Groundwork
An AI coworker inside Rhino 8.
Choose a tier
Each seat is one license key for one computer. Delivered by email.
Bring your own AI account. You supply the API key or sign-in, your data stays in your own account, you choose the model, and you pay no markup on tokens.
Instant download after checkout. All sales final. Digital products are non-refundable.
Doesn't work as described? Email hayder [at] hayderalbeer [dot] com and I'll fix it or send a replacement. No refund needed, just a working tool.
What you are buying
- You pay once. The licence is permanent, there is no subscription, and it does not expire.
- A licence is per seat and locked to one computer. Buy the number of seats you need and each one activates on a single machine.
- Every 1.x update is included. Fixes and new features arrive at no extra cost for the whole of version 1.
- A future version 2.x will be a separate, paid upgrade. Staying on version 1 stays free for as long as you want it.
Version 0.11.3 · Prepared 2026-07
Screens
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The panel open in Rhino 8 -
What the panel offers on a fresh model -
A request and the tools it reached for -
Where your keys live and the permission switch
What it does
Groundwork adds a panel to Rhino 8 with an agent that knows Rhino and Grasshopper and acts on the model you already have open. It reads the document, runs Python against it, authors and solves Grasshopper definitions, bakes, captures viewports, and looks things up in seven bundled reference packs — RhinoCommon, rhinoscriptsyntax, Python for Rhino 8, Grasshopper, drawings and annotation, import and export, and mass properties — so the code it writes matches the API you are on. Beside the chat sit seventeen one-click actions for the jobs you do every week: health check, purge and clean, organise layers, remove duplicates, fix bad objects, contours, sections, Make2D drawings, viewport packs, export packs, unroll surfaces, mass properties, selection reports, block management, isolate and zoom selection, and a structured Grasshopper bake. Five specialists come with it — a generalist, an inspector, a modeler, a Grasshopper analyst and a documenter — sessions are named and restorable, and it keeps notes per project once the file is saved. Nothing is billed through us: you bring your own Anthropic key or point it at the Claude Code sign-in already on your machine, keys are encrypted locally with Windows DPAPI and go only to the provider you picked, and there is no Groundwork server and no telemetry.
What is included
- groundwork-0.11.3.yak — the Rhino 8 plugin
- README.md — the install and first-run guide
- One-time purchase. You own it, no subscription.
How it works
- 01
Install Node.js 22 or newer if you do not have it — the agent runs as a small local process beside Rhino.
- 02
Drag groundwork-0.11.3.yak onto a running Rhino 8, or run yak install on it, then restart Rhino.
- 03
Run the Groundwork command to open the panel; the light goes green when the agent is live.
- 04
In Settings, paste your Anthropic key or point it at your Claude Code sign-in.
- 05
Ask in plain language, or press one of the seventeen actions. Save the .3dm if you want it to remember your conventions.
Parameters
The sliders and inputs the tool exposes.
Questions about this product
What do I need besides Rhino?
Node.js 22 or newer on PATH, because the chat agent runs as a small local process that Rhino starts beside itself, and one auth path: either an Anthropic API key, or your own Claude Code install signed in with an active Claude subscription. A Google AI key is optional and only powers the image-render tool.
Does it ask before it changes my model?
Not by default. Groundwork edits the open model straight away, and every task lands as a single named undo step so one Ctrl+Z takes it back. If you would rather approve each destructive step first, turn on Ask before running in Settings.
How is it delivered?
As a zip holding two files: the plugin, groundwork-0.11.3.yak, and the install guide. Drag the .yak onto a running Rhino 8 window, or run yak install on it, then restart Rhino and run the Groundwork command. Your download link arrives by email after purchase.
Where do my keys and my model go?
The key is encrypted on your own machine with Windows DPAPI and sent only to the provider you picked. There is no Groundwork server in the path and no telemetry. The agent reads the model you have open in order to work on it, so what you send to your provider is what a request needs.
Does it replace Grasshopper?
No. It works with Rhino and Grasshopper as you already use them, and it can author, solve, read and bake definitions on the canvas rather than standing in for them.
Is there a Mac version?
Not in this release. Groundwork is Windows-only for now.
