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Overview ¶
SHFS is a shared Houdini file system. It’s an analogue to HFS that is shared between all Houdini installs on your computer. It is intended to hold data files that do not change from version to version, which means you only download it once, not daily. This will reduce the size of Houdini installs by being able to share common files between multiple versions. This allows Houdini to ship with larger and higher resolution files, as well as machine learning models.
Default path ¶
The following is the default path for SHFS:
Linux
/opt/sidefx/shfs
Windows
C:\Program Files\Side Effects Software\shfs
MacOS
/Library/Shared/SideFX/shfs
Note
If you have installed SHFS somewhere other than the default path, set the environment variable SHFS with the path of the directory you have installed SHFS to.
Optional files ¶
Some SHFS files are optional, which means they are not installed when Houdini is installed. When Houdini needs to download an optional file, it may open the Houdini Launcher in order to install the file. This will happen if the SHFS path is not writable by the current user, which is common if SHFS is installed outside your home directory.
Installing ¶
You have three options for SHFS ownership, when installing Houdini using the launcher GUI.
-
Set SHFS directory owner to current user:
The SHFS directory will be owned by the current user. This user can write files to the directory without admin rights, but other users will need admin rights to write SHFS files.
-
Set SHFS directory owner to administrator:
The SHFS directory will be owned by the administrator account (root on Linux and MacOS, Administrators on Windows). All users will need admin rights to write SHFS files.
-
Set SHFS directory to custom owner:
The SHFS directory will be owned by the named account. That account will be able to write files without needing admin rights, all other users will need admin rights.
Note
If you are installing Houdini without access to the internet, you must use the Houdini Launcher to ensure SHFS is installed properly.
Troubleshooting ¶
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In the About Houdini dialog, note the value of the environment variable
SHFS. It should be the default value for your platform, unless you are trying to configure a custom SHFS path. -
Check that the path is a directory and has files inside it. If the files are missing or empty, either you installed SHFS somewhere else, or the install failed.
-
If the install failed, uninstall and reinstall or install over the original.
If that doesn’t work (or you don’t want to uninstall Houdini), you can try removing the SHFS files and try
houdini_installer install-shfs <path to Houdini folder>. For example,/opt/sidefx/launcher/bin/houdini_installer install-shfs /opt/hfs21.0.440.