chordee/houdini-tools/houdini-cli

Houdini CLI

This skill provides the ability to interact with Houdini's command-line tools.

Environment Setup

Before running any Houdini tool, you must first locate the Houdini installation path and its bin directory.

1. Locate Houdini: Use the houdini-locator skill to obtain the install path (HFS) and bin directory (HBIN).

1. Run a tool: Prefix the tool name with the HBIN path, e.g. in PowerShell use & "<HBIN>\ginfo.exe" <args>.

Common Workflows

Inspect Geometry

Use ginfo to inspect geometry files such as .bgeo, .bgeo.sc, and .obj.

• Example: & "<HBIN>\ginfo.exe" -v my_geo.bgeo.sc

Convert Geometry Formats

Use gconvert to convert files between different formats.

• Example: & "<HBIN>\gconvert.exe" input.bgeo.sc output.obj

Render HIP Files

Use hrender for batch rendering.

• Example: & "<HBIN>\hrender.exe" -d /out/mantra1 -f 1 -e 10 myscene.hip

USD Render with husk

Use husk to render a .usd/.usda/.usdc stage via a Hydra delegate (Karma by default).

• Example: & "<HBIN>\husk.exe" --make-output-path -f 1 -n 10 -o /render/out.$F4.exr scene.usd (-n 10 = frame count, renders frames 1–10)
• Pick a delegate with -R (e.g. -R HdArnoldRendererPlugin) and a specific RenderSettings with --settings /Render/rendersettings.
• See husk.md for the full flag list (frame range, output overrides, purpose/complexity, verbosity, threading, etc.).

USD Preview Render with usdrecord

Use usdrecord for quick USD previews via Pixar's reference USD renderer (Storm by default; Karma CPU/XPU and Houdini GL also available). Invoke through hython so Houdini's libraries load correctly.

• Example: & "<HBIN>\hython.exe" "<HBIN>\usdrecord" --renderer Storm -w 1280 scene.usd preview.png
• Sequences require a frame placeholder in the output path (e.g. out.####.exr) and --frames 1:100.
• See usdrecord.md for the full flag list and troubleshooting.

Run Python Scripts

Use hython to run scripts with access to the hou module.

• Example: & "<HBIN>\hython.exe" process_geo.py

References

• Tool index: tools.md
• Per-tool deep dives: husk.md · usdrecord.md
• Official documentation: https://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini/ref/utils/index.html