Extract Model Properties Recipe

Guide to extracting metadata, properties, and model structure from CAD files using RAPS CLI

Goal

Extract structured data from CAD models (BIM properties, geometry info, material data, etc.) for analysis, reporting, or integration with other systems.

What you’ll achieve:

• List model views/viewables from a translated file
• Navigate the object tree hierarchy
• Extract element properties (doors, windows, walls, etc.)
• Query specific properties by object ID

Prerequisites

Required Tools

• RAPS CLI v4.14.0+ installed
• Autodesk Developer Account with app credentials
• CAD file already uploaded and translated in APS (see Upload-Translate recipe)

Required OAuth Scopes

data:read viewables:read

Key Concept: URN and GUID

Property extraction requires two identifiers:

• URN - The base64-encoded identifier of the uploaded file
• GUID - The identifier of a specific model view (obtained from metadata)

The Manual Way (Complex API Navigation)

const axios = require('axios');

// 1. Get manifest to confirm translation is complete
async function getManifest(token, urn) {
  const response = await axios.get(
    `https://developer.api.autodesk.com/modelderivative/v2/designdata/${urn}/manifest`,
    { headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}` }}
  );
  return response.data;
}

// 2. Get metadata (list of views/viewables)
async function getMetadata(token, urn) {
  const response = await axios.get(
    `https://developer.api.autodesk.com/modelderivative/v2/designdata/${urn}/metadata`,
    { headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}` }}
  );
  return response.data;
}

// 3. Get object tree for a specific view
async function getObjectTree(token, urn, guid) {
  const response = await axios.get(
    `https://developer.api.autodesk.com/modelderivative/v2/designdata/${urn}/metadata/${guid}`,
    { headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}` }}
  );
  return response.data;
}

// 4. Get properties for a specific view (paginated)
async function getProperties(token, urn, guid) {
  const response = await axios.get(
    `https://developer.api.autodesk.com/modelderivative/v2/designdata/${urn}/metadata/${guid}/properties`,
    { headers: { Authorization: `Bearer ${token}` }}
  );
  return response.data;
}

// Main workflow: manifest → metadata → tree → properties
async function extractProperties(token, urn) {
  const manifest = await getManifest(token, urn);
  if (manifest.status !== 'success') throw new Error('Translation not complete');

  const metadata = await getMetadata(token, urn);
  const viewGuid = metadata.data.metadata[0].guid; // first view

  const tree = await getObjectTree(token, urn, viewGuid);
  const properties = await getProperties(token, urn, viewGuid);

  return { metadata, tree, properties };
}

The RAPS Way

Step 1: Verify Translation is Complete

Before extracting properties, confirm the file has been translated:

# Check translation status
raps translate status "$URN"

# Or view full manifest
raps translate manifest "$URN"

Expected status: success

Step 2: List Model Views (Metadata)

Get available views/viewables from the translated model:

# List all model views
raps translate metadata "$URN"

Example output:

┌──────────────────────────────────────┬──────────┬──────┐
│ GUID                                 │ Name     │ Role │
├──────────────────────────────────────┼──────────┼──────┤
│ 12345678-abcd-1234-5678-abcdef123456 │ 3D View  │ 3d   │
│ 87654321-dcba-4321-8765-fedcba654321 │ Floor 1  │ 2d   │
└──────────────────────────────────────┴──────────┴──────┘

Note the GUID of the view you want to explore.

Step 3: View Object Tree

Navigate the model’s hierarchical structure:

# Get the object tree for a specific view
raps translate tree "$URN" "12345678-abcd-1234-5678-abcdef123456"

This shows the parent-child hierarchy of model elements.

Step 4: Extract Properties

Get detailed properties for all elements in a view:

# Get all properties for a view
raps translate properties "$URN" "12345678-abcd-1234-5678-abcdef123456"

Example output:

┌────────┬─────────────────────┬──────────────────┬──────────┐
│ Object │ Name                │ Category         │ Material │
├────────┼─────────────────────┼──────────────────┼──────────┤
│ 101    │ Interior Wall       │ Walls            │ Concrete │
│ 102    │ Entry Door          │ Doors            │ Wood     │
│ 103    │ Office Window       │ Windows          │ Glass    │
└────────┴─────────────────────┴──────────────────┴──────────┘

Step 5: Query Specific Properties

Filter properties for specific objects:

# Get properties for specific object IDs
raps translate query-properties "$URN" "12345678-abcd-1234-5678-abcdef123456" \
  --filter "101,102,103"

# Limit to specific property fields
raps translate query-properties "$URN" "12345678-abcd-1234-5678-abcdef123456" \
  --filter "101,102" \
  --fields "Name,Area,Volume,Material"

Working with Different Regions

If your data is stored in a non-US region:

# Specify region for metadata
raps translate metadata "$URN" --region EMEA

# Specify region for properties
raps translate properties "$URN" "$GUID" --region EMEA

# Available regions: US, EMEA, AUS, CAN, DEU, IND, JPN, GBR

Output Formats

Control how results are displayed:

# Table format (default, human-readable)
raps translate properties "$URN" "$GUID" --output table

# JSON format (machine-readable)
raps translate properties "$URN" "$GUID" --output json

# Save JSON to file
raps translate properties "$URN" "$GUID" --output json > properties.json

Complete Workflow Example

End-to-end script for property extraction:

#!/usr/bin/env bash
set -euo pipefail

# Configuration
BUCKET="my-project-bucket"
FILE="building.rvt"

# 1. Authenticate
raps auth test

# 2. Upload file
raps object upload "$BUCKET" "$FILE"

# 3. Build URN
URN=$(echo -n "urn:adsk.objects:os.object:$BUCKET:$FILE" | base64 | tr '+/' '-_' | tr -d '=')

# 4. Translate and wait
raps translate start "$URN" --format svf2 --wait

# 5. Get model views
echo "Available views:"
raps translate metadata "$URN"

# 6. Get GUID of first 3D view (you'd parse this from metadata output)
GUID="12345678-abcd-1234-5678-abcdef123456"

# 7. Extract object tree
echo "Object tree:"
raps translate tree "$URN" "$GUID"

# 8. Extract all properties
echo "Properties:"
raps translate properties "$URN" "$GUID"

# 9. Query specific objects
echo "Specific objects:"
raps translate query-properties "$URN" "$GUID" --filter "101,102,103"

Post-Processing with External Tools

Python Analysis

import json
import subprocess

# Extract properties as JSON
result = subprocess.run(
    ["raps", "translate", "properties", URN, GUID, "--output", "json"],
    capture_output=True, text=True
)
data = json.loads(result.stdout)

# Analyze with pandas
import pandas as pd
df = pd.json_normalize(data)
print(df.describe())

Pipe to jq

# Extract specific fields with jq
raps translate properties "$URN" "$GUID" --output json | jq '.[] | {name, category, area}'

# Count elements by category
raps translate properties "$URN" "$GUID" --output json | jq 'group_by(.category) | map({category: .[0].category, count: length})'

Troubleshooting

”No metadata found”

Cause: Model needs to be translated first

# Check if translation is complete
raps translate status "$URN"

# If not translated, start translation
raps translate start "$URN" --format svf2 --wait

”Invalid GUID”

Cause: Using wrong view GUID

# List all available views to find correct GUID
raps translate metadata "$URN"

”Empty properties”

Cause: Some model formats have limited property support

# Check what's in the manifest
raps translate manifest "$URN"

# List available derivatives
raps translate derivatives "$URN"

Properties by File Type

Last verified: February 2026 | RAPS v4.14.0 | Model Derivative API v2 Property extraction works with all major BIM and CAD formats supported by APS.