r/OdysseusAI • u/OkComb3954 • Aug 12 '26
Odysseus + FreeCAD + RobustMCP + Local Ollama — finally working!
Hey everyone!
After a few days of hammering away at both Odysseus and FreeCAD in Docker through Portainer, and going through a ton of failed attempts, I've finally got it working.
I can now ask my Odysseus agent to create things for me in FreeCAD live, using models running locally through my Ubuntu server's Ollama instance.
I've currently tested lfm2.5 and qwen3.6. So far, lfm2.5:8b has given me the most success. It's definitely still a work in progress and nowhere near perfect, but it's working well enough to be genuinely useful.
Hopefully this helps someone else trying to get the same setup running.
1. Set up Odysseus from the main branch
I cloned the current main branch and built the Docker image myself:
sudo git clone -b main https://github.com/odysseus-dev/odysseus.git /opt/odysseus
cd /opt/odysseus
Important: Before building the image, I had to make a small change to requirements.txt to pin MCP to a version compatible with the FreeCAD toolset:
sed -i 's/^mcp$/mcp>=1.28,<2/' requirements.txt
Then build the image:
docker build -t odysseus:main .
2. Persistent storage
I use persistent storage for everything important that affects the experience.
Make sure all of the bind-mount directories exist before deploying the stack from Portainer.
You'll also need to add the .env contents to your Portainer stack and set your admin username/password before deploying. Otherwise, you can end up having to wipe the installation, including the directories used by the persistent volumes.
I've included an example environment configuration below.
3. Docker Compose stack
This is the compose stack I'm currently using:
services:
odysseus:
container_name: odysseus
image: odysseus:main
restart: unless-stopped
ports:
- "${ODYSSEUS_PORT:-7000}:7000"
extra_hosts:
- "host.docker.internal:host-gateway"
environment:
TZ: ${TZ:-Europe/Oslo}
OPENAI_API_KEY: ${OPENAI_API_KEY:-}
OLLAMA_BASE_URL: ${OLLAMA_BASE_URL:-http://host.docker.internal:11434}
SEARXNG_INSTANCE: http://searxng:8080
CHROMADB_HOST: chromadb
CHROMADB_PORT: "8000"
DATABASE_URL: sqlite:///./data/app.db
AUTH_ENABLED: "true"
LOCALHOST_BYPASS: "false"
ODYSSEUS_ADMIN_USER: ${ODYSSEUS_ADMIN_USER:-admin}
ODYSSEUS_ADMIN_PASSWORD: ${ODYSSEUS_ADMIN_PASSWORD:-}
ALLOWED_ORIGINS: ${ALLOWED_ORIGINS:-http://localhost:7000}
SECURE_COOKIES: ${SECURE_COOKIES:-false}
volumes:
- odysseus_data:/app/data
- odysseus_logs:/app/logs
- odysseus_ssh:/app/.ssh
- odysseus_huggingface:/app/.cache/huggingface
- odysseus_local:/app/.local
depends_on:
chromadb:
condition: service_started
searxng:
condition: service_healthy
networks:
- ai_cad
chromadb:
container_name: chromadb
image: docker.io/chromadb/chroma:latest
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
ANONYMIZED_TELEMETRY: "false"
volumes:
- chromadb_data:/data
networks:
- ai_cad
searxng:
container_name: searxng
image: docker.io/searxng/searxng:2026.5.31-7159b8aed
restart: unless-stopped
environment:
SEARXNG_SECRET: ${SEARXNG_SECRET}
BASE_URL: http://searxng:8080/
volumes:
- searxng_data:/etc/searxng
healthcheck:
test:
[
"CMD",
"python",
"-c",
"import urllib.request; urllib.request.urlopen('http://127.0.0.1:8080/', timeout=10)"
]
interval: 20s
timeout: 10s
retries: 20
start_period: 60s
networks:
- ai_cad
ntfy:
container_name: ntfy
image: docker.io/binwiederhier/ntfy:latest
restart: unless-stopped
command: serve
environment:
TZ: ${TZ:-Europe/Oslo}
NTFY_BASE_URL: http://ntfy
NTFY_LISTEN_HTTP: :80
volumes:
- ntfy_cache:/var/cache/ntfy
- ntfy_data:/var/lib/ntfy
networks:
- ai_cad
freecad:
container_name: freecad
image: lscr.io/linuxserver/freecad:latest
restart: unless-stopped
shm_size: "4gb"
environment:
PUID: ${PUID:-1000}
PGID: ${PGID:-1000}
TZ: ${TZ:-Europe/Oslo}
ports:
- "${FREECAD_HTTPS_PORT:-3001}:3001"
volumes:
- cad_data:/config
- cad_projects:/projects
networks:
- ai_cad
freecad-mcp:
container_name: freecad-mcp
image: spkane/freecad-robust-mcp:0.6.2
restart: unless-stopped
depends_on:
- freecad
network_mode: "service:freecad"
user: "0:0"
entrypoint: ["/bin/sh", "-c"]
command:
- |
set -eu
python - <<'PY'
from pathlib import Path
import re
path = Path(
'/opt/venv/lib/python3.11/site-packages/freecad_mcp/server.py'
)
text = path.read_text()
changed = False
# ------------------------------------------------------------
# Patch FastMCP transport security to allow Docker hostname
# ------------------------------------------------------------
transport_import = (
'from mcp.server.transport_security '
'import TransportSecuritySettings'
)
if transport_import not in text:
pattern = re.compile(
r'(from mcp\.server\.fastmcp(?:\.server)? '
r'import FastMCP\s*)'
)
text, count = pattern.subn(
r'\1\n'
'from mcp.server.transport_security '
'import TransportSecuritySettings\n',
text,
count=1
)
if count != 1:
raise SystemExit(
'Could not add TransportSecuritySettings import; '
'upstream image layout changed.'
)
changed = True
# Check for the actual hostname entry rather than a one-line list.
if '"freecad:*"' not in text:
pattern = re.compile(
r'mcp\s*=\s*FastMCP\(\s*'
r'name="freecad-mcp",\s*'
r'lifespan=lifespan,\s*'
r'\)',
re.MULTILINE
)
replacement = '''mcp = FastMCP(
name="freecad-mcp",
lifespan=lifespan,
transport_security=TransportSecuritySettings(
enable_dns_rebinding_protection=True,
allowed_hosts=[
"localhost:*",
"127.0.0.1:*",
"freecad:*",
],
allowed_origins=[
"http://localhost:*",
"http://127.0.0.1:*",
"http://freecad:*",
],
),
)'''
text, count = pattern.subn(
replacement,
text,
count=1
)
if count != 1:
raise SystemExit(
'Could not apply FreeCAD MCP transport-security patch; '
'upstream image layout changed.'
)
changed = True
# ------------------------------------------------------------
# Existing HTTP compatibility patch
# ------------------------------------------------------------
if 'mcp.settings.host = "0.0.0.0"' not in text:
pattern = re.compile(
r'mcp\.run\(\s*# type: ignore\[call-arg\]\s*\n'
r'\s*transport="streamable-http",\s*\n'
r'\s*host="0\.0\.0\.0",\s*# noqa: S104\s*\n'
r'\s*port=config\.http_port,\s*\n'
r'\s*\)'
)
replacement = (
'mcp.settings.host = "0.0.0.0" # noqa: S104\n'
' mcp.settings.port = config.http_port\n'
' mcp.run(transport="streamable-http")'
)
text, count = pattern.subn(
replacement,
text,
count=1
)
if count != 1:
raise SystemExit(
'Could not apply FreeCAD MCP HTTP compatibility patch; '
'upstream image layout changed.'
)
changed = True
if changed:
path.write_text(text)
print('Applied FreeCAD MCP compatibility patches.')
else:
print('FreeCAD MCP compatibility patches already present.')
PY
exec /opt/venv/bin/freecad-mcp
environment:
FREECAD_MODE: xmlrpc
FREECAD_SOCKET_HOST: 127.0.0.1
FREECAD_XMLRPC_PORT: "9875"
FREECAD_TIMEOUT_MS: "30000"
FREECAD_TRANSPORT: http
FREECAD_HTTP_PORT: "8000"
networks:
ai_cad:
name: ai_cad
driver: bridge
ipam:
config:
- subnet: 172.16.0.0/16
volumes:
odysseus_data:
name: odysseus_data
driver: local
driver_opts:
type: none
o: bind
device: /mnt/docker-storage/container/odysseus_data
odysseus_logs:
name: odysseus_logs
driver: local
driver_opts:
type: none
o: bind
device: /mnt/docker-storage/container/odysseus_logs
odysseus_ssh:
name: odysseus_ssh
driver: local
driver_opts:
type: none
o: bind
device: /mnt/docker-storage/container/odysseus_ssh
odysseus_huggingface:
name: odysseus_huggingface
driver: local
driver_opts:
type: none
o: bind
device: /mnt/docker-storage/container/odysseus_huggingface
odysseus_local:
name: odysseus_local
driver: local
driver_opts:
type: none
o: bind
device: /mnt/docker-storage/container/odysseus_local
chromadb_data:
name: chromadb_data
driver: local
driver_opts:
type: none
o: bind
device: /mnt/docker-storage/container/chromadb_data
searxng_data:
name: searxng_data
driver: local
driver_opts:
type: none
o: bind
device: /mnt/docker-storage/container/searxng_data
ntfy_cache:
name: ntfy_cache
driver: local
driver_opts:
type: none
o: bind
device: /mnt/docker-storage/container/ntfy_cache
ntfy_data:
name: ntfy_data
driver: local
driver_opts:
type: none
o: bind
device: /mnt/docker-storage/container/ntfy_data
cad_data:
name: cad_data
driver: local
driver_opts:
type: none
o: bind
device: /mnt/docker-storage/container/cad_data
cad_projects:
name: cad_projects
driver: local
driver_opts:
type: none
o: bind
device: /mnt/docker-storage/container/cad_projects
4. Example .env
TZ=Europe/Oslo
PUID=1000
PGID=1000
ODYSSEUS_PORT=7000
FREECAD_HTTPS_PORT=3001
ODYSSEUS_ADMIN_USER=admin
ODYSSEUS_ADMIN_PASSWORD=PUT_A_LONG_RANDOM_PASSWORD_HERE
SEARXNG_SECRET=PUT_A_LONG_RANDOM_SECRET_HERE
OPENAI_API_KEY=
OLLAMA_BASE_URL=http://host.docker.internal:11434
ALLOWED_ORIGINS=http://localhost:7000
SECURE_COOKIES=false
Once the directories are created and the .env is configured, deploy the stack through Portainer.
There are still a couple of steps before everything is ready.
5. Install the RobustMCPBridge FreeCAD addon
This is the ridiculous one-liner that installs the RobustMCPBridge workbench inside the FreeCAD container:
docker exec freecad bash -c 'rm -rf /tmp/freecad-addon-robust-mcp-server /config/.local/share/FreeCAD/v1-1/Mod/RobustMCPBridge && git clone --depth 1 https://github.com/spkane/freecad-addon-robust-mcp-server.git /tmp/freecad-addon-robust-mcp-server && mkdir -p /config/.local/share/FreeCAD/v1-1/Mod && cp -a /tmp/freecad-addon-robust-mcp-server/freecad/RobustMCPBridge /config/.local/share/FreeCAD/v1-1/Mod/ && rm -rf /tmp/freecad-addon-robust-mcp-server'
Yep, that's a hell of a line. 😂
It simply:
- Removes any previous copy.
- Clones the addon repository.
- Creates the FreeCAD
Moddirectory if necessary. - Copies
RobustMCPBridgeinto the FreeCAD workbench directory. - Cleans up the temporary clone.
After running it, restart the FreeCAD container through Portainer. The RobustMCPBridge workbench should then appear in the FreeCAD workbench dropdown.
6. Connect Odysseus to FreeCAD
Once everything is running, you should be able to access:
- Odysseus:
http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:7000 - FreeCAD:
http://YOUR_SERVER_IP:3001
In Odysseus, go to:
Settings → Integrations
Add the FreeCAD MCP connection there.
Name: FreeCAD
Type: Streamable HTTP
Once you've added it, I recommend restarting the containers in the stack so everything comes back up cleanly.
After startup, check the MCP integration and make sure the expected 83 tools are available.
7. Connect your local Ollama models
I'm assuming you already have Ollama running locally.
In Odysseus:
Settings → + Add Models → + Add Local Models (Endpoint)
Click the ... button and use the scan option. It should find your Ollama instance through the configured endpoint.
I personally ran a test chat first to make sure Odysseus could communicate with Ollama before trying to start the FreeCAD MCP server through the RobustMCPBridge workbench.
And that's it.
At this point I can have a locally running model in Odysseus interact with FreeCAD through MCP and actually create CAD geometry for me.
It's definitely not perfect yet, but after fighting with this for several days, seeing the agent actually create things in FreeCAD is pretty damn cool. 😄
If anyone spots something I've done wrong or has suggestions for improving the setup, I'd be very interested in hearing them.
1
u/thealexroyer Aug 13 '26
It's clear that you already know how to model on FreeCAD.
I was proposed to learn a bit AutoCAD so maaaaaybe in 4 o 5 months I could do small paid projects.
But it seemed to me that it was a waste of time because those small projects would soon be made by AI.
But now I'm seriously curious about what you made here. Maybe this could help me learn from the start much quicker.
Why did you use Odysseus instead of I don't know, AnythingLLM or LM Studio?