Forums Technical Discussion Multiple houdini.env files possible?

Multiple houdini.env files possible?

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draxysd
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I would like to have an additional houdini.env in the $HSITE and have it applied before or after the $HOUDINI_USER_PREF_DIR/houdini.env

The goal is to have one global env file for setting up shared plugins and one local one for additional per machine settings. Hope I'm making myself clear.

I'm on a Windows system if that has any relevancy here.
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dagoose
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I need to do this too in order bypass maxons incredibly stupid move that I cannot use older RS versions with the new licensing system. So one .env loading RS 2.7 to export proxies and RS 3.0 to test render them.

Thanks a lot.

Rico
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old_school
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The short answer is you need to work with Houdini's configuration source launch file. Extend it to support beyond $HSITE, say $HSITE_SITE and $HSITE_CUSTOM .

This is all done in your houdini install directory: C:\Program Files\SideEffects Software\Houdini 19.0.513
This is where all the houdini configurations start. It's where the initial configuration is set.

The main use of houdini.env by users is to extend Houdini's own search path which starts with $HOUDINI_PATH and then cascades down form there into the various different components.

https://vfxbrain.wordpress.com/2019/11/20/hudini-env-file-on-windows/ [vfxbrain.wordpress.com]

Then figure out a way to push this out and maintain. On Linux you use shells and all this is in a typical day.
On windows, nope, rarely done.

----

There is another way to extend Houdini and that is to directly reference locations and files using Houdini "packages".

Because of the difficulty in setting up good Houdini environments on Windows in a robust way including the limitations of houdini.env files, we added Packages:

https://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini/ref/plugins.html [www.sidefx.com]
https://www.sidefx.com/tutorials/houdini-environment-setup/ [www.sidefx.com]

The new installer also allows you to manage and install packages, especially handy for windows configurations:

https://www.sidefx.com/docs/houdini/ref/utils/launcher.html [www.sidefx.com]

I think we should get rid of the Beta in the doc... I'll check on that. To see if it indeed is still in beta.




Move to packages. Full stop. Your life becomes so much easier managing environments on windows imho.

Attachments:
launcher_packages.png (33.6 KB)

There's at least one school like the old school!
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DJ_Dhrub
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I have tried to create an article regarding that, feel free to have a look, hope it will help.
Article [andcgi.medium.com]
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mabelzile
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DJ_Dhrub
I have tried to create an article regarding that, feel free to have a look, hope it will help.
Article [andcgi.medium.com]
The path keyword is a shortcut for appending elements to HOUDINI_PATH, as you pointing out elements are prepended by default. You can have more control on how to set path like this

{
    "path" : 
    [
        {
            "value" : "/user/bob/libs",
            "method" : "append"
        },
        "/user/tom/libs",
        "/user/sam/libs"
    ]
}

Or with the env keyword like this

{
    "env": [
        {
            "HOUDINI_PATH" :
            [
                "$BOB/libs",
                {
                    "value": "$BOB/test",
                    "method": "append"
                }
            ]
        }
    ]
}
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