Altiro

Free online IFC viewer: open BIM models in your browser

Altiro is an IFC viewer that runs entirely inside the browser. Drop an .ifc file and the model appears in 3D within seconds, with its spatial tree, properties, measurements, section planes, clash detection and IDS validation. Nothing to install, no account to create, and no upload: the file is processed on your own machine and never leaves it.

  • IFC2x3 · IFC4 · IFC4x3
  • No file upload
  • WebGPU accelerated
  • English and Español

Why Altiro

100% anonymous

We collect no data about you. No account, no email, no tracking. The viewer opens your file and that is the whole transaction. Ask AI is the one part that speaks to the outside world, and only while you use it: your question, the list of tools the assistant is allowed to call, and what those tools answer back (element names, types, quantities, and the view itself when it asks to look at the model) go to Google Gemini under your own API key, straight from your browser. The IFC file is never sent, and nothing about the model leaves until you ask a question.

Your files never leave your computer

The IFC is parsed and tessellated locally through WebAssembly. Nothing is uploaded to a cloud service, so you can review confidential project models without clearing it with anyone. Ask AI is the exception noted above, and even there what travels is the answers to the questions you ask, never the file.

Genuinely fast

The geometry engine is written in Rust and compiled to multithreaded WebAssembly, and the scene is drawn with WebGPU. Models that take other web viewers minutes to open show up here in seconds.

Free, with nothing to install

It runs on any machine with a modern browser. It is equally useful for someone who opens a model once a month and for a BIM coordinator who lives in one.

What you can do with the IFC viewer

Altiro is more than a viewer: it carries the review and coordination tools that normally require a desktop application.

Model tree

Browse the full spatial hierarchy (Site → Building → Storey → Element), or switch to a class-based or aggregate view. Search by name or GlobalId, isolate any level with one click, and sort each storey by name, tag or IFC type.

Properties and property sets

Select any element to read its attributes, property sets (Pset_*), quantities (Qto_*), material, bSDD classifications, type properties and real-world coordinates. File information (schema, units, project and authoring application) is one tab away.

Property filters

Build rules over attributes, property sets, quantities or bounding-box dimensions (match all / match any), then isolate or hide whatever matches. Filters are saved by name and can be exported and imported to reuse on another model or share with the team.

Measurements

Measure point-to-point distance with its X, Y and Z components; angles from three points or between two lines; plane-to-plane distance; face perimeter; arc radius; distance to a grid axis; and the length × width × height plus volume of any selection. Snapping locks onto edges, hole centres and vertices.

Section planes and clip box

Cut through the model with a section plane, or wrap the selection in a clip box to work on one area only. Both are captured in saved BCF views.

X-Ray

Make a selection see-through instead of hiding it, to look at what sits behind a wall or inside a shaft while keeping it in view. One click puts everything back.

Clash detection

Define model sections and a severity matrix between them, set tolerances and gap bands, and run the detection. Results group by severity, by section pair or by type pair, crop automatically around each clash, and export as BCF for Revit, Navisworks, Solibri or BIMcollab — or as a CSV table with the GlobalId, model, type, verdict and distance of both sides, for the coordination spreadsheet. Parts that are joined by design are not reported as conflicts: openings and their fillings, parts of one assembly, walls meeting at a corner, and pipes or ducts plugged into their own fittings. A depth floor lets you ignore anything shallower than a few millimetres.

MEP connectivity

Select a duct, pipe or terminal and see what it is actually plumbed to — the parts joined to it through their IfcDistributionPorts, which way the medium flows across each connection, and the size of the network it belongs to. Trace the branch downstream or upstream instead of isolating the whole system, and see where the system is broken: a port with nothing attached looks exactly like a connected one in 3D.

IDS validation

Import a buildingSMART IDS file (.ids or .xml), validate the model, including edits you have not exported yet, then read the pass rate, colorize passes green and failures red in 3D, and export the report or a BCF of the failures. You can also write the IDS here instead of importing one: build the specifications in the panel, or describe the requirement to the assistant, and save a standard .ids file.

Saved views (BCF 2.1)

Capture the current camera, visibility, section and selection as a BCF topic with status, priority, assignee, due date, labels and comments. Restore one with a click, and export the set as a standard .bcfzip for any BCF-capable tool.

Compare revisions

Load the base version and the new revision to get the list of added, modified and deleted elements. Compare data only, geometry only or both; everything unchanged is ghosted so the difference stands out.

Tables, pivots and charts

Turn the model into a table: group by any property, aggregate sums and counts, switch to a pivot or to a bar, line, pie or stacked chart, and export to Excel or CSV for the report.

Colorize the model

Paint the scene by IFC type, name, storey, material or the value of any property, in value-range mode or exact yes/no mode. Palettes are stored as presets and can be exported.

3D labels

Float labels over elements showing whatever you choose (name, tag, type or any property), scoped by IFC type or by a filter result, with configurable text and background colours.

Structure editor

Bulk operations across an IFC type, a filter result or a bSDD set: add or set a property, add quantities, rename or delete properties and property sets, change a value type, copy one field into another, change the IFC class of the elements, and map values in from an Excel or CSV table.

Model federation

Add IFC layers architecture, structure and services into one scene. Each model can be hidden, isolated or removed independently, and clash detection runs across the federated set.

Georeferencing and GIS context

Inspect or set the model georeference: look the coordinate system up by EPSG code, adjust eastings, northings, height and rotation, or geolocate by address. Then pull the surrounding OpenStreetMap context into the 3D scene within a radius you choose.

Sun and sky

Put the sun where it really was: pick a date and a time of day and the scene lights accordingly. On a georeferenced model the position is the true one for that site, so it answers where the light falls, not merely where it looks nice.

Ask AI

Type what you want in plain language ("hide all doors", "isolate the walls on level 2", "colorize by storey") and the assistant drives the viewer for you. It also reads the model back: the spatial structure, how one element relates to the rest, which materials are in use, a quantity roll-up or a full schedule table. It runs clash detection, validates against IDS or writes an IDS from a sentence, looks up what the IFC standard allows for a class before editing, undoes what it did, and exports the result. An MCP connector is available to drive the same tab from your own agent. What reaches the AI provider is your question, the tool list and what those tools return; the IFC file itself stays in the browser.

Walk mode

Move through the model in first person with WASD, go up and down with Q and E, sprint with Shift, and look around by right-dragging. Phones and tablets get an on-screen joystick.

Open from Google Drive™

Right-click an .ifc in your Drive and choose Open with → Altiro. The viewer downloads that one file straight into the browser tab; it never gets access to the rest of your Drive.

Simplify geometry

Cut the triangle count of an element and of every identical one in the model, one level per press, when a supplier ships a model too heavy to move around in. The status bar counts what was saved, the original geometry comes back on demand, and the simplified model can be exported as IFC.

Export

Save as IFC (STEP) with every edit and deletion applied: the whole model, only what is visible, or a single isolated element. You can also export to GLB, USDA, BCF, an IDS report and XLSX/CSV.

How to open an IFC file online

  1. Open the viewer

    Go to ifc.cl. The IFC engine loads in your browser; there is nothing to download and nothing to install.

  2. Drop your .ifc file

    Drag the file onto the window or click Open IFC, or open an .ifc that already lives in Google Drive™ with Open with → Altiro. Processing happens on your machine; the file is never uploaded.

  3. Review the model

    Click any wall, slab, beam or duct to read its properties, then measure, section, filter, validate and export the result.

Supported formats

Opens

  • IFC2x3 (.ifc)
  • IFC4 (.ifc)
  • IFC4x3 (.ifc)
  • Zipped IFC (.ifczip)
  • IFC5 (.ifcx), view only

Exports

  • IFC / STEP (.ifc)
  • Binary glTF (.glb)
  • USD ASCII (.usda)
  • BCF 2.1 (.bcfzip)
  • IDS validation report
  • Excel and CSV (.xlsx, .csv)

Requirements

Altiro renders with WebGPU, the modern browser graphics API. Firefox and Safari do not enable it by default yet.

BrowserChrome 113+ or Edge 113+ with WebGPU
SystemWindows, macOS or Linux
InstallationNone, it runs in a browser tab
Large modelsWant a machine with plenty of RAM and a discrete GPU

Frequently asked questions

Is the IFC viewer really free?

Yes. No account, no trial period, and no limit on how many files you open or how big they are beyond what your machine can handle.

Are my IFC files uploaded to a server?

No. The file is read, parsed and tessellated inside the browser through WebAssembly. It never travels over the network, so confidential models stay confidential. The one thing that does leave is what you ask Ask AI about: the question, the tools the assistant may call and the values they return. That is data drawn from the model, so treat it the way you would treat pasting the same figures into any chat, and leave the panel closed on a model you cannot share.

Which IFC versions are supported?

IFC2x3, IFC4 and IFC4x3, plus zipped .ifczip files. IFC5 (.ifcx) can be viewed, though that support is still experimental.

Which browser do I need?

Chrome 113 or newer, or Edge 113 or newer, with WebGPU enabled. Firefox and Safari do not ship WebGPU on by default yet.

Can I open several models at once?

Yes. Add IFC federates architecture, structure and services into one scene, and each model stays independently controllable.

Can I edit the IFC and save it back?

Yes. Edits apply as a reversible overlay on top of the original model and are written into a valid IFC (STEP) file on export. Your input file is never modified.

Does it do clash detection?

Yes. You define model sections, a severity matrix and tolerances, and the clashes export as BCF 2.1 to open in Revit, Navisworks, Solibri or BIMcollab.

Can I review an IFC on a phone or tablet?

The interface adapts to small screens and there is a joystick for walking the model, but large models want the memory and GPU of a desktop machine.

How large a model can it handle?

It depends on your RAM and GPU. A modern laptop handles models of several hundred megabytes comfortably; if you run short, lower the detail level from the status bar.

Can I open an IFC straight from Google Drive™?

Yes. Use Open with → Altiro on the file in Drive. The viewer is granted that single file, downloads it into the tab and works on it locally like any other model.

Can the AI assistant help me review the model?

Yes. Ask it in plain language to hide, isolate, colorize, measure or section, and it does it. It also answers questions about the model itself, builds schedules, runs clash detection, validates against IDS and exports the result. Through the MCP connector your own agent can drive the viewer tab the same way.

Is there a desktop version?

Yes, Altiro Desktop. It is the same viewer on the native engine and runs six to seven times faster than the browser build.

Ready to open your model?

No signup, no installation, nothing uploaded. Drop your .ifc file and go.

Open the IFC viewer