This is a WIP, experimental repository for a VFX studio pipeline. It is a Pipeline Configuration that is based on tk-config-default2, a sample repository made by Shotgun Software.
Respawn is still very early in development but, at its core, it's a proof-of-concept based on a google group post about using Shotgun and Rez.
This repository and its submodules are an attempt to provide an "out-of-box" way to use Rez with Shotgun with a very minimal setup.
- Auto installation
The process to install this repository as a Pipeline Configuration should be kept as simple as possible. In the ideal case, any user with Shotgun Desktop installed should be able to log in, press a button to open a package (like Houdini, Maya, Nuke, etc.) and be able to get started without fuss or worry.
- Zero-config setup
Zero-config means that the pipeline should be able to be able to initialize, build, and run itself without user intervention.
Where "Auto installation" is meant to benefit artists, "Zero-config setup" is meant to benefit Pipeline TDs. Software deployment should be painless and fast. This goal comes from the desire to relieve tired TDs of traditional, manual deployment processes and put power back in their hands.
- Distributable packages
The software provided by this repository should run completely independently from what the user has installed locally on their system.
Well-designed Rez packages promise this functionality but the difference between Respawn and a traditional Rez setup is that the Rez packages can be bundled into Respawn directly or it can be referenced from a network location. The packages can be deployed by Pipeline TDs from command-line or they can be automatically installed on-request by the artist.
- Single-description Rez packages
Rez supports multiple build systems such as cmake and custom build commands That said, setups tend to vary greatly per-OS and per-package. Respawn aims to try to share as much code as possible between packages and keep package descriptions generic.
TODO Check back. This is still WIP so the steps would change too frequently anyway.
This guide is meant for people who are mainly responsible for troubleshooting issues with the configuration as well as adding and updating new software. It assumes knowledge of Shotgun and Git-SCM.
A work area is a place on-disk where you can freely make changes and develop tools without worrying breaking anything in production. Creating your own work area is simple enough.
Here are the steps to make your own work area:
- Clone this repository
git clone --recursive https://github.com/ColinKennedy/tk-config-default2-respawn.git ~/some/folder/tk-config-default2-respawn- Log onto your Shotgun website and add a new Pipeline Configuration entry to your own user, set to the following:
sgtk:descriptor:dev?path=~/some/folder/tk-config-default2-respawn
Now you are sourcing your clone of the repository and can make changes to it. Those changes will be reflected in Shotgun Desktop, as well.
Once that's done, you should be able to load the Pipeline Configuration for a Project in Shotgun Desktop, click on any one of the software shown, and immediately begin to download, install, and use the software.
It's a good idea to make a fork of Respawn and make any specific changes that you'll need to work with it.
For example, Rez tries to release packages to the "~/.rez/packages/int" folder but most likely, you'll need that location to be somewhere on your network.
You have the choice to set the REZ_CONFIG_FILE enviroment variable to
wherever Respawns's .rezconfig file is located, like so:
export REZ_CONFIG_FILE=~/some/folder/tk-config-default2-respawn/rez_packages/.rezconfigand then add the following to the .rezconfig file:
release_packages_path: "/network/location/shared/by/everyone"This is the recommended way to work because it means that you can work exactly how you'd like and, once you're ready to release a package, simply release the packages located in Respawn and any Shotgun Project also sourcing Respawn will immediately get those updates.
If you need to support multiple configs or don't want to edit the .rezconfig
file in Respawn, you can also simply override the REZ_RELEASE_PACKAGES_PATH
environment variable. Just note that if you do this, REZ_RELEASE_PACKAGES_PATH
will take priority over the .rezconfig file. See
Configuring Rez Overview
and System Environment Variables for details.
By default, Shotgun "finds" software versions by checking the user's disk for installed software in its default locations.
For example, if you look at bundle_cache/app_store/tk-nuke/{version}/startup.py,
you'll see that the _find_software method has been overwritten to find
software versions by looking at Rez packages for Nuke. However, if you look at
software that is not supported by Rez, the _find_software method would
typically just check paths until if found some installed file.
If you want to add new software in the future, you'll need to search for versions by looking for Rez packages the same way.
First, before reading further, check out the Rez guide for building packages. It's extensive and goes over basically everything you need to know.
Describe how to move rez packages outside of a pipeline configuration
Currently, Rez needs to be installed on people's machines beforehand in order to run. This will hopefully be fixed in the future.
0.9.0
- Add Maya-Windows support
- Add Houdini-Windows support
0.10.0
- In particular - Recursive deployment of a package should be a "one-button" solution
- Make a tool (probably a CLI) that can recursively release a package unless this can be done with Rez out-of-box
Extras
- Add Maya-Linux license support