mbpluginloader 2.1

Custom MotionBuilder Module to load C++ plugins from Python Project on Startup

MBPluginLoader

Load C++ Plugins from a Python Project at MotionBuilder Startup.

Platform

• Motionbuilder : 2020 or above
• OS : Windows

Installation

Method 1: Install via mobupy & pip

1. Open a terminal as an administrator.

2. Run the following command, replacing the path with your MotionBuilder installation directory:

   path/to/MotionBuilder<version>/bin/x64/mobupy.exe -m pip install mbpluginloader
   

Note: Only works with MotionBuilder 2022 and later.

Method 2: Manual Install

This method is mainly intended for developers who want to bundle mbpluginloader directly within their own projects or tools (i.e., as a third-party library).

1. Go to the GitHub Releases page.

2. Download the source code .zip file for the latest release.

3. Extract the archive. You will find a mbpluginloader directory inside.

4. Copy the mbpluginloader directory into your own project's source tree.

5. You can now import it in your project using from mbpluginloader import ....

   Project directory
   ├── your modules 
   ├── ...
   └── mbpluginloader  <- downloaded from Git Release
   

Reference

load_plugins(path_or_dir)

Loads a C++ plugin (.dll) from a specified file path or all plugins within a directory.

• path_or_dir (str): The absolute or relative path to a single .dll file or a directory containing .dll files.

log(level, format_string, *args)

Prints a formatted log message to the MotionBuilder console.

• level (str): The log level (e.g., "Info", "Error").
• format_string (str): A message template containing {} placeholders.
• *args: Values to be inserted into the placeholders in format_string.

Development

Requirements

• Visual Studio Build Tools & "Desktop development with C++" workload

  • MSVC v143 - VS 2022 C++ x64/x86 build tool : MotionBuilder 2024 ~
  • MSVC v142 - VS 2019 C++ x64/x86 build tool : MotionBuilder 2022, 2023
  • MSVC v141 - VS 2017 C++ x64/x86 build tool : MotionBuilder 2020

Building from source

1. Open a terminal as an administrator.

   Set the Visual Studio environment variables using vcvarsall.bat, which is typically located at: C:/Program Files (x86)/Microsoft Visual Studio/2022/BuildTools/VC/Auxiliary/Build.

   path/to/vcvarsall.bat x64 [-vcvars_ver=<version>]
   

   Use -vcvars_ver=14.29 for VS2019 or -vcvars_ver=14.16 for VS2017. See the Microsoft documentation for more details.

2. Clone this repository.

   git clone https://github.com/Ndgt/MBPyPluginLoader.git
   cd MBPyPluginLoader
   

3. Edit the user-specific variables in CMakeLists.txt according to your environment.

   # === Environment-specific user configuration ===
   set(PRODUCT_VERSION 2026)
   set(MOBU_ROOT "C:/Program Files/Autodesk/MotionBuilder ${PRODUCT_VERSION}")
   

4. Build.

   cd src
   cmake -S . -B build -G "Ninja" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
   cmake --build build
   

Notes

• FBSystem().Version returns float version value formatted as xx000.0

  For example, in MotionBuilder 2024, this returns 24000.0.

• This module uses Boost.Python to call the FBSystem::LibraryLoad() function from the C++ SDK, which is not exposed in the Python SDK.