Grasshopper

Launch Grasshopper for parametric design in Rhino.

What It Does

Opens the Grasshopper editor, giving you access to visual programming tools for parametric design.

How to Use

  • Make sure the Start command has run (Rhino initialized)
  • Click Grasshopper in the Core panel
  • The Grasshopper editor window appears
  • Create or open Grasshopper definitions

Learning Grasshopper

New to Grasshopper? That's okay!

Resources:

  • Grasshopper Primer (free online guide)
  • YouTube tutorials for beginners
  • Grasshopper forum at discourse.mcneel.com

Troubleshooting

Grasshopper button is greyed out

What it means: Rhino runtime isn't ready yet

What to do:

  • Click the Start button first
  • Wait for initialization (3-5 seconds)
  • Grasshopper button becomes available
  • Click Grasshopper to open editor

Grasshopper window doesn't appear

What to do:

  • Check if window is hidden behind other windows
  • Click Grasshopper button again
  • Try Alt+Tab to find Grasshopper window
  • Restart Revit if issue persists

Grasshopper crashes when opening

What to do:

  • Check for conflicting Grasshopper plugins
  • Run Grasshopper in standalone Rhino to test
  • Disable problematic plugins
  • Update to latest Rhino version
  • Restart Revit

Slow performance with large definitions

What to do:

  • Use Preview Off on heavy components
  • Disable solver when editing
  • Break complex definitions into smaller parts
  • Close Grasshopper when not in use

Note:

  • Rhino/Grasshopper running in Revit shares the system resources with the running Revit instance.
  • Hence performance impact can and should be expected.