Describe the problem
When submitting render jobs from any DCC application (Maya, Cinema 4D, Houdini, etc.), studios often have shared asset directories that need to be included with every job — for example, shared texture libraries, HDRI environments, OCIO configs, LUT folders, or VDB caches on a central file server.
Currently, the only way to include these directories is:
- Manually adding them in the Job Attachments tab of the submitter dialog for each job, or
- Relying on per-scene sticky settings (
.deadline_render_settings.json), which only persist per scene file and per DCC application.
Neither approach works well for studio-wide shared directories that should always be attached. Artists have to remember to add them, and if they forget, the job fails on the worker because assets are missing. This is especially painful when onboarding new artists or switching between projects that share the same asset roots.
Since this is a cross-DCC concern, the right place for this setting is in the Deadline Cloud client global configuration (deadline config gui / Global Settings), not in individual DCC submitter plugins.
Proposed Solution
Add a new global setting in the Deadline Cloud client configuration (managed via deadline config gui or the ~/.deadline/config file) for default input directories that are automatically merged into every job submission's asset references.
Proposed behavior:
- A new setting (e.g.
settings.default_input_directories) in the Deadline Cloud config file that accepts a list of directory paths.
- A corresponding UI section in the Global Settings tab of the Deadline Config dialog where users can add/remove directories.
- At submission time, the
SubmitJobToDeadlineDialog (or the underlying AssetReferences assembly logic) reads this global setting and merges the configured directories into the job's input_directories alongside auto-detected and per-scene sticky attachments.
- The directories appear in the Job Attachments tab as "global defaults" so the artist can see what's being included and optionally remove them for a specific job.
- Configurable via CLI as well:
deadline config set settings.default_input_directories "/mnt/shared/textures,/mnt/shared/ocio".
This would live in src/deadline/client/config/config_file.py as a new setting, with UI support in src/deadline/client/ui/dialogs/deadline_config_dialog.py, and integration in the shared submission dialog (src/deadline/client/ui/dialogs/submit_job_to_deadline_dialog.py).
Example Use Cases
Studio-wide shared texture library:
A studio stores all shared textures under //fileserver/textures. An admin configures this once in the global Deadline Cloud settings on every artist workstation (or via a managed config file). Every job submitted from Maya, Cinema 4D, or Houdini automatically includes this directory without any artist action.
# Via CLI
deadline config set settings.default_input_directories "//fileserver/textures,//fileserver/ocio"
OCIO config directory:
The color pipeline config lives at /mnt/shared/ocio/aces_1.2. Instead of relying on each DCC submitter to detect and include it, the global setting ensures it is always attached.
Per-project asset roots:
When switching between projects, an artist (or a project-setup script) updates the global default input directories to point at the current project's asset root:
deadline config set settings.default_input_directories "/mnt/projects/current_show/assets"
Visible in the submitter UI:
When the artist opens the submitter dialog, the Job Attachments tab shows the globally configured directories pre-populated. They can remove one for a specific job if needed, but the defaults are always there as a baseline.
Describe the problem
When submitting render jobs from any DCC application (Maya, Cinema 4D, Houdini, etc.), studios often have shared asset directories that need to be included with every job — for example, shared texture libraries, HDRI environments, OCIO configs, LUT folders, or VDB caches on a central file server.
Currently, the only way to include these directories is:
.deadline_render_settings.json), which only persist per scene file and per DCC application.Neither approach works well for studio-wide shared directories that should always be attached. Artists have to remember to add them, and if they forget, the job fails on the worker because assets are missing. This is especially painful when onboarding new artists or switching between projects that share the same asset roots.
Since this is a cross-DCC concern, the right place for this setting is in the Deadline Cloud client global configuration (
deadline config gui/ Global Settings), not in individual DCC submitter plugins.Proposed Solution
Add a new global setting in the Deadline Cloud client configuration (managed via
deadline config guior the~/.deadline/configfile) for default input directories that are automatically merged into every job submission's asset references.Proposed behavior:
settings.default_input_directories) in the Deadline Cloud config file that accepts a list of directory paths.SubmitJobToDeadlineDialog(or the underlyingAssetReferencesassembly logic) reads this global setting and merges the configured directories into the job'sinput_directoriesalongside auto-detected and per-scene sticky attachments.deadline config set settings.default_input_directories "/mnt/shared/textures,/mnt/shared/ocio".This would live in
src/deadline/client/config/config_file.pyas a new setting, with UI support insrc/deadline/client/ui/dialogs/deadline_config_dialog.py, and integration in the shared submission dialog (src/deadline/client/ui/dialogs/submit_job_to_deadline_dialog.py).Example Use Cases
Studio-wide shared texture library:
A studio stores all shared textures under
//fileserver/textures. An admin configures this once in the global Deadline Cloud settings on every artist workstation (or via a managed config file). Every job submitted from Maya, Cinema 4D, or Houdini automatically includes this directory without any artist action.OCIO config directory:
The color pipeline config lives at
/mnt/shared/ocio/aces_1.2. Instead of relying on each DCC submitter to detect and include it, the global setting ensures it is always attached.Per-project asset roots:
When switching between projects, an artist (or a project-setup script) updates the global default input directories to point at the current project's asset root:
Visible in the submitter UI:
When the artist opens the submitter dialog, the Job Attachments tab shows the globally configured directories pre-populated. They can remove one for a specific job if needed, but the defaults are always there as a baseline.