Get Involved
This work is contributed upstream into Bonsai and IfcOpenShell, so that is where contributions go too. If you are a civil engineer or a developer who wants native-IFC infrastructure authoring to exist, those projects are the place to help.
Ways to Contribute
Civil Engineers
Domain expertise is essential for building tools that address real-world project requirements.
How you can help:
- Validate workflows against industry standards
- Suggest features based on project experience
- Test designs against actual project requirements
- Review AASHTO/ASCE compliance
- Provide feedback on UI/UX from a practitioner’s perspective
Get started: Open an issue on IfcOpenShell, or raise it on the OSArch community forum.
Developers
The codebase is Python-based, built on Blender and IfcOpenShell.
How you can help:
- Fix bugs and implement features
- Improve test coverage
- Optimize performance
- Review pull requests
- Contribute to CI/CD and build systems
Tech stack:
- Python 3.13+
- Blender 4.5+ extension
- IfcOpenShell for IFC operations
- PyProj for coordinate systems
- NumPy for calculations
Get started: Browse open IfcOpenShell issues, or review #9304, the alignment authoring foundation currently under review.
Community Channels
| Platform | Link | Purpose |
|---|---|---|
| GitHub | IfcOpenShell/IfcOpenShell | Code, issues, pull requests |
| OSArch | community.osarch.org | OpenBIM community discussions |
Code of Conduct
All contributors are expected to:
- Be respectful and considerate
- Welcome newcomers and assist with onboarding
- Accept constructive criticism professionally
- Focus on what benefits the project
- Communicate clearly and directly
Getting Started with Development
Quick Setup
Bonsai is developed inside the IfcOpenShell repository,
under src/bonsai. Build and run it from source by following the
Bonsai documentation, and ask in the
OSArch community if you get stuck.
Development Resources
References:
- IFC 4.3 Specification (buildingSMART)
- IfcOpenShell Documentation
- Blender Extension API