Projects, tasks and versions

Projects

A project is a set of render settings shared by a group of tasks. Usually there is one project per film.

You must choose a project when you submit. Typing a new name creates it right away. Each project belongs to one workspace.

Open a project on the Projects page to change these settings:

• Output format: MP4 (H.264) (the default), ProRes 4444 (with alpha) or Image sequence (.tar). It decides what the film is. You don't choose it when submitting.
• Blender: the Blender version the tasks need. The default is Not set (each device’s own). See Which Blender.
• Python: turn it on when the file has driver expressions or registered scripts, so render machines run that code.
• Also include: files danio can't track, such as a JSON file a script reads.

When a project is over, delete the whole thing along with its tasks. You can restore it within 7 days (see Cleanup).

Tasks

A task is one thing to render: one scene in a .blend, over one frame range.

When you submit, each scene you check becomes a task, named "filename-scenename" by default. All tasks are listed on the Tasks page, where you can filter by state and group by project.

Click a task to open its details: the preview at the top, the versions and shots listed under Shots and films, and progress and action buttons on the right.

The same .blend can have several tasks, for example to render another scene or another frame range. When you submit the file again, choose Add a task. It uses the latest version already uploaded, and nothing is uploaded again.

Versions

A version is a snapshot of the .blend and all the files it uses at the moment of a submission. It never changes after that.

The first submission is version 1. If you change files afterwards, click Update task in the task details to create the next version. If no file has changed, no new version is created.

• Only the checked shots move: when updating, check shots under Shots to move to the new version. The checked shots render again with the new version. The unchecked ones stay on their original version, and their rendered frames are still used.
• Global asset deduplication: snapshots record hashes for all referenced files; textures and assets already in the store are never re-uploaded, see Assets, Unpacking & On-Demand Pull.
• Old films are kept: every version that had a film joined keeps its own film. Download it from the version row under Shots and films. A new version doesn't overwrite the old one.
• Only this task is affected: only the task you clicked update on moves to the new version. Other tasks from the same .blend are updated separately.

Version numbers are written as "version 3". Folders in the store and film file names use v3.

Task states

The task state is the word shown on a task card and in its details. It tells you where the task is now.

• Waiting for a worker: submitted, but no device has picked it up yet. If no device has Render on, it stays here.
• Queued: given to a render machine, but not started yet.
• Preparing: the render machine is downloading Blender and pulling files.
• Rendering: rendering now.
• Paused: someone paused it.
• Needs attention: someone needs to decide, for example when files are missing or a shot keeps failing on two render machines. Click See why to find out.
• Done: the film for the current version has been joined.
• Cancelled: no longer rendering. Rendered frames are kept, and you can click Start rendering later to continue.

Queue

The queue is the single task order for the whole workspace. When a device becomes free, the host hands out work in this order, from front to back.

When you submit, choose At the end (the default) or To the front. Later, drag tasks under Queue on the Tasks page, or use Move to top or Move to bottom in the menu at the end of the row.

• There is no separate priority. Put urgent tasks at the front.
• Chunks that are rendering aren't interrupted. A task moved to the front is handed out first from each device's next chunk.
• Resuming after a pause or retrying after a failure keeps the task's place.

Local render

Local render is a way to submit that renders only on the submitting computer, without uploading files to the store.

In the submit dialog, choose Local render in the Render row. The default is Cluster render. The option is only there in a workspace that this computer hosts.

• Files go straight into the local cache without passing through the store, so there is no upload.
• No other device takes part.
• Fragments and films stay on this computer, and you can still download them in the interface.