Speckle Beta Instability In Revit 2024

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1

I’m currently using Revit 2024 and the Speckle Beta v3.0.0 to leverage the powerbi visuals downstream.

I’m experiencing a high level of Revit crashes when working any revit project. Something as simple as deleting a linked .dwg from file causes Revit to close. Just curious if anyone else is having similar issues with the Beta.

When I look at the journal files I’m seeing an event triggered by speckle addin “SyncDelegateExternalEventHandler…” and right after that “ExceptionCode=0xe0434352 ExceptionFlags=0x00000081”.

I personally don’t know what all this means but so I loaded it into chatgpt which said that is a .NET exception pointing to something in the Revit addin that went wrong.

Here is an excerpt from the chatgpt analysis of the journal file after crash: Sequence of Events Before the Crash

  1. Speckle Event Triggered — Possibly syncing data or interacting with the Revit model.
  2. User Deletes an Element —

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CopyEdit

Jrn.Command "AccelKey"  , "Delete the selection , ID_BUTTON_DELETE"
  1. Mouse move and wheel scroll — User was interacting with the model.
  2. Unhandled Exception — Right afterward, the log registers a crash.
  3. Threading Warning —

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CopyEdit

DBG_INFO: task could not be run in parallel: line 167...

This suggests some multi-threaded operation (very likely in the add-in) failed — Revit’s API is mostly not thread-safe, so this is a classic sign of trouble.

:laptop: System Resources & Performance

  • RAM and virtual memory stats look healthy — no signs of memory exhaustion.
  • So the crash is not due to system overload.

:puzzle_piece: Final Diagnosis

  • Root cause: Speckle add-in triggered a background operation (SyncDelegateExternalEventHandler) that likely attempted to modify the Revit document or UI improperly — maybe from the wrong thread or during an unsafe state (e.g., while elements were being deleted).
  • Crash type: Unhandled .NET exception in external event — probably involving document access or threading.
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I’m currently in the process of installing any Revit updates for 2024 (It looks like I am not current) and will see how that goes. My only other option is to disable the Beta temporarily when not publishing.

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Can you send us the file that’s causing this? We will investigate! cc @oguzhan @gokermu

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4

I just updated the revit build from 2024.0 to 2024.3. If I can replicate the issue on this build I will forward the project file. Thank you!

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I’ve confirmed the issue persists in the latest build of Revit 2024 and the beta Addin.

Another analysis of journals points to repeated calls by speckle to the ExternalEventHandlerCreator while modifying tags and navigating views.

After disabling the addin manually I definitely see a performance increase on all projects and stability returns.

So my question is: Why is Speckle even active on a project if I do not call on the Addin? It is clearly causing some performance and stability issues as soon as I open a Revit project and being editing. Ideally the addin shouldn’t be interacting with Revit at all until its called upon.

Here is the latest journal analysis (via ChatGPT)

:warning: Probable Cause of the Crash

:white_check_mark: Likely Culprit: Conflict or instability caused by Speckle plugin during async operations

  • The repeated calls from ExternalEventHandlerCreator and AsyncDelegateExternalEventHandler from Speckle suggest it’s trying to interact with the Revit model while:
    • Tags were being placed or modified,
    • Pan/zoom/view manipulations were occurring,
    • A large cache update was triggered.

These overlapping events could overwhelm or destabilize Revit’s UI thread or transaction manager — especially with async external events modifying the model or UI state concurrently.

:light_bulb: Supporting Clues

  • Timing of events: The crash follows shortly after Speckle calls and heavy FullUpdateGraphicCacheUpdater operations.
  • High element count: Journal logs show ~9554 elements needing update — this hints at a high-load scenario.
  • No recorded “Transaction Failed” or “Exception” — just ends abruptly after external event calls.
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Thanks for all the digging, it’s helpful! If you want to share, I have just send you an invite to a google folder where you can upload it (it should be in your email inbox, the one you used for this forum).

This is because we need to monitor the document for changes to enable change tracking and invalidate local caches. The Revit api is annoyingly obtuse here.

I’m escalating this internally - your model will help, as it’s always best to reproduce with “the real thing”.

Again, thanks for the digging and the patience!

PS: Also note: I can’t reproduce with the files i have at hand. I’ll try more!

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