Revit and Excel

bim-cli connects Revit and Excel with pipes. Export a schedule to a spreadsheet, import parameter updates back in, audit warnings — all from a terminal or an AI assistant.

Moving data between Revit and Excel usually means an add-in with its own dialog, a manual schedule export, or copy-paste — and re-doing it every time the model changes. bim treats both as streams: a Revit schedule becomes rows on stdout, an Excel file becomes rows on stdin, and a pipe connects them. The same command runs by hand, in a script, or from an AI assistant, and there's no per-seat license.

Export: Revit to Excel

Pipe any Revit schedule directly to an Excel file. No schedule export dialog, no text file intermediate.

bim revit schedule export "Door Schedule" | bim excel write doors.xlsx

Export a Revit schedule to Excel →

Import: Excel to Revit

Read parameter updates from a spreadsheet and write them back into Revit elements, matched by Mark.

bim excel read params.xlsx | bim revit param set --by Mark

Import Excel into Revit →

Audit: warnings to Excel

Export all model warnings with element IDs to a spreadsheet for review and assignment.

bim revit warnings list | bim excel write warnings.xlsx

Export Revit warnings to a spreadsheet →

Round-trip workflow

Export the current schedule, edit in Excel, import back:

bim revit schedule export "Door Schedule" | bim excel write doors.xlsx

edit in Excel

bim excel read doors.xlsx | bim revit param set --by Mark

The same Mark column used on export is the lookup key on import. No mapping wizard.

Common questions

Do I need the Revit add-in? For schedule export and param set, yes — Revit must be open with the bim add-in loaded (run bim revit install once). The Excel side (excel read/excel write) is standalone and needs neither Revit nor Excel installed.

What matches rows on import? Any parameter you name with --byMark is common, but --by "Type Name" or any unique parameter works. Rows whose key isn't found are reported, not silently skipped.

Which Revit versions? 2024, 2025, and 2026. The Excel driver is version-independent.

Can I write to Google Sheets instead? Yes — swap bim excel write for bim google sheets append. See the Google driver.

Install

iwr -useb https://bimcli.com/install.ps1 | iex

Works on Revit 2024, 2025, and 2026. No admin rights, no per-seat license.