dcc-mcp-cinema4d

Typed Cinema 4D document automation for DCC-MCP, executed through Maxon's licensed headless c4dpy runtime.

Illustrative workflow limited to the adapter's implemented primitive, transform, validation, render, and interchange operations; generated source is retained in docs/images/dcc-mcp-cinema4d-showcase-source.png.

Capabilities

• Discover and report the real Cinema 4D, Python, and API versions.
• Create, inspect, validate, and atomically copy .c4d documents.
• Add typed cube, sphere, cylinder, cone, torus, and plane primitives.
• Set absolute translation, HPB rotation, and scale; remove named objects safely.
• Import C4D, OBJ, FBX, glTF/GLB, STL, Alembic, Collada, and 3DS geometry when the installed Cinema 4D runtime provides the corresponding importer.
• Export full documents to C4D, OBJ, FBX, glTF/GLB, STL, Alembic, or Collada when the installed runtime provides the corresponding exporter.
• Render bounded PNG and JPEG images without a GUI.

The adapter never accepts arbitrary Python source. Every host call executes a packaged, allowlisted driver in a fresh c4dpy process with bounded paths, timeouts, output streams, and response size. Document mutations use a staged file and atomically replace the durable document only after a successful host operation.

OBJ import and export form the production-validated interchange baseline. Other formats are runtime-dependent; get_capabilities reports this boundary and unavailable optional importers or exporters fail with a format-specific error.

Requirements

• Cinema 4D R21 or newer with a valid license.
• The matching c4dpy executable shipped with that Cinema 4D installation.
• Python 3.9 or newer for the DCC-MCP service.
• dcc-mcp-core>=0.20.14,<1.0.0 in the same Python distribution.

Maxon documents that c4dpy is a headless Cinema 4D instance capable of loading, constructing, saving, and rendering scenes, but it requires a real Cinema 4D installation and license.

Install

See install.md for the official Core Install SOP contract, identity-bound planning, atomic receipt, verification, upgrade, uninstall, and troubleshooting.

python -m pip install dcc-mcp-cinema4d
dcc-mcp-cinema4d plan --target install --c4dpy <absolute-c4dpy-path> --json
dcc-mcp-cinema4d install --c4dpy <absolute-c4dpy-path> --json --yes
dcc-mcp-cinema4d doctor --c4dpy <absolute-c4dpy-path> --json

Set the licensed runtime and allowed workspace before starting the adapter:

$env:DCC_MCP_CINEMA4D_C4DPY = "C:\Program Files\Maxon Cinema 4D 2026\c4dpy.exe"
$env:DCC_MCP_CINEMA4D_ALLOWED_ROOTS = "D:\projects;D:\exports"
dcc-mcp-cinema4d

For an explicit standalone readiness check:

dcc-mcp-cinema4d verify --c4dpy "C:\Program Files\Maxon Cinema 4D 2026\c4dpy.exe" --json

Lifecycle execution binds the exact Maxon product/file identity, digest, selected Python distribution, live PID/start token, and adapter-owned receipt. The default allowed root is the adapter's current working directory.

Agent workflow

dcc-mcp-cli list
dcc-mcp-cli search Cinema 4D status --dcc-type c4d
dcc-mcp-cli load-skill cinema4d-session --dcc-type c4d --instance-id <id>
dcc-mcp-cli describe c4d.<id>.get_status
dcc-mcp-cli call c4d.<id>.get_status --json '{}'

Load cinema4d-modeling only when modeling, interchange, or rendering tools are needed. Use --wait for document operations because they run as bounded asynchronous jobs.

Development

python -m pip install -e ".[dev]"
python -m ruff check src tests
python -m ruff format --check src tests
python -m pytest -m "not cinema4d"
python -m build
python -m twine check dist/*

Real-host acceptance requires a licensed c4dpy; CI intentionally does not mock a Maxon license.

Official references: c4dpy manual, Cinema 4D Python SDK.