Blender and FFmpeg

Resource packs

A resource pack is a copy of Blender or FFmpeg that the workspace provides for everyone. It is kept in the store, and devices install whatever they are missing.

This way every render machine uses the same Blender with the same extensions, so the renders match, and new servers don't need Blender installed by hand.

Import resource packs under Workspace details → Resource pack. This needs admin access:

1. First set up a portable Blender on one computer: extensions installed and enabled, preferences adjusted.
2. In the Import row, click Choose… and choose blender.exe (or blender on Linux). The whole folder, with its extensions and preferences, is packed into one pack and put in the store.
3. On a server without a file dialog, use Enter a path… next to it to enter the program's path.

• Windows and Linux are supported, x64 and ARM64. The same version must be imported separately for each platform.
• Blender must be 5.1.1 or later.
• A Blender that isn't portable can be imported too, but its extensions and preferences don't go with the pack, and the row says Not portable.
• You can add a Note… to each version, such as "SIK 2610 extension set", so others know what it is when choosing.

The first time a device needs a resource pack, it downloads it from the store, unpacks it and does a test run. After that it uses it directly. Removing a resource pack only takes it out of the workspace. Copies already installed on devices still work.

Which Blender

Which Blender is used is decided in two places: the project sets the version a task needs, and the device sets which one it normally uses.

When the project's Blender is set to a version:

• If the device's own Blender is that version, it uses it directly.
• If not, it installs that version's resource pack from the workspace and uses that.
• If the workspace doesn't have that version for its platform either, the device can't render this project, and the device card shows why.

When the project is set to Not set (each device’s own), each device uses its own Blender. Devices that don't have one install the workspace's newest Blender resource pack for their platform.

Which one a device uses itself is set in the Blender row under Settings in the device details. Choose one of three:

• Automatic: the Blender this computer opens .blend files with. On Linux, it looks in common locations and on PATH.
• Resource pack: choose one from the workspace's resource packs and click Use.
• Custom: enter the program's path.

danio never substitutes another version: if the version doesn't match and there is no resource pack, it reports an error and doesn't render.

FFmpeg

FFmpeg is the program that turns rendered frames into fragments and joins them into films. You don't choose a version.

The host automatically downloads the FFmpeg that danio publishes and adds it to the workspace as a resource pack. Its row says Published by danio · GPL. When there is a new version, the host switches to it by itself. Every device uses it by default, so the fragments they encode can be joined directly.

• The FFmpeg row under Settings in the device details defaults to Automatic: it uses the workspace's newest FFmpeg resource pack for its platform first, and only falls back to the one on this computer's PATH.
• You can also switch it to Resource pack and choose one, or to Custom and enter a program path.
• If the host has no internet access, it can't fetch FFmpeg. In that case, download FFmpeg for your platform from danio's releases page, unpack it and import it as described above.