… when i specify start_directory.
is that as intended or a bug?
why can't both parameters co-exist?

Im having the exact same issue just now :¬/ smells like a bug to me.

You can get it to work if you make sure your directory ends with a /.

The following will work correctly
hou.ui.selectFile(“/tmp/”, default_value=“test.otl”)

however this will not
hou.ui.selectFile(“/tmp”, default_value=“test.otl”)

It is still a bug however.

Cool thanks for the workaround tip :¬)

Submitted a bug for this issue. 37398

Thanks.
I've updated my camera transfer tools code.