AI access (MCP)
With AI access, an AI assistant that supports the Model Context Protocol (MCP), such as Claude Desktop, Claude Code, VS Code or Cursor, connects to YTCC and works on the design of a project with you. You describe what you want, for example "build a pump station overview from this drawing" or "make the selected labels bold", and the assistant reads the project, creates and changes pages, symbols and popups, binds objects to signals and checks the result.
AI access is part of YTCC: the AI server is installed and started together with YTCC. It is off in every project until someone with the right to do so turns it on.
What the assistant can do
| Area | Examples |
|---|---|
| Read the design | List the projects, read pages, symbols, popups and layouts, the signal names and types, the drivers and devices, the object types and the electrical symbols. Draw a page as an image to check it. |
| Change the design | Create, change and delete pages, symbols, popups and layouts; add, move, align, arrange and delete objects; bind objects to signals; draw electrical lines and pipes; import an SVG drawing; upload images; change the display settings of the runtime screen. |
| Define the configuration | In the Engineering phase, write signals, internal tags, drivers, devices, protocol addresses, alarms and history assignments. The assistant plans the changes and applies them after you approve the summary. |
| Work with you in the editor | See which page and which objects are selected in the screen editor, so "the selected objects" means what you selected. |
| Keep a style | Store a design standard for the project, with text roles such as title, label and value, and check pages against it. |
See What the assistant can do for the full list.
What the assistant can never do
- Read runtime data: live values, alarms, trends and the event list are out of its reach.
- Send commands to the field or change a signal value.
- Change scripts, user profiles, users or passwords.
- Connect from another computer: the AI server accepts connections only from the YTCC server itself.
Safeguards
| Safeguard | Effect |
|---|---|
| Off by default | Each project has its own switch, Access in this project. Turning it on asks for confirmation and says which data is sent to the AI provider. |
| Access keys | Every assistant connects with a key that expires (7 to 365 days) and can be revoked at once. In a project with user login, the key works with the design permissions of its owner. |
| Project phase | The assistant can change a project only in the Engineering phase. In a Commissioned project it can only read. |
| Backup before AI | Before the first change of an assistant session, YTCC keeps a backup of the project marked before AI. |
| Limits | At most 120 requests per minute per key, 60 of them changes. |
| Audit log | Creating and revoking keys and turning access on or off are recorded in the audit log. |
Which data leaves the server
When access is on, the assistant reads the design data of the project: pages, symbols, signal names, driver and device definitions. This data is sent to the AI provider the assistant uses. No runtime data and no passwords are sent; the driver list does not contain credentials, and passwords and community strings are masked in the configuration rows. Turn access on only in projects whose design may be shared with that provider, and turn it off when the work is done.
Next steps
- Turn AI access on and create a key.
- Connect an AI assistant.
- Ask the assistant for a screen. For a package prepared outside YTCC, see Screens prepared with AI.