infrared.city is now directly integrated into ArcGIS Pro, enabling you to run climate simulations right from your GIS environment. No file exports, no extra steps — simply install the plugin, connect your account, and start testing design options against real microclimate data.

In this tutorial, we will walk through installing the plugin, setting up your API key, running analyses, and adding trees to your simulation.

Prerequisites

Before getting started, make sure you have:

• A registered infrared.city account
• ArcGIS Pro installed (version 3.0 or higher)
• An active internet connection

Step 1: Installation of plugin

To install the plugin, open the InfraredCity ArcGIS add-in on the Esri platform. Sign in with your ArcGIS account, then click Download to save the add-in file. Once it finishes downloading, locate InfraredCity.ArcGIS in your Downloads folder, double-click it, and select Install Add-In in the dialog that appears. The next time you open ArcGIS Pro, the Infrared City tab will be available on the ribbon.

Figure 1: Plugin download.

Once installed, start or restart ArcGIS Pro. The infrared.city tab will now be visible in the top ribbon.

Figure 2: Infrared.city tab.

Step 2: Open ArcGIS Pro and log in

The infrared.city ArcGIS plugin uses an API key to connect to your account. To find your key, log into the infrared.city web app and go to Account → API Keys.

Figure 3: API key location.

Copy the key, then return to ArcGIS Pro. In the infrared.city tab, click API Key and paste the key into the field.

Figure 4: Account connection.

Once confirmed, the plugin is connected and ready to use.

Step 3: Components overview

The ArcGIS Pro plugin provides four main components for running and managing your simulations.

Figure 5: Package content.

API Key

Connects the plugin to your infrared.city account and authorizes simulation runs using your token balance.

Figure 6: API key window.

Tree Catalog

Defines the tree species used in your simulation. You can choose from a range of species and specify height and crown dimensions. This component is required for any simulation that includes vegetation.

Figure 7: Tree Catalog window.

Select Tile

Defines the simulation area as a 512 × 512 m tile centred on a location you click on the map. After clicking the component, a blue widget appears in the upper-right corner of the screen to confirm the tile selection.

Figure 8: Confirmation Widget.

Run Simulation

Sends your current project to the infrared.city platform and executes the selected simulation. Once complete, results are visualized directly on the map as a new layer with a legend.

Figure 9: Run simulation window.

Step 4: Adding and managing analyses

Before running a simulation, building geometry must be present in your map. The quickest way to get this is by adding OSM buildings from the Living Atlas — a ready-to-use global building dataset available directly within ArcGIS. You can also upload your own building or context layers if you have project-specific data.

NOTE: If no building geometry is available within the simulation area, the run will return a Failed status.

To define your simulation area, click Select Tile and then click anywhere on the map — that point becomes the centre of your 512 × 512 m analysis area. Buildings within the tile will turn blue to confirm they have been detected.

Figure 10: Building selection with Select Tile component.

If the square tile shape does not fit your needs, you can define a custom area using the Select tool in the Edit tab instead.

Once your area is set, open Run Simulation, choose your simulation type, configure the parameters, and run. Results will appear within seconds as a dedicated layer beneath the 2D Layer group, complete with a colour legend.

Figure 11: Running first simulation.

The results will be shown in a few seconds. Under the 2D Layer, the simulation layer will appear.

Figure 12: Solar radiation result panel.

Step 5: Adding trees

In order to create trees for the simulation, open the Catalog pane from the View tab, expand Databases, and right-click your project geodatabase. Hover over New and click Feature Class. In the Create Feature Class pane, name your layer, select Point as the Feature Class Type, and click Finish. To include trees in your simulation, name it using one of the recognized keywords: Trees, Tree, Baum, Bäume, or Vegetation. The plugin detects layers by name, so this step is required.

With the layer created, use the Create tool to place points at the desired locations on the map. Open the Edit tab and click Create to open the Create Features pane, then select your new tree layer to activate the point tool. Click anywhere on the map to drop a tree point, repeating for each tree you want to add. When you’re finished, return to the Edit tab and click Save to commit your edits.

Figure 13: Tree positioning.

Once the points are positioned, open Tree Catalog and select the species, height, and crown dimensions you want to apply, then click Save.

Figure 14: Including trees in simulation.

When you run the simulation again, add the tree layer in the Layers section of the Run Simulation panel. The results will appear as a separate layer, showing how the selected vegetation affects the microclimate of the area.

Figure 15: Solar radiation analysis result comparison.

TIP: Try running the same simulation with two different tree species to directly compare their impact on solar radiation or some other simulation.