Overview

Intelligent Component is a Rhino 8 Grasshopper extension that enables a structured C# development workflow using VS Code.

Instead of writing code directly inside Grasshopper components, Intelligent Component allows developers to create reusable projects, organize shared classes, manage external libraries, and live-reload updates directly into the Grasshopper canvas.

The tool is designed for computational designers, technical artists, and development teams who want a cleaner and more scalable scripting workflow inside Grasshopper.

Features

• VS Code integration for component development
• Live synchronization between source files and Grasshopper components
• Shared reusable classes across multiple components
• Organized project structure with Components, Shared, and lib folders
• External DLL library support
• Reusable team-wide component architecture
• Faster iteration and debugging workflows

Installation

1. Open Rhino 8
2. Go to Package Manager
3. Search for Intelligent Component
4. Click Install

The component will appear under:

Math → Script

Creating a Project

1. Drop the Intelligent Component component onto the Grasshopper canvas
2. Right-click the component
3. Select Create Example Project
4. Choose a target folder

Intelligent Component will automatically generate a project structure:

MyGHProject/
├── Components/
├── Shared/
├── lib/
├── MyGHProject.csproj

Working in VS Code

Right-click the component and choose:

Open in VS Code

The generated project includes:

• Example components
• Shared utility classes
• Project references
• Live component synchronization

Saving files in VS Code automatically updates all related Grasshopper components.

Shared Components

Components with the same name can reference the same .cs source file.

This enables:

• Reusable logic
• Shared workflows
• Cleaner project organization
• Team-wide component libraries

Multiple Grasshopper components can point to the same implementation without duplicating code.

Custom Libraries

External DLL libraries can be added through the /lib folder.

Steps

1. Copy DLL files into /lib
2. Edit the .csproj file
3. Add library references
4. Use them inside components or shared classes

This makes it easy to integrate custom SDKs, geometry libraries, and internal tooling.

Notes

• Grasshopper components update automatically when files are saved in VS Code.
• Canvas components are intentionally not editable like regular C# components to avoid synchronization conflicts.
• The workflow is designed around a single source of truth: the VS Code project.

Future Direction

Intelligent Component is designed to support larger collaborative workflows.

Future workflows include:

• Centralized reusable component libraries
• Shared company-wide utilities
• Live updates across projects
• Modular project-specific component systems

Ideal For

• Computational design teams
• Rhino and Grasshopper developers
• Technical artists
• Architecture and engineering studios
• Design technology workflows