A Revit model whose linked files cannot be resolved stops on the "Manage Links" modal the moment it opens. For a person that is one click. For an unattended script or an AI assistant it is a hard stop — the process sits waiting for input that never comes, and every command queued behind it hangs.
The bim-revit driver dismisses that modal automatically, so a model with missing or relinked files opens and answers commands without anyone at the keyboard.
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Open a Revit model that contains linked files without any manual dialog interaction. The bim-revit driver automatically dismisses the "Manage Links" modal that Revit shows when a model's linked files cannot be resolved.Use the Snowdon Towers sample (ships with Revit 2026) which references six linked files: C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Revit 2026\Samples\Snowdon Towers Sample Architectural.rvt
Step 1 — install bim-cli if not already installed: powershell.exe -NoProfile -ExecutionPolicy Bypass -Command "iwr -useb https://bimcli.com/install.ps1 | iex"
Step 2 — refresh PATH: pwsh: $env:Path += ";$env:LOCALAPPDATA\bim-cli"
Step 3 — start Revit (bim revit open needs a running add-in; launch also dismisses the unsigned-add-in prompts): bim revit launch --revit-version 2026
Step 4 — open the linked model (driver auto-dismisses Manage Links): bim revit open --path "C:\Program Files\Autodesk\Revit 2026\Samples\Snowdon Towers Sample Architectural.rvt" --detached
Step 5 — confirm the addin is bound and the model is active: bim revit status
Step 6 — run a simple query against the live model to prove exec works: bim revit exec --code "return new FilteredElementCollector(doc).WhereElementIsNotElementType().GetElementCount();"
Revit raises "Manage Links" whenever a model's links are missing, moved, or unresolvable — which is the normal state for a model copied off a server, pulled from a client, or opened on a machine that does not share the original folder structure. The dialog is modal, so nothing else in that Revit session proceeds until it is answered.
Any automation that assumes a model just opens will therefore hang on exactly the models most likely to be handed to it. The driver dismisses the dialog and continues, leaving the links unresolved rather than silently repointing them.
bim revit status must report the add-in bound and Revit running with the model active:
$.ok == true
$.revitRunning == true
$.addinLoaded == true
Run it ad-hoc, on a machine with Revit installed:
bim scenario run tests/scenarios/revit-linked-model.yaml --strict
Without Revit present the scenario reports itself skipped rather than failing — it declares requires: [revit].
Scenario source: tests/scenarios/revit-linked-model.yaml