SUMMARY
This article explains how to add plug-in paths to Nuke Studio and Hiero, to load and use additional plug-ins and Python modules. This can be done using either the HIERO_PLUGIN_PATH environment variable or the hiero.core.addPluginPath() function.
NOTE: As of Nuke 14.1 and 15.0, the HIERO_PLUGIN_PATH environment variable is being deprecated, and in place will now use NUKE_PATH, which should behave the same.
MORE INFORMATION
When Nuke Studio and Hiero scan for Python modules or plug-ins to import, they search all
<path>/Python/Startup and <path>/Python/StartupUI locations for any Python modules or packages containing __init__.py files, or other plug-ins like gizmos. This means that your custom module or plug-in directory structure requires Python/Startup or Python/StartupUI directories defined.
The scanning is done first in all the Python/Startup folders and then in all the Python/StartupUI folders. Any Python startup scripts found are imported in alphabetical order and loaded as plug-ins for Nuke Studio and Hiero to use.
ENVIRONMENT VARIABLE METHOD
To affix an additional <path> locations to the list of plug-in paths that Nuke Studio and Hiero scan for, you can use the environment variable HIERO_PLUGIN_PATH. Multiple paths need to be separated by a semicolon ; on Windows, or a colon : on macOS and Linux, similar to how Nuke’s NUKE_PATH works.
For example, if you set HIERO_PLUGIN_PATH to /mnt/networkdrive/shared/plugins, Nuke Studio and Hiero will scan the following directories in order:
/mnt/networkdrive/shared/plugins/Python/Startup
/mnt/networkdrive/shared/plugins/Python/StartupUI
Information about how to set environment variables can be found in the following article: Q100015: How To Set Environment Variables
Additional information on the above can be found in our online Python API documentation for Environment Setup.
PYTHON METHOD
You can also append additional <path> locations using the following Python commands:
import hiero.core
hiero.core.addPluginPath("/custom_plugin_path")
Since Nuke Studio and Hiero look for Python modules or plug-ins under a <path>/Python/Startup and <path>/Python/StartupUI location, the new plug-in path appended using the command above needs to include either Python/Startup or Python/StartupUI explicitly in the file path.
For example, if you run the following line of code:
hiero.core.addPluginPath("/mnt/networkdrive/shared/plugins")
Nuke Studio and Hiero will scan the following directories in order:
/mnt/networkdrive/shared/plugins/Python/Startup
/mnt/networkdrive/shared/plugins/Python/StartupUI
These lines of code are usually included in a init.py file inside the user's .nuke folder, inside a Python/Startup directory.
More information on how to use the Python/Startup and Python/StartupUI directories can be found here: Q100142: How to execute Hiero Python code in NukeStudio on startup
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