Installation guide for installing Houdini products

Houdini pre-installation check

IMPORTANT:

Before you install Houdini, please ensure you go through our pre-installation check here.

Houdini Products

The only requirement to download the Houdini Launcher and install Houdini is having a SideFX web account. Houdini software and Houdini licensing are installed independently from each other. Before you can install licenses (that chooses which Houdini Product is launched when launching Houdini), you must first install the Houdini software. After installing the Houdini software, you can use the various licensing tools to license the Houdini software for the product you purchased

Houdini Launcher

Installation of Houdini first requires you to download and install the Launcher. The Launcher is a tool that you can use to download, install, update and uninstall your Houdini builds. It also lets you manage these installs along with packages, tools, and plug-ins. The launcher is required to download and maintain shared content and data across multiple houdini builds.

Running the Launcher Installer

1. Install and launch the Houdini Launcher
2. Run the install-houdini-launcher.exe file
3. Follow the prompts

Installing Houdini

1. Login to you Houdini web account by clicking Login
2. Click the Install button.
3. Select Production or Daily builds. To learn more about the difference between these builds, see here.
4. Check the options that apply. If this is your first time installing Houdini, please ensure to select the license server/houdini server options. If you plan to use SideFX as a license server, you can ignore the license server option.

For more information about licensing Houdini please refer to Licensing a Houdini product

NOTE:

• If you are new to Houdini or upgrading a full version, you will need to install the License Server tools in addition to the Houdini build you are installing with the launcher.
• You do not need to install the License Server components if you have already previously installed it for the same version of Houdini.
• In general, uninstalling a previous version of Houdini is NOT required to install a new version. If installing an older version do not install the License Server tools.