OpenUSD Addon Settings

Last updated 7 months ago

Overview

Currently, the usd addon is only responsible for downloading of USD binaries for AYON, along with pre-built AYON USD resolvers for various DCCs.

Once you enable and configure Binary Distribution setting, usd addon will download a matching AYON USD Resolver automatically for the launched application (if there's a compatible build for it).

We provide multiple recent versions of major DCCs, like Houdini and Maya.

Available Builds

Resolver Application Paths setting comes pre-configured with all of the available builds on our lakeFS server.

  • Unreal: Windows

    • Unreal 5.4 Py 3.9

  • Maya: Windows Linux

    • Maya 2024.2 Py 3.10

    • Maya 2025 Py 3.11

  • Houdini: Windows Linux

    • Houdini 19.5 Py 3.7

    • Houdini 19.5 Py 3.9

    • Houdini 20 Py 3.9

    • Houdini 20 Py 3.10

    • Houdini 20.5 Py 3.10

    • Houdini 20.5 Py 3.11

  • USD Standalone: Windows Linux

    • USD 23.5 Py 3.9

Binary Distribution

Setting Location: ayon+settings://usd/distribution

Disabling this setting also disables the use of the AYON USD resolver.

  • Server URL: The URL for the USD binary distribution LakeFs server. It's recommended to keep the default value to use the USD builds we provide.

  • Repository URI: The repository tag or branch URI within the LakeFs server.

  • Access Key ID: The LakeFs server access key ID.

  • Secret Access Key: The LakeFs server secret access key.

Access Keys are currently not public, however they are provided upon request.

Reach out us on our website ynput.io or Our Forums or Discord Server Ynput Community.

Resolver Application Paths

Setting Location: ayon+settings://usd/distribution/asset_resolvers

Define a specific Resolver Zip for a particular application.
You won't need to modify this setting as it comes pre-configured with all the packages we provide. However, you may tweak the Application Alias to suit your applications' setup.

  1. Each Application path group:

    • App Name: Application name, e.g. maya/2025

    • Application Alias: Define a list of App Names that use the same resolver.

    • Platform: drop down menu to select the platform: windows, linux & darwin.

    • Repository Object Path: The LakeFs internal path to the resolver zip, e.g., AyonUsdResolverBin/Hou/ayon-usd-resolver_hou19.5_linux_py37.zip. You can find LakeFs Path information in the Object Info section by clicking the gear icon on the right side when hovering over a file on the LakeFS server.

  2. +: Add application path group

Application Alias

You'll likely find the Application Alias setting most useful, as it lets you use the same resolver build with different versions of an app (e.g., different patch versions of Houdini 20.5).

Resolver Application Overrides

Setting Location: ayon+settings://usd/distribution/lake_fs_overrides

Define a specific Resolver Zip for a specific Application.

  • Each Application override group:

    • App Name: Application name, e.g. maya/2025

    • Platform: drop down menu to select the platform: windows, linux & darwin.

    • Repository Object URI: Path to USD Asset Resolver plugin zip file on the LakeFs server, e.g: lakefs://ayon-usd/V001/AyonUsdResolverBin/Hou/ayon-usd-resolver_hou19.5_linux_py37.zip.

  • +: Add application override group.

AYON USD Resolver Config

Setting Location: ayon+settings://usd/ayon_usd_resolver

AYON USD resolver Settings

  • Resolver Log Level: Set verbosity of the AyonUsdResolver logger.

  • Resolver File Logger Enabled: Enable or disable AyonUsdResolver file logger.

  • Resolver File Logger file path: Set a custom location where the file logger will export to. This can be a relative or absolute path. This is only used if ayon_file_logger_enabled is enabled.

  • AyonCppApi Logging Keys: List of extra logging options for the AyonCppApi.

USD Library Config

Setting location: ayon+settings://usd/usd

Settings for USD Library

  • Tf Debug Variable for Debugging USD: Its value will be set to TF_DEBUG which allows you to inspect specific log outputs of Usd. Typical use cases are to check if plugins are loaded correctly or if data is properly being refreshed.

For more info about TF_DEBUG, See Debugging | lucascheller USD Survival Guide.

Publish plugins

Process USD files to use relative paths

Setting Location: ayon+settings://usd/publish/USDOutputProcessorRemapToRelativePaths

When enabled, published USD layers will anchor the asset paths to the published filepath.

  • Enable: The default state of the plugin.

  • Optional: Allows the user to toggle this setting in the publisher UI.

  • Active: The default value of the toggle in the publisher UI.

Generate USD Resolver Pinning file on publish

Setting Location: ayon+settings://usd/publish/ExtractSkeletonPinningJSON

When enabled, on publishing USD files a pinning file will be written along with the published file that pins all dynamic entity URIs to the paths in the pinning file. This should be disabled when not using the USD resolver.

  • Enable: The default state of the plugin.

  • Optional: Allows the user to toggle this setting in the publisher UI.

  • Active: The default value of the toggle in the publisher UI.

FAQ

How to Use Relative Paths Without AYON USD Resolver

Sharing assets with external studios and need everything to be absolute? You'll likely want to use relative paths without the AYON USD resolver. Here's how:

Solution:

Enabling Using USD Relative Paths in studio settings will impact the current active project. It's best to enable it only in Project Settings P+P for new projects to avoid affecting existing ones.

For more details on project and studio settings, check out Addon Settings Categories.