colours are natural by default (asphalt, paving, grass, water…); KLEUR=nlcs uses the layer colours.

The Grote Kerk (3D BAG LoD 2.2) and the harbours	Ring road corridor with its cross sections

Dordrecht city centre (1.2 × 1.0 km), built by an agent through the MCP server (tests/e2e/mcp_model.py, 20 steps in about 110 s):

• 299,000 photo-coloured terrain cells;
• 18,560 BGT objects (about 480,000 triangles);
• 2,864 buildings in LoD 2.2 (204,000 triangles);
• a 1.2 km ring road and a 0.9 km dike as corridors, with 178 cross sections. Their earthworks from the sections and from the design TIN against the existing ground agree within 1 %.

Large drawings:

• Open CAD Studio sends a plugin at most 64 MB per message, and shares a document view of 16 MB by default.
• Open Infra Studio sends entities in batches under that limit and draws 3D objects as light MESH entities.
• It keeps an object index in the drawing (OPENINFRA/INDEX: terrains, alignments, profiles, corridors, survey points), so the civil commands fetch what they need by handle at any drawing size.
• Whole-drawing tools (NLCS check, quantities) need the shared view. For drawings over 16 MB, start Open CAD Studio with OCS_V4_SNAPSHOT_SEGMENT_SIZE=268435456 (256 MB; larger values exceed the 1 GiB the plugin side maps).

Subsurface: CPTs and boreholes from the BRO

The BRO (Basisregistratie Ondergrond, the successor of DINOloket) holds the Dutch cone penetration tests and borehole descriptions as open data (CC0). Open Infra Studio reads them from the public REST services at publiek.broservices.nl:

• CPT (sr/cpt/v1): cone resistance qc, local friction fs and friction ratio Rf per depth, the surface level in m NAP and the end depth.
• BHR-GT (sr/bhrgt/v2): geotechnical boreholes, with the soil layers described by NEN-EN-ISO 14688 (or NEN 5104 for archive data).

Sonderingen 3D (CIV_SONDERINGEN3D, Civiel → 3D-model)	Every CPT and borehole in the project area becomes a vertical column from its surface level (m NAP) down: 12 sides for a CPT, 8 for a borehole, radius 0.4 m. Each soil layer is its own mesh in a conventional colour: sand yellow, silty sand pale yellow, silt/loam grey-green, clay green, peat brown, gravel orange, made ground grey. Beside each CPT, qc (red, east, 0.1 m per MPa) and Rf (blue, west, 0.25 m per %) are drawn as 3D lines. A plan symbol with the BRO id, surface level and end depth goes with each column.
Sonderingen en boringen (BRO) (GIS_Q_SONDERINGEN, GIS → BGT · BRK · KLIC)	Only the plan symbols and labels, without fetching the measurements: a quick overview of what has been tested.

• Soil type from a CPT: each sample is classified with Robertson's (2010) soil behaviour type index, Isbt = √((3.47 − log₁₀(qc/pa))² + (log₁₀ Rf + 1.22)²), with pa = 0.1 MPa:

  Isbt	SBT zone	Soil
  > 3.60	2	peat / organic soil
  2.95–3.60	3	clay
  2.60–2.95	4	silt mixtures (silt/loam)
  2.05–2.60	5	sand mixtures (silty sand)
  1.31–2.05	6	sand
  < 1.31	7	gravelly to dense sand

  Consecutive samples of the same class form one layer. Layers thinner than 0.2 m (MINLAAG=) join their thicker neighbour. Gaps without measurements (a predrilled top, missing data) stay as layers "onbekend".

• Boreholes: the described soil name decides the class by its main noun. For example zwakSiltigZand is sand, kleiigZand silty sand, zwakZandigeKleiMetGrind clay, mineraalarmVeen peat. Made ground (puin, beton…) is grey.

• Object data: every layer carries the BRO id, date, surface level (m NAP), end depth, soil type and description, top and bottom of the layer in m NAP, and for CPTs the mean qc and Rf.

• Layers: NLCS MO-ONDERZOEK_SONDERING and MO-ONDERZOEK_BORING: G for the columns and graphs, S for the plan symbol, T for the labels. These are the NLCS objects for site investigation.

• Arguments: BRON=sonderingen|boringen|alles, MAX=100 (of each kind, nearest to the centre), STRAAL=0.4, MINLAAG=0.2, QC=nee (no graphs), LABELS=nee (no plan symbols). With ID= the result lists every column with its layers. The MCP tool is civ_subsurface.

• Large areas: the BRO answers a search with at most 2000 objects. A larger area is split in four automatically.

Scripting, API and MCP server

Every CIV_ command and the GIS data commands take arguments:

• KEY=value;
• points x,y in project coordinates;
• lists separated by ;.

With ID=<name> the outcome is written to <config>/OpenCADStudio/open-infra/api/<name>.json, as {ok, message, data} with handles, lengths, volumes and so on. This makes Open Infra Studio drivable from scripts and from Open CAD Studio's REST/automation API. CIV_HELP and GIS_HELP list the arguments.

GIS_SITE RD 104900 425350 1200 1000 Dordrecht binnenstad ID=s1
CIV_AS PI=104350,424900;104800,424950;105300,424900 R=200 NAAM=Rondweg ID=a1     → data.as = handle
CIV_ONTWERPPROFIEL AS=<handle> PVI=0:1.5;400:3.0;800:2.0 BOOG=120
CIV_CORRIDOR AS=<handle> SJABLOON=weg RIJSTROOK=3.5 TALUD=3 DWARSPROFIELEN=ja ID=c1

The MCP server (mcp/open_infra_mcp.py, Python standard library only) offers about 30 tools on top of this, from oi_site to civ_corridor, civ_bag3d and oi_capture. It finds every Open CAD Studio window by itself.

The workbench window

Every page follows the FreeCAD GIS dialogs:

1. A map at the top shows the project location and the bounding box.
2. Grouped settings follow.
3. A fixed action bar holds OK en importeren, Test and Annuleren (Cancel).

You choose the map background in a Leaflet-style layer switcher at the top right. Click the map to set the location; Shift+drag draws the bounding box.

Geographic location	WMS preview (PDOK aerial photo, 8 cm)
Server presets, Netherlands, Flanders and worldwide	BGT · Kadaster · KLIC with the BGT preview in NLCS colours
AHN-hoogtes (AHN heights) with the contour preview (coloured by height)	AHN5 point cloud in Open CAD Studio (3D, by class)

Dutch base data to NLCS

The NLCS tables and the official NLCS-BGT 5.0 mapping are built in from assets/nlcs: objects, colours, linetypes, statuses, disciplines and main groups. The source is DigiGO / Stichting NLCS, under CC BY 4.0. tools/nlcs_tables.py regenerates them from a new NLCS publication.

• Layers: every object goes on its NLCS layer STATUS-DISCIPLINE-HOOFDGROEP-OBJECT-ELEMENT, e.g. B-XX-VH-GESLOTENVERHARDING_ASFALT-G or B-OI-KL-GAS_LD-G.
  • The layer gets the NLCS colour, lineweight and linetype for the chosen drawing status (B/N/T/V).
  • Linetypes are defined in paper millimetres, and entities get the linetype scale of the plot scale.
  • Elements: G for lines and areas, S for points, T for texts.
• BGT: current objects from the PDOK OGC API (eind_registratie IS NULL). Each object is mapped to the most specific NLCS-BGT rule, using function, physical appearance and plus attributes. Street names and house numbers are placed at their BGT rotation.
• Cadastral map (BRK): parcel boundaries on KG-GRENS_PERCEEL, and parcel numbers at their BRK rotation.
• KLIC:
  • IMKL 2.0 deliveries are read with OpenAEC's klic2geo.
  • Each theme goes on its KL or RI object.
  • Cables and pipes get labels such as G-LD Stedin 160 mm PVC, with duplicates on parallel cables left out.
  • IMKL theme colours can be used instead of the NLCS colours.
  • Request (GIS_KLIC_AANVRAAG, Dutch base data → Prepare KLIC request): an oriëntatieverzoek, graafmelding or calamiteitenmelding for the selected closed polyline (or the project's import extent). The location's nearest address and BAG id come from the PDOK Locatieserver. The request is checked locally against the Kadaster's rules for the B2B API: polygon (RD, simple, at most 50 points, within the Netherlands, 500 × 500 m or 2500 × 2500 m), required fields per kind, dates, lengths and code lists. It is written as the GIA-POST message <drawing>_klic-aanvraag.json, with the findings in .md. Open Infra never sends it. A KLIC notification is a paid, legal act in your name, and the B2B API needs a Kadaster OAuth client of your own. The requester's details (klic-aanvrager.json, written empty on first use) stay in the local config folder, never in the drawing.
  • Deliveries read in by themselves (GIS_KLIC_VOLGEN, Dutch base data → Read KLIC deliveries automatically): every minute, a new Levering_*.zip (or extracted delivery) in the folder is drawn into the drawing the command was given in. The folder defaults to the previous one, else Downloads; GIS_KLIC_VOLGEN MAP=<folder> picks another. GIS_KLIC_MAP [MAP=] does one pass, and GIS_KLIC_MAP VOLGEN=nee stops. The drawing remembers which notifications it holds, so nothing is drawn twice.
• Object data: each entity carries its source attributes as XDATA OPENINFRA, for example BGT lokaal_id, function and material, or the KLIC operator, diameter and material.
• BGT mutation (GIS_BGT_MUTATIE): the design on NLCS layers back to the BGT, as IMGeo-GML 2.1.1 with a report beside the drawing.
  • Layers N become plan topography (IMGeo plus-status plan); R (or N with GEREALISEERD) is as built; V ends the BGT object. BGT objects keep their lokaal_id; new ones get <bronhouder>.<uuid>.
  • The NLCS-BGT mapping is used backwards. Where a layer stands for several BGT types or functions (asphalt: the BGT classes wegdeel, ondersteunend wegdeel or onbegroeid terreindeel, i.e. road section, auxiliary road section or unvegetated terrain), the type and function come from the object data, else from the BGT object the new surface covers most. What stays ambiguous is listed in the report, not exported.
  • Checks: self-intersections, at most 5000 points, coordinates to the millimetre, ring orientation, overlaps on ground level among the mutation and with BGT objects that stay.
  • The file is valid against the IMGeo 2.1.1 schema. The bronhouder's (the responsible authority's) BGT package reads it and delivers to the LV-BGT as StUF-Geo IMGeo through BRAVO.
• NLCS++ Netbeheer (the sector standard of the network operators for cables and pipes, V11–V12.1; crate nlcspp, host-independent):
  • Read: an NLCS++ XML of any operator and version (the KLIC file button recognises it, or GIS_NLCSPP_IMPORT <file>) is drawn on its NLCS++ layers, with Z, every field as object data.
  • Layer grammar both ways: <Status>-OI-KL-<parts>[-<toestand>]-<G|GV|S>, e.g. B-OI-KL-ET_LS_AANSLUITNET_400 V_4x10Cu as10-G. The positions of attribute values follow the information model, the fixed parts the layers of the operators' DWG templates and the official example deliveries. On the official Enexis example, 594 of 785 objects get exactly the layer of the drawing; the others lie in that drawing on a layer their own XML attributes contradict.
  • Code lists per operator (Liander/Alliander, Enexis, Stedin), from their V12.1 XSDs: nlcspp/assets, regenerated with tools/import_nlcspp.py.
  • Check (Netherlands → NLCS → NLCS++ check, GIS_NLCSPP_CONTROLE [NETBEHEERDER=]): the schema rules (required fields, code values, lengths, types, geometry) plus rule R.5 of the operators and whether each object lies on the layer its attributes ask for, as Fout, Waarschuwing and Informerend. On the official examples it finds exactly the code-value errors the operator's XSD finds. The operators' full content rules (Schematron, 39 rules of Inhoudelijke validaties) run with tools/nlcspp_schematron.py (SaxonC-HE from Python, no Java).
  • Delivery (NLCS++ delivery, GIS_NLCSPP_EXPORT [NETBEHEERDER=] [PROJECTNUMMER=] [AANNEMER=] [TEKENINGTYPE=] [VOLGNUMMER=] [PAD=]): V12.1 XML beside the drawing with the project reference over the project area; Handle is the CAD handle of each element and ID follows from it, so XML and DWG stay linked. Valid against the operator's XSD (tested with the official examples).
• Drawing sheet:
  • The sheet format is chosen automatically (A3–A0 landscape).
  • The title block lists the data sources of the imports.
  • The legend shows the NLCS layers used, grouped by main group.
  • Sheet texts follow the NLCS text classes (T1.8, T2.5, …).

AHN heights, profiles and point clouds

• Heights: AHN4 from the PDOK WCS: DTM (ground level) and DSM (surface), 0.5 m float grids in m NAP. Larger areas are fetched in tiles or at a coarser cell size.
• Spot heights go on OG-HOOGTEPUNT, with labels such as +2,43. Contour lines go on OG-HOOGTELIJN_MINOR/MAJOR (marching squares on a lightly smoothed grid). Both sit at their real height (Z).
• Length profile (GIS_PROFIEL):
  • Select a polyline or line, or pick points and press Enter. Then pick the lower-left corner of the profile.
  • The profile draws the ground line on GW-MAAIVELD, optionally the surface line, and a height grid with NAP labels.
  • The profile band (AL-PROFIELBALK) lists distances and heights. The NAP line is drawn when it is in range, and the section line A–A' in plan.
  • The profile breaks where AHN has no ground level (buildings, water).
• Point cloud (GIS_PUNTENWOLK):
  • AHN5 or AHN4 is read as COPC (Cloud Optimized Point Cloud) from Het Waterschapshuis' 1 km tiles. Only the octree nodes in the import area are downloaded, at the chosen point spacing.
  • The cloud is coloured by class (ground, buildings, water, structures, other), by height or by RGB.
  • It is saved as .rcs next to the drawing and attached with POINTCLOUDATTACH.
  • Example: 300 × 250 m at 0.25 m spacing is about 1.4 million points and a 29 MB file.
• Punt info also reports the AHN ground and surface height of the picked point.
• Point clouds in the civil tools: a TIN, length profiles and cross sections, a ground filter and 3D meshes from AHN or E57/PLY/PTS/XYZ/LAS files: see docs/civiel-puntenwolk.md.

Length profile across the Grotekerksplein: the ground line breaks at the harbour water and the buildings.

Example drawing

examples/dordrecht-3d is the city centre of Dordrecht in one drawing: the plan (BGT, cadastre, KLIC) and the 3D model (BGT in 3D, 3D BAG, KLIC in 3D, BRO CPTs, a street design with corridor). It comes as DWG and as IFC 4.3, with the script that builds it.

Plan	3D	Beneath the ground

examples/dordrecht-nlcs is the existing situation around the Grote Kerk in Dordrecht. It is 300 × 250 m in RD, on an A1 sheet at 1:500.

Entities	3,439: 1,242 BGT, 1,328 cadastre, 632 KLIC, 237 drawing sheet
NLCS layers	68, with 8 NLCS linetypes
With object data (XDATA)	3,202
Files	DWG (0.7 MB), PDF A1 (1 MB), PNG

KLIC delivery around the church, labelled per operator	Legend and title block

It was made in an empty metric drawing with:

GIS_SITE RD 104885 425320 300 250 Dordrecht, Grote Kerk
GIS_Q_BGT
GIS_Q_BRK
GIS_KLIC_IMPORT <path>/Levering_21O072584_1.zip
GIS_TEKENBLAD Situatie bestaand - BGT, kadaster en kabels en leidingen

IFC 4.3 export

GIS → Output → IFC 4x3, Civiel → 3D model → IFC 4x3, or GIS_IFC / CIV_IFC [BESTAND=<pad>] [SELECTIE] [TEKST=nee] writes the drawing as IFC 4.3 (IFC4X3_ADD2) beside it, as <drawing>_IFC4X3.ifc. The MCP tool is ifc_export. Each object becomes the IFC entity of what it is, read from its NLCS layer and its object data:

In the drawing	In IFC 4.3
Axis (AM-AS) with its design profile	IfcAlignment with IfcAlignmentHorizontal (lines, circular arcs) and IfcAlignmentVertical (grades, parabolic curves), the geometry as IfcCompositeCurve and IfcGradientCurve, a station referent (Pset_Stationing)
TIN (OG-TRIANGULATIE), terrain with aerial photo (OG-DTM), water level	IfcGeographicElement TERRAIN: one triangulated surface per layer, the photo colours per triangle (IfcIndexedColourMap)
3D BAG, CityGML and BGT buildings (OG-BEBOUWING)	IfcBuilding per building id, roof and walls as coloured meshes
Pavements (VH)	IfcPavement (asphalt FLEXIBLE, concrete RIGID), kerbs IfcKerb
Green (GR), water (OG-WATER, WH), unpaved terrain	IfcGeographicElement VEGETATION, USERDEFINED, TERRAIN
Structures (KW), street furniture (IE)	IfcCivilElement; fences and guard rails IfcRailing, walls and retaining walls IfcWall
Road markings (VW)	IfcSurfaceFeature on the pavement beneath it
KLIC cables and pipes (KL)	IfcCableSegment, IfcPipeSegment; casings IfcCableCarrierSegment; appurtenances IfcCableFitting, IfcPipeFitting
Sewers (RI)	IfcPipeSegment; manholes IfcDistributionChamberElement MANHOLE
CPTs and boreholes (MO-ONDERZOEK)	IfcBorehole per BRO id, with an IfcGeotechnicalStratum per soil layer
Earthworks (GW)	excavation IfcEarthworksCut (it cuts the existing ground), fill IfcEarthworksFill
Corridor (feature lines, design surface)	in an IfcRoad per corridor
Contours, spot heights, survey points, parcels, labels, other lines	IfcAnnotation CONTOURLINE, SURVEY, TEXT, USERDEFINED

• Georeference: IfcProjectedCRS (the project's EPSG code, NAP heights in RD) and IfcMapConversion with the base point. Coordinates are in metres from the base point; the site carries latitude and longitude.
• Data:
  • every object gets the property sets OpenInfra_NLCS (layer, status, discipline, main group, object, element) and OpenInfra_ObjectData (its object data, such as BAG id, year of construction or BRO id);
  • the DWG layers become IfcPresentationLayerAssignment, the colours surface and curve styles;
  • the DWG handle goes into Tag.
• Stable ids: GlobalIds follow from the drawing and the object, so a second export of the same drawing gives the same ids.
• Not exported: map images, point clouds, hatches, block references and dimensions. The drawing sheet and the length-profile and cross-section views are drawings, not objects, so they stay out too.

File formats

Open CAD Studio itself opens and saves the drawing (DWG and DXF, R13 to 2018) and plots it to PDF. Open Infra Studio adds the formats below. Imported files are reprojected to the project location. The coordinate system comes from the file where it has one (GeoJSON crs, a .prj beside the file, GML srsName, LAS/LAZ headers); otherwise the project's is used.

Files you open

Kind	Formats	Command
Vector GIS	GeoJSON (.geojson, .json) · Shapefile (.shp with .dbf, .shx, .prj) · GeoPackage (.gpkg, pick a layer) · KML (.kml) · KMZ (.kmz) · GPX (.gpx) · GML (.gml, .xml) · CSV, TXT and TSV with coordinate columns (x/y, lon/lat)	GIS_BESTAND <file>, or Maps & data → Files; attributes become object data
Rasters and height grids	GeoTIFF (.tif, .tiff), both images and float32 height grids · ASCII grid (.asc) · JPEG and PNG (.jpg, .jpeg, .png) with a world file (.jgw, .pgw, .wld) and .prj	GIS_BESTAND <file>; images go behind the vectors
Point clouds	LAS and LAZ (.las, .laz), CRS from the file	GIS_BESTAND <file>; written to .rcs and attached
Survey points	PNEZD, PENZD, NEZD and ENZD in .csv, .txt, .xyz, .pnt or .asc; separator, decimal comma and north/east order are detected	CIV_PUNTEN_IMPORT
LandXML	LandXML 1.x (.xml, .landxml): points (CgPoints), surfaces (TIN), alignments with lines, arcs and clothoids	CIV_LANDXML
3D city models	CityGML 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0 (.gml, .xml, .citygml) · IMGeo/BGT GML · CityJSON 1.x and 2.0 (.city.json, .json) · CityJSONSeq (.city.jsonl, .jsonl)	CIV_CITYGML <file>
KLIC delivery	IMKL 2.0: the delivery as .zip, or its GI .xml	GIS_KLIC_IMPORT <file>, or drop it on the workbench window

Files it writes

Beside the drawing, unless the command is given a path.

Output	Format and name	Command
Map images	PNG, in the folder <drawing>_GIS	every WMS, tile and raster import
Point cloud	.rcs, attached to the drawing	GIS_PUNTENWOLK, LAS/LAZ import
Survey points	CSV as PENZD (default), PNEZD, NEZD or ENZD: punten.csv	CIV_PUNTEN_EXPORT
Mass balance	CSV per corridor: corridor_<name>.csv	CIV_CORRIDOR
Quantities	CSV: hoeveelheden.csv, or a table in the drawing. Double-drawn elements (the same shape on the same layer to the millimetre, either direction, with the same object data) count once and are listed; the window can select the copies.	GIS_HOEVEELHEDEN_CSV, GIS_HOEVEELHEDEN_TABEL
NLCS check	Markdown report: nlcs-controle.md	GIS_NLCS_RAPPORT
NLCS++ delivery	V12.1 XML nlcspp.xml and the check nlcspp-controle.md	GIS_NLCSPP_EXPORT, GIS_NLCSPP_CONTROLE
Geodata	GeoPackage (project CRS; points, lines, areas) or GeoJSON (WGS 84), every element with its layer, NLCS meaning and object data: export.gpkg	GIS_EXPORT, Output → Export
Sewer for hydraulic models	GWSW-HydX: the ten CSV files in <sewer>_hydx/	CIV_RIOOL_EXPORT FORMAAT=HYDX
BGT mutation	IMGeo-GML 2.1.1 (bgt-mutatie.gml) with a Markdown report (bgt-mutatie.md)	GIS_BGT_MUTATIE
DWG with GEODATA	A copy of the drawing (<drawing>_geodata.dwg, or .dxf) with the AutoCAD GEODATA object for the project location (CRS, base point, units), as GEOGRAPHICLOCATION writes it, for AutoCAD, Civil 3D and BricsCAD. Checked with ezdxf.	GIS_GEODATA [<path.dwg|path.dxf>], Output → Export
KLIC request	The Kadaster's GIA-POST message (<drawing>_klic-aanvraag.json) and the local check (.md); not sent	GIS_KLIC_AANVRAAG
IFC 4.3	IFC4X3_ADD2: <drawing>_IFC4X3.ifc (see IFC 4.3 export)	GIS_IFC, CIV_IFC
Command results	JSON per call: <config>/OpenCADStudio/open-infra/api/<ID>.json	any CIV_ or GIS data command with ID=<name>

GeoJSON writes longitude and latitude only. Current project heights in metres stay in one feature attribute: a number for a point, an array for a line, or an array per ring for a polygon. The order follows the geometry positions. The collection member openaec:project_z_property names that attribute. The default is openaec:project_z; if object data already uses it, the exporter chooses the first unused numbered name for the whole file. Existing object attributes remain intact. These are project heights (NAP when the project uses NAP), without a vertical datum transformation. The existing reader imports XY geometry; earlier height attributes remain available as object data after import and re-export. GeoPackage keeps its original project coordinates and heights.

Import keeps at most 40 object attributes and truncates each key=value record to 255 bytes; longer height arrays can therefore be incomplete after import.

Web services and data APIs

Protocol	Formats	Used for
WMS 1.1.1 and 1.3.0	PNG and JPEG maps, XML capabilities	map images from any server in the catalogue
XYZ / TMS tiles	PNG and JPEG; WMTS REST endpoints as a tile template	OpenStreetMap, aerial photos, HisGIS
Map tile caches	…/MapServer with tileInfo	Topotijdreis
WFS 1.1.0 and 2.0.0	GML and GeoJSON, with paging	vector layers from any server in the catalogue
OGC API Features	GeoJSON	BGT and GWSW sewers (PDOK)
WCS	GeoTIFF float32	AHN height grids
COPC over HTTP	LAZ 1.4 (COPC), only the octree nodes of the area	AHN4/AHN5 point clouds
3D BAG API	CityJSON 2.0	3D buildings
BRO REST	IMBRO XML	CPTs (CPT) and boreholes (BHR-GT)
Overpass API	OSM JSON	OpenStreetMap themes
Geocoding	PDOK Locatieserver and Nominatim (JSON)	address and place search
epsg.io	PROJ strings	coordinate systems that are not built in

Not yet

The file dialog recognises JPEG 2000 (.jp2), E57 and PLY, but cannot read them yet. There is no export to LandXML, GeoJSON, Shapefile or GeoPackage, and no IFC import. Convert such files first, or open an issue.

Commands

For the command line, scripts and automation:

Purpose	Commands
Workbench pages	GIS_LOCATIE, GIS_KAART, GIS_WFS, GIS_SERVICES, GIS_OSM, GIS_PDOK, GIS_BGT, GIS_COORD, GIS_SERVERS
Service catalogue	GIS_SERVICES [ZOEK=<text>] [CATEGORIE=<c>] [TYPE=WMS|WFS|XYZ] [HIER | LON= LAT=] [LIMIET=50], GIS_SERVICE_LOAD DIENST=<id> [LAAG=<layer>]
In the drawing	GIS_GEBIED (pick the import area), GIS_PUNT (point info)
Location	GIS_SITE RD <x> <y> [width] [height] [name], GIS_SITE <lon> <lat> [width] [height] [EPSG:code] [name], GIS_GEODATA [<path>] (a copy with AutoCAD GEODATA)
Map images	GIS_Q_LUCHTFOTO, GIS_Q_KADASTER, GIS_Q_AHN, GIS_Q_OSMKAART, GIS_Q_SATELLIET, GIS_Q_NATURA2000, GIS_Q_GEOMORFOLOGIE, GIS_Q_BODEMKAART, GIS_Q_HISGIS, GIS_Q_TIJDREIS; any server of the catalogue: GIS_Q_SERVER <id> [LAAG=] [RES=m/px], Topotijdreis of any year: GIS_Q_SERVER JAAR=1850
Vector data	GIS_Q_BAG, GIS_Q_PERCELEN, GIS_Q_NWB, GIS_Q_HECTO, GIS_Q_SPOOR, GIS_Q_OSM
NLCS base data	GIS_Q_BGT, GIS_Q_BRK, GIS_Q_SONDERINGEN [BRON=] (BRO CPTs and boreholes in plan), GIS_KLIC [file] (opens the page), GIS_KLIC_IMPORT <file>, GIS_KLIC_AANVRAAG [SOORT=orientatie|graaf|calamiteit] [REFERENTIE=] [START=yyyy-mm-dd] [EIND=] [WERK=proefsleuvenGraven,…] [OMSCHRIJVING=] [PAD=], GIS_KLIC_MAP [MAP=] [VOLGEN=ja|nee], GIS_KLIC_VOLGEN [MAP=], GIS_TEKENBLAD [subject]
AHN	GIS_AHN (page), GIS_HOOGTEPUNTEN, GIS_HOOGTELIJNEN, GIS_PROFIEL, GIS_PUNTENWOLK
NLCS	GIS_NLCS_CONTROLE, GIS_NLCS_RAPPORT, GIS_NLCS_HERSTEL, GIS_HOEVEELHEDEN, GIS_HOEVEELHEDEN_CSV, GIS_HOEVEELHEDEN_TABEL, GIS_BGT_MUTATIE [BRONHOUDER=G0505] [GEREALISEERD] [SELECTIE]
IFC 4.3	GIS_IFC, CIV_IFC [BESTAND=<pad>] [SELECTIE] [TEKST=nee]
Civiel tab	CIV_PUNTEN_IMPORT, CIV_PUNT, CIV_PUNTEN_EXPORT, CIV_LANDXML, CIV_TIN, CIV_HOOGTELIJNEN, CIV_ANALYSE, CIV_VOLUME, CIV_AS, CIV_AS_OFFSET, CIV_STATION, CIV_LENGTEPROFIEL, CIV_ONTWERPPROFIEL, CIV_DWARSPROFIELEN, CIV_CORRIDOR, CIV_BAG3D, CIV_FOTOTERREIN, CIV_BGT3D, CIV_WATERPEIL, CIV_CITYGML, CIV_KLIC3D, CIV_DOORZICHT, CIV_SONDERINGEN3D, CIV_3DMODEL, CIV_INFO, CIV_INSTELLINGEN
Help	GIS_HELP, CIV_HELP

Coordinate systems and units

• Built in:
  • RD New (EPSG:28992)
  • ETRS89 / UTM 31–33N
  • Belgian Lambert 72 and 2008
  • British National Grid
  • CH1903+ / LV95
  • Lambert-93
  • WGS 84 and Web Mercator
• Automatic UTM anywhere in the world.
• Any other EPSG code is fetched once from epsg.io and stored with the drawing.
• The address search proposes the national grid for the country it finds.
• RD accuracy: RD uses the 7-parameter transformation, about 0.2 m from RDNAPTRANS. That is fine for underlays and context. For survey work, use data that is already in RD; PDOK, BGT, BRK and KLIC all supply it that way.
• Units: INSUNITS sets the drawing units: metres (default for civil drawings), mm or cm.
  • Absolute: CRS coordinates go straight into the drawing, as is usual in Dutch infra work.
  • Relative: the base point becomes 0,0.
• Map images are saved next to the drawing in <name>_GIS/.

Architecture

src/gis/          host-free engine: crs (proj4rs), site, servers, catalog (service search), caps (WMS/WFS GetCapabilities),
                  geocode, raster (GetMap/XYZ + reprojection), wfs, osm (Overpass), vector (GeoJSON + clipping),
                  ogcapi (OGC API Features), bgt (PDOK BGT), klic (IMKL via klic2geo),
                  ahn (WCS height grids, contours, profiles), pointcloud (COPC over HTTP, .rcs writer),
                  bro (BRO CPTs and boreholes, soil classification)
src/nlcs.rs       NLCS 5.02 tables, layer names and styles, BGT/KLIC → NLCS mapping
src/basisdata.rs  BGT, cadastre and KLIC drawn conform NLCS, with object data
src/tekenblad.rs  NLCS drawing sheet: frame, title block, legend, north arrow, scale bar
src/hoogte.rs     AHN spot heights, contour lines, length profiles and point clouds in the drawing
src/emit.rs       engine output → DWG entities (LWPOLYLINE, TEXT, CIRCLE, IMAGE)
src/bridge.rs     host requests from worker/window threads, NLCS layers and linetypes, site in the DWG
src/import.rs     import flows shared by the window and the ribbon quick buttons
src/ui/           workbench window (egui), runs in the plugin process beside the CAD window
src/lib.rs        manifest, ribbon, commands (GIS_*), click interaction (Gebied, Punt info)
src/civiel/       civil engine: landmeten (points), terrein (TIN, contours, analysis, earthwork),
                  as_profiel (alignments, profiles, sections), corridor, landxml, model3d (3D BAG,
                  photo terrain, BGT in 3D), ondergrond (BRO columns), api (arguments, JSON results)
src/gis/bag3d.rs  3D BAG client (CityJSON 2.0), rasterbestand.rs (GeoTIFF, ASC, world files, LAS/LAZ)
civiel/           the Civiel plugin: its ribbon tab and CIV_ commands, on the shared engine
mcp/              MCP server for AI agents

The repository is a Cargo workspace with two plugins. The GIS plugin is the root crate, with its entry points behind the default feature plugin. The Civiel plugin links the same crate without that feature. Build them with separate cargo build -p … runs; scripts/install.sh does both.

Open CAD Studio runs plugins out-of-process and has no dialog API for plugins, so the plugin opens its own window. Network work runs on worker threads, so the CAD window stays responsive and the plugin call timeout is never reached.

Installing

Use Open CAD Studio's Plugin Manager (PLUGINS): Open Infra Studio is in its list of plugins. Pick it and install the latest release; in an older Open CAD Studio, choose Add a repository and enter OpenAEC-Foundation/Open-Infra-Studio. This installs the GIS plugin.

Or install by hand:

1. Download openaec.open-infra-<platform> and plugin.toml from the release.
2. Put them in <config>/OpenCADStudio/plugins/openaec.open-infra/.
3. Restart Open CAD Studio.

The Civiel plugin comes as open-infra-civiel-<platform>.zip in the same release: unzip it into <config>/OpenCADStudio/plugins/ (it holds the folder openaec.open-infra-civiel) and restart. <config> is %APPDATA% on Windows, ~/.config on Linux and ~/Library/Application Support on macOS.

Release numbers follow Open CAD Studio's calendar numbering. The current code is built for Open CAD Studio v2026.44 (plugin API 14), from release 2026.45.1 on; 2026.44.3 to 2026.45.0 were for v2026.43 and 2026.44.2 and earlier for v2026.42. From API 14 the host no longer requires the plugin's compiler and opencadcodec commit to match its own, only the shape of the data it exchanges, so a plugin usually keeps loading after a host update. A plugin for v2026.43 (API 13) does not load in v2026.44.

Building

./scripts/install.sh      # build both plugins and install them into ~/.config/OpenCADStudio/plugins/
./scripts/version.sh      # set both plugins to JJJJ.W.N: this ISO week, the next free number (the release refuses a tag that differs)
cargo test --lib -p open-infra   # engine tests (CRS, clipping, NLCS, TIN, alignments, corridor, 3D BAG, …)
cargo test --test locaties                          # location test set, offline
cargo test --test locaties -- --ignored --nocapture # fetch real data at 16 locations, report in target/locatietest
python3 tests/e2e/ocs_e2e.py                        # end-to-end in Open CAD Studio: import, edit, save, reopen

For repeated clean builds, ./scripts/build.sh --locked -p open-infra uses sccache when it is available on PATH. This also applies to --release; opt out with RUSTC_WRAPPER= ./scripts/build.sh --release. An explicit RUSTC_WRAPPER value, including an empty value, takes precedence. See the local compiler-cache measurements for the measured benefit, first-fill cost and scope.

The test set (tests/) covers 16 locations: Dutch cities, a polder, the Vaalserberg, the Wadden, and cities across the border and worldwide. It also covers 30 places around the Dutch border, real BGT attributes and a KLIC delivery. It found and fixed several problems:

• the coordinate system for Antwerp and Aachen;
• search results in the wrong town;
• units of mm drawings;
• AHN5 gaps;
• one IMKL colour.

It also lists the host issues still open in Open CAD Studio.

Cargo.toml and civiel/Cargo.toml pin ocs_plugin_api to the Open CAD Studio v2026.44 release tag. For a newer Open CAD Studio, move the rev to that release's tag.

For development against a local Open CAD Studio checkout, add a .cargo/config.toml (not committed):

[patch."https://github.com/HakanSeven12/OpenCADStudio"]
ocs_plugin_api = { path = "../OpenCADStudio/crates/ocs_plugin_api" }

Platforms

• Linux (X11/Wayland) and Windows: everything works.
• macOS: the ribbon quick buttons and commands work. The workbench window does not yet, because winit needs the main thread there.

Data sources and licences

• PDOK, Kadaster, Rijkswaterstaat and ProRail: open data (BGT CC0, BRK CC BY 4.0). Credit the source; the title block does this for the imports.
• AHN (Actueel Hoogtebestand Nederland): open data (CC0). Height grids come via the PDOK WCS, point clouds from Het Waterschapshuis' object storage.
• NLCS tables and the NLCS-BGT mapping: DigiGO / Stichting NLCS, CC BY 4.0 (see assets/nlcs/NOTICE.md).
• OpenStreetMap: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), via Overpass, Nominatim and the OSM tile server. Follow their usage policies (light, interactive use).
• Sentinel-2 cloudless by EOX: the 2016 mosaic CC BY 4.0 (the default of the terrain photo); later years CC BY-NC-SA 4.0 (non-commercial, only when chosen).
• USGS The National Map imagery: public domain (US terrain photo). Terrain Tiles on AWS (NASA SRTM, USGS 3DEP and GMTED2010, NOAA ETOPO): open data.
• NLCS++ Netbeheer: schemas, information model, DWG templates and example deliveries of mijnaansluiting.nl, Apache-2.0 (see nlcspp/assets/NOTICE and tests/fixtures/nlcspp); the content rules of Inhoudelijke validaties (Keronic, Apache-2.0) are fetched by tools/nlcspp_schematron.py, not shipped.
• GWSW-HydX column codes as in the test set of nens/hydxlib (Stichting RIONED, GWSW-Hyd).
• 3D BAG: 3D geoinformation group, TU Delft, CC BY 4.0 (api.3dbag.nl).
• Aerial photos: Beeldmateriaal.nl via PDOK, CC BY 4.0.
• BRO cone penetration tests and boreholes (Basisregistratie Ondergrond, TNO): open data (CC0), via publiek.broservices.nl.

Licence: GPL-3.0-only (LICENSE), the same as the Open CAD Studio plugin API.