feat: Adds Arnold .ass export feature into Houdini Deadline Cloud submitter by skarpree · Pull Request #341 · aws-deadline/deadline-cloud-for-houdini

skarpree · 2026-03-17T21:16:49Z

"## Summary

Integrates Arnold .ass export support into the Houdini Deadline Cloud submitter as a pre-submit step. When Arnold ROPs are detected in the input network, the submitter automatically configures them for safe .ass file export before job submission.

Changes

New: `arnold_utils.py`

`is_arnold_rop()` — detect Arnold ROP nodes
`find_arnold_rops_in_network()` — walk input ancestors to find all Arnold ROPs
`configure_arnold_rop_for_export()` — apply safe export config (enable .ass export, clear ar_picture, set logging)
`get_arnold_ass_output_directories()` — detect .ass output paths
`export_arnold_ass_locally()` — local .ass export from Arnold ROPs

Modified: `submitter.py`

Added `_auto_configure_arnold_rops()` — called in both `submit_callback` and `save_bundle_callback`
Added `export_ass_callback()` — local .ass export button handler
Arnold license env var (`ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE`) propagated to farm workers in job template

Modified: `_assets.py`

Replaced `"Driver/arnold": "ar_picture"` with `_arnold_outputs()` function
Now prioritizes `ar_ass_file` over `ar_picture` for output directory detection

Modified: `hip_settings.py`

Added `ArnoldExportSettings` dataclass
Added `arnold_auto_configure` and `arnold_settings` fields to `HoudiniSubmitterUISettings`

Modified: `houdini_submitter_widget.py`

Added Arnold Export Settings UI section with 3 checkboxes:
- Auto-configure Arnold ROPs for export
- Enable .ass file export
- Disable image render (prevent hang)

Modified: HDA (`DialogScript` + `PythonModule`)

Added `arnold_auto_configure` toggle parameter
Added `Export .ass` button for local export

New: Unit Tests

`test_arnold_utils.py` — tests for all arnold_utils functions
`test_arnold_callbacks.py` — tests for submitter callback integration

Problem Solved

Arnold ROPs have several known pitfalls when used with hython/farm rendering:

`ar_picture: ip` causes hython to hang (interactive render mode)
`ar_ass_export_enable` may be disabled — no .ass files written
Arnold menu parameters expect strings, not integers
License env var not propagated to workers

This PR automatically detects and fixes all of these before submission.

Testing

Unit tests for arnold_utils and callbacks
Manually verified with Houdini 21.0.559 + HtoA 6.4.4.1
Confirmed .ass file generation (891KB) from arnold_rubberytoy.hip test scene"

test/unit/deadline_submitter_for_houdini/test_arnold_callbacks.py

test/unit/deadline_submitter_for_houdini/test_arnold_utils.py

- Add arnold_utils.py with ROP detection, configuration, and local export - Auto-configure Arnold ROPs before submit (enable .ass export, clear ar_picture) - Add Arnold settings UI section to SceneSettingsWidget (3 checkboxes) - Update _assets.py to detect .ass output directories (not just ar_picture) - Add Export .ass button to HDA for local export from Deadline Cloud node - Propagate ADSKFLEX_LICENSE_FILE to farm workers in job template - Add unit tests for arnold_utils and arnold callbacks Signed-off-by: skarpree <skarpree@amazon.com>

Signed-off-by: skarpree <skarpree@amazon.com>

… rename test method Signed-off-by: skarpree <skarpree@amazon.com>

…ecurity hotspot Signed-off-by: skarpree <skarpree@amazon.com>

…ud S5443 Signed-off-by: skarpree <skarpree@amazon.com>

Signed-off-by: skarpree <skarpree@amazon.com>

sonarqubecloud · 2026-03-17T22:23:54Z

Quality Gate passed

Issues
0 New issues
0 Accepted issues

Measures
0 Security Hotspots
0.0% Coverage on New Code
0.0% Duplication on New Code

See analysis details on SonarQube Cloud

justinsaws · 2026-03-24T20:43:03Z

High level comment, are alll of your commits functional in and of themself? They seem like they are iterative and this description is one feature so they can likely be re-based into a single commit.

justinsaws · 2026-03-31T21:16:44Z

src/deadline/houdini_submitter/python/deadline_cloud_for_houdini/_assets.py


+def _arnold_outputs(node: hou.Node) -> set[str]:
+    """Get Arnold output directories, prioritizing .ass export path over ar_picture."""
+    from .arnold_utils import get_arnold_ass_output_directories


Is this a common pattern with houdini plugins to do the import in the function here?

justinsaws · 2026-03-31T21:18:14Z

src/deadline/houdini_submitter/python/deadline_cloud_for_houdini/arnold_utils.py

+def is_arnold_rop(node: "hou.Node") -> bool:
+    """Check if a node is an Arnold ROP (Driver/arnold)."""
+    try:
+        return node.type().name() == "arnold"


What kind of exceptions would we expect this operation to throw?

justinsaws · 2026-03-31T21:19:00Z

src/deadline/houdini_submitter/python/deadline_cloud_for_houdini/arnold_utils.py

+    return arnold_rops
+
+
+def _set_parm_safe(parm: "hou.Parm", value) -> None:


Missing type on value.

justinsaws · 2026-03-31T21:22:36Z

src/deadline/houdini_submitter/python/deadline_cloud_for_houdini/arnold_utils.py

+        try:
+            _set_parm_safe(parm, param_value)
+        except Exception as e:
+            logger.warning("Failed to set '%s' on '%s': %s", param_name, rop.path(), e)


Is this ok as just a warning? I would think we are losing information here.

justinsaws · 2026-03-31T21:24:58Z

src/deadline/houdini_submitter/python/deadline_cloud_for_houdini/arnold_utils.py

+            try:
+                parm.set(value)
+            except Exception:
+                logger.warning("Failed to restore '%s' on '%s'", name, rop.path())


Do we actually just want to fail and continue here? A warning doesn't seem like a strong enough logging level.

justinsaws · 2026-03-31T21:28:51Z

src/deadline/houdini_submitter/python/deadline_cloud_for_houdini/submitter.py

+    return int(parm.eval()) if parm else default
+
+
+def _get_frame_range_from_node(node: hou.Node):


Missing return type.

justinsaws · 2026-03-31T21:29:21Z

src/deadline/houdini_submitter/python/deadline_cloud_for_houdini/submitter.py

+        )
+
+
+def export_ass_callback(kwargs):


Missing type definitions.

skarpree requested a review from a team as a code owner March 17, 2026 21:16

github-actions bot added the waiting-on-maintainers Waiting on the maintainers to review. label Mar 17, 2026

github-advanced-security bot found potential problems Mar 17, 2026

View reviewed changes

test/unit/deadline_submitter_for_houdini/test_arnold_callbacks.py Fixed Show fixed Hide fixed

test/unit/deadline_submitter_for_houdini/test_arnold_utils.py Fixed Show fixed Hide fixed

skarpree force-pushed the feature/arnold-ass-export-integration branch from 11fd153 to 1fb4b4b Compare March 17, 2026 21:19

skarpree added 7 commits March 17, 2026 14:23

chore: remove Arnold unit test files

10f9dec

Signed-off-by: skarpree <skarpree@amazon.com>

style: fix black formatting in Arnold integration files

f544b84

Signed-off-by: skarpree <skarpree@amazon.com>

test: add Arnold utils and callbacks unit tests for coverage

1af8144

Signed-off-by: skarpree <skarpree@amazon.com>

fix: resolve SonarCloud issues - extract constant, reduce complexity,…

e49d52d

… rename test method Signed-off-by: skarpree <skarpree@amazon.com>

fix: replace hardcoded /tmp with TMPDIR env variable for SonarCloud s…

cf748b6

…ecurity hotspot Signed-off-by: skarpree <skarpree@amazon.com>

fix: use tempfile.gettempdir() instead of hardcoded /tmp for SonarClo…

55dbf6f

…ud S5443 Signed-off-by: skarpree <skarpree@amazon.com>

fix: remove /tmp references from test file for SonarCloud S5443

93079c7

Signed-off-by: skarpree <skarpree@amazon.com>

justinsaws removed the waiting-on-maintainers Waiting on the maintainers to review. label Mar 24, 2026

justinsaws requested changes Mar 31, 2026

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feat: Adds Arnold .ass export feature into Houdini Deadline Cloud submitter#341

feat: Adds Arnold .ass export feature into Houdini Deadline Cloud submitter#341
skarpree wants to merge 8 commits intoaws-deadline:mainlinefrom
skarpree:feature/arnold-ass-export-integration

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		return arnold_rops


		def _set_parm_safe(parm: "hou.Parm", value) -> None:

		return int(parm.eval()) if parm else default


		def _get_frame_range_from_node(node: hou.Node):

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skarpree commented Mar 17, 2026

Changes

New: `arnold_utils.py`

Modified: `submitter.py`

Modified: `_assets.py`

Modified: `hip_settings.py`

Modified: `houdini_submitter_widget.py`

Modified: HDA (`DialogScript` + `PythonModule`)

New: Unit Tests

Problem Solved

Testing

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