Autodesk Forma (formerly ACC) and APS integration: a practical architecture guide

First, the name. On March 24, 2026, Autodesk Construction Cloud became Autodesk Forma. Autodesk Docs is now Forma Data Management and Autodesk Build is Forma Build. Autodesk states that the rename brought no changes to URLs, logins, APIs or integrations. An ACC API integration built last year still runs, and most people still search for it by the old name.

The problem this guide addresses has not changed either. Project data lives in Forma. The rest of the business lives in an ERP, a BI tool, a scheduling system or your own application. Autodesk Platform Services, or APS, is the API layer between them. Below: which API does which job, how access works, how usage is billed, and an architecture that keeps running.

The map: which API does what

Most integrations use three or four of these. Picking the lightest one that answers the question is the main design decision.

Access: who is the integration acting as?

Every call to Forma is made on behalf of someone. That shapes the whole design.

• A signed-in user. Right for interactive apps. The integration sees exactly what that person may see.
• The application itself. Enough for some file operations, but many project endpoints require a user context.
• A service account. Secure Service Accounts became generally available in September 2025. A service account authenticates with a private key, is invited to a project like any member, and gets only the permissions you give it.

For anything that runs at night without a person, use a service account. Its actions appear under its own identity, which auditors appreciate. Invite it only to the projects and folders the integration needs.

One administrative step catches teams out: an account administrator has to approve your app for the hub before any of this works.

How usage is billed

APS moved to a new business model on December 8, 2025. The essentials:

• There is a Free tier and a Paid tier. Paid usage is covered by prepaid Flex tokens or, in some countries, pay as you go.
• Most APIs are not metered. Four are: Automation, Model Derivative, Flow Graph Engine and Reality Capture. Each has a monthly allowance in the Free tier.
• Data Model APIs joined later. Pricing started on August 17, 2026 for manufacturing and October 6, 2026 for AEC.
• The AEC Data Model API charges for data returned by queries, measured in megabytes. Writing data and administration are not charged, and qualifying Forma subscriptions include a monthly amount.

This turns three habits into cost controls. Translate a file version once and cache the result. Ask GraphQL only for the fields you use. React to webhooks instead of polling.

A reference architecture

The integrations that survive their first year tend to share six parts.

1. A webhook receiver. It validates each event and puts it on a queue. It does no real work itself.
2. A queue and workers. Each job can be retried safely. Workers back off when the API signals a rate limit.
3. A sync store. Your own database of what has been synced: Forma IDs, version identifiers, target-system IDs, timestamps. It makes every run repeatable and answers "what happened to this record?".
4. Connectors. One per target system, each hiding that system's quirks.
5. A token service. The service account key sits in a secrets vault. Tokens are issued and refreshed in one place.
6. Monitoring. Failures, queue lag and API usage, with alerts.

The receiver only accepts and queues; the workers do the work, and the sync store answers what happened to any record.

When the job needs Revit itself, for example to export schedules, run model checks or produce sheets, add the Automation API. The same add-in code that runs on a desktop runs headless in the cloud as an AppBundle. Note that the engine for Revit 2026 moved to .NET 10 in September 2026. Our guide to Revit add-ins on .NET 10 explains what to retest.

Six pitfalls

1. Polling. Checking every project every five minutes burns rate limits and still reacts late. Webhooks exist for this.
2. File names as identity. Names change. Item and version IDs do not.
3. Forgetting permissions. The integration sees only what its account sees. A missing folder permission looks like missing data.
4. Translating everything. Translation is metered and slow for large models. Translate on demand.
5. Ignoring regions. A hub lives in a region. Some calls must name it, and data residency rules may limit where your own services run.
6. Sending geometry to the cloud by default. The APS Viewer needs the model uploaded and translated. If geometry must stay on the user's machine, a local viewer is the better fit.

Where a desktop plugin fits

Not every integration is server to server. A common combination is a web application for the data, a Revit add-in for the model, and APS in between. The add-in reads and writes parameters inside the authoring session, where the user can see and undo the change. Webhooks keep the web side current.

This split respects a rule worth keeping: changes to a design model should happen where a designer can review them.

From our work

Consedge Tech builds APS integrations, web viewers and dashboards, and the Revit add-ins on the other end of them. If you are planning an integration, book a Feasibility Review. Tell us which data should move, between which systems, and how often. You get a written verdict on the APIs involved, the access model, the usage you should expect and the risks. Related services: web BIM applications and plugin development.

FAQ

Does the ACC API still work after the rename to Forma?

Yes. Autodesk changed product and API names, not the APIs. Existing integrations keep running.

Do I need a paid APS plan for an integration?

Not always. Many integrations stay inside the Free tier. Heavy use of the metered APIs, or large Data Model queries, moves you to the Paid tier.

Can an integration run without a user signing in?

Yes. A Secure Service Account authenticates with a private key and works under the permissions it was given in each project.

Can I read model data without downloading the Revit file?

Yes. The AEC Data Model API returns element-level data through GraphQL, and the Model Derivative API extracts properties from a translated file.