Dassault SOLIDWORKS API
The core SOLIDWORKS API is COM-based desktop automation for VBA, C#, and C++, not a network API. REST exists at the edges: PDM Professional's Web API with per-vault tokens and 3DEXPERIENCE services with OAuth 2.0. All of it requires a subscription contract or Solution Partner status.
Frequently asked questions
Dassault SOLIDWORKS scores D on Supergood's API Report Card. The core SOLIDWORKS API is COM-based desktop automation for VBA, C#, and C++, not a network API. REST exists at the edges: PDM Professional's Web API with per-vault tokens and 3DEXPERIENCE services with OAuth 2.0. All of it requires a subscription contract or Solution Partner status.
Without a usable official API, teams fall back on manual exports, file drops, or one-off vendor integrations. The other option is an unofficial API layer like Supergood that automates the authenticated web app directly. Site terms may apply to any integration approach, and how they apply is a determination each team makes for itself.
Dassault SOLIDWORKS is the flagship desktop 3D mechanical CAD product from Dassault Systemes, originally released in 1995 and now sold both as a Windows-native perpetual/subscription product and as a 3DEXPERIENCE-connected cloud offering.
Primary vertical: misc (mechanical engineering / discrete manufacturing / industrial design). A mechanical engineer at a discrete manufacturer launches SOLIDWORKS, opens an assembly checked out from SOLIDWORKS PDM or 3DEXPERIENCE PDM, models or modifies parts using parametric features, mates components into assemblies, generates 2D detail drawings, runs a SOLIDWORKS Simulation linear-static study, and re-checks the assembly in.
Very high inside mechanical CAD.
SOLIDWORKS is the system of record for the geometric definition of physical products, parts, assemblies, drawings, BOMs, revision history, that drive downstream manufacturing, procurement, and quality.
SOLIDWORKS first shipped in 1995, over 30 years old, and the desktop codebase is a mature Windows-native COM application.
Supergood's grades measure one thing: can a customer's engineering team get their own data out programmatically? Supergood checks six things (whether a real API exists, how access is gated, data coverage, auth quality, docs and developer experience, and stability) and rolls them into a letter grade. Supergood re-verifies grades, and they only move on evidence.
Dassault SOLIDWORKS has partial MCP support. Dassault Systemes publishes no official SOLIDWORKS MCP server, but several actively maintained community servers automate SOLIDWORKS through its API, led by a C# project with over 200 stars updated within the past month. Coverage and support vary by project and none is vendor endorsed.
Partially. MCP support for Dassault SOLIDWORKS exists but is incomplete, so what MCP clients like Claude, Cursor, and Codex can reach depends on what the available server covers.