c4d-dev - SKILL.md Agent Skill

name: c4d-dev description: Day-to-day development for deadline-cloud-for-cinema-4d. Use when building, testing, linting, debugging, or running integration tests with Cinema 4D, Redshift, Arnold, or V-Ray. Covers submitter iteration, adaptor debugging, and project structure. tags: [skill, deadline-cloud, deadline-cloud-for-cinema-4d, deadline-cloud-for-c4d, build, test, lint, integration, redshift, arnold, vray, adaptor, submitter]

Cinema 4D Dev

Overview

Development companion for building, testing, and debugging the deadline-cloud-for-cinema-4d project.

This project provides:

Cinema 4D Adaptor: Runs Cinema 4D renders on Deadline Cloud workers (cinema4d-openjd CLI)
Cinema 4D Submitter: Extension for submitting jobs from Cinema 4D to Deadline Cloud
Cinema4DClient: Runs inside Cinema 4D, facilitating communication between the adaptor and Cinema 4D process

For project structure and component details, see:

AGENTS.md — High-level architecture and build commands
src/deadline/cinema4d_submitter/AGENTS.md — Submitter internals
src/deadline/cinema4d_adaptor/AGENTS.md — Adaptor and client internals
test/AGENTS.md — Test structure and scenes

Usage

Use this skill when:

Building, testing, or linting the project
Iterating on submitter or adaptor code
Running integration tests
Debugging renderer-specific issues (Redshift, Arnold, V-Ray)

Prerequisites

Python 3.10+ (Cinema 4D 2026 uses Python 3.11; 2024–2025 uses Python 3.10)
Cinema 4D 2024, 2025, or 2026 installed
Hatch: pip install hatch
Windows or macOS for submitter development
Windows or Linux for adaptor development
Windows for integration tests

Quick Commands

Build

hatch build

Lint & Format

hatch run fmt    # Format code (black + ruff)
hatch run lint   # Run linter + type checker
hatch run typing # Type checking only (mypy)

Unit Tests

hatch run test                                    # All unit tests
hatch run test test/unit/path/to/test.py          # Specific file
hatch run test -k "test_redshift"                 # Pattern match
hatch run all:test                                # All supported Python versions

Integration Tests (Windows Only)

Integration tests require Cinema 4D installed with licensing configured.

$env:C4D_LOCATION = "C:\Program Files\Maxon Cinema 4D 2026\"
hatch run integ:test

See references/integration-testing.md for setup details and test/AGENTS.md for test structure.

Build Installer

hatch run installer:build-installer --local-dev --platform <windows|macos>

Detailed Guides

references/build-and-test.md — Complete build and test workflow
references/dev-guide.md — Development conventions and workflows
references/integration-testing.md — Running integration tests (Windows only)
references/troubleshooting.md — Common issues and solutions

Supported Renderers

Renderer	OS Support	Notes
Redshift	Windows, Linux	Bundled with Cinema 4D 2024+, default renderer
Arnold (C4DtoA)	Windows, Linux	Requires separate plugin install
V-Ray	Windows, macOS	Requires separate plugin install
Physical/Standard	Windows, Linux, macOS	Built-in Cinema 4D renderer
Cargo	Windows, macOS	No special fleet config needed
X-Particles (INSYDIUM)	Windows, macOS	Requires queue environment
Red Giant	Windows	Requires host config scripts

Known Issues

Linux Adobe Substance Materials: Crash at "Baking Substance Materials" step on Amazon Linux 2023. Works on RHEL 9/10.
Linux Redshift Freezing: Sporadic freezes during rendering. Workaround: set timeouts via submitter.
C4DtoA Linux 2026: Crashes due to GPU driver version mismatch. Requires c4dtoa 4.8.6.2+ with driver 580.127+.