PricingDocsAccount

Quick start

On one computer, go from download to your first film, then add a render machine.

What you need

  • A Windows or Linux computer that stays on, to be the host.
  • Blender 5.1.1 or later.
  • For office use, an empty shared folder on a NAS, such as \\NAS\danio.
  • To split shots across several machines, timeline markers bound to cameras in the .blend.

Download and open

Download danio on the host:

Download for Windows

On Windows, double-click the downloaded file. The Linux version has no window: install it with the terminal command below, then run danio tui.

What success looks like: the window shows Get started with danio, with two cards below it, Create or take over a workspace and Join a workspace.

Install from a terminal (optional)

For a Linux server without a desktop, or if you want danio to start with the computer, install it with one command. If you are only trying it out, skip this step.

curl -fsSL https://danio.app/install.sh | sh
  • On Linux it installs to ~/.local/share/danio, or to /opt/danio when run as root, and starts at boot.
  • On Windows it installs to %LOCALAPPDATA%\Programs\danio and starts when you sign in.

Create a workspace

  1. Click Create or take over a workspace. Create workspace opens on the Create page.
  2. Under Name, enter a name that is easy to recognize, such as "SIK Office".
  3. Choose a Store. If all your devices are in the office, choose Shared folder and enter the empty folder on the NAS under Path (how to choose).
  4. Click Create.

Windows may ask whether to let danio access the network. Allow it. Other computers need this to reach the host.

You can also create the workspace with This device as the store, but then other computers can't submit or render, so you can't do "Add a render machine" below. You can move to a shared folder later.

What success looks like: the Recovery key dialog opens.

Save the recovery key

Copy the Recovery key and store it in a password manager, or write it down on paper, and keep it somewhere other than the host. Once it is saved, click I’ve saved it.

The recovery key is shown only this once, and the host doesn't keep it. If the host fails, you need it to take over the workspace on another computer. Without it, the backups can't be opened (Recovery key).

What success looks like: the dialog closes and the Tasks page says No tasks yet.

Install the Blender extension

  1. Close Blender first.
  2. Open Settings → Blender extension and find the Blender you use.
  3. Click Install.

If your Blender isn't in the list, add it in the A Blender not listed row.

What success looks like: a message in the bottom right says Extension installed, and the row says Installed. Click Check at the top and it changes to Installed and enabled.

Submit

  1. Open the .blend in Blender and save it.
  2. In the 3D viewport, press N to open the sidebar, switch to the danio tab and click Submit to danio….
  3. Under Project, choose New project… and enter a name under Project name, such as "Short film". Next time you submit to the same project, just choose it.
  4. Click Submit.

danio splits the scene into shots by its camera markers and gives each shot to one machine. Without markers, the whole frame range is one shot. If a shot is long and you want several machines to render it together, fill in Frames per chunk (Shots and chunks).

What success looks like: the Blender sidebar shows Submitted version 1 · tasks: 1. A new card appears on the Tasks page in danio and soon changes to Rendering.

When the host created the workspace, it turned on Render (the switch on the right of the window's top bar), so it is already rendering. Later, when you submit from another computer, you can shut that computer down once the submission succeeds.

You can also submit without the extension: drag the .blend into the danio window, or click Submit on the Tasks page. When it succeeds, the message says Added to the queue.

Watch progress and download the film

  1. On the Tasks page, click the card to open the task details. Rendered frames show up in the preview right away, and you can scrub through them.
  2. When the card changes to Done, find the version row under Shots and films and click Download film.

What success looks like: you get a video file named "taskname_v1.mp4".

Add a render machine

On the host:

  1. Open Devices and click Add device.
  2. Under Name, enter render-01. Leave Access at None and keep Render on.
  3. Click Create token to go to Run on that machine.
  4. Under System, choose that machine's operating system and copy the Command.

On the render machine, open a terminal on Linux or PowerShell on Windows, paste the command and run it. It installs danio, joins the workspace and starts accepting renders.

The command contains the token, and The token is shown only this once. The command works only for the first machine that joins with it (Tokens).

What success looks like: render-01 appears on the host's Devices page as Online. When there are shots waiting to be rendered, it picks them up.

On the free edition, up to 3 devices per workspace can render at the same time, and the host counts as one when it renders (Render seats).

Next steps

Introduction

Pool your studio's computers and rented servers to render the same Blender task.

Add the office computers

Colleagues' computers find the workspace on the local network, ask to join, and submit or render as needed.