Appendices >
Mudbox Application Programming Interface (API)

An application programming interface (API) is available for developers wishing to customize Mudbox. The API is made accessible through the Mudbox Software Developers Kit (SDK).

The Mudbox SDK is a set of C++ libraries, example files, and documentation that allows programmers to extend the functionality of Mudbox by writing plug-ins that are loaded when the application is running.

A few of the plug-in types that can be developed using the Mudbox SDK include:

- Importer and exporter features for meshes and images.
- Custom sculpt brushes, viewport filters, and materials.
- Plug-ins to facilitate common UI tasks, and much more.

For further information, consult the SDK README and SDK documentation that is included with your version of Mudbox in the following directories:

- (Windows) <drive>:\Program Files\Autodesk\Mudbox2011 Subscription Advantage Pack\SDK
- (Mac OSX) /Applications/Autodesk/Mudbox2011.5/SDK
- (Linux) usr/autodesk/mudbox2011.5/bin/plugins

You can also find the SDK documentation at http://www.autodesk.com/mudbox-docs-v2011-sdkguide, or download SDK example files from http://www.autodesk.com/mudbox-docs.

Additional notes for Linux

Plug-ins built using the Mudbox 2011.5 SDK require the GCC 4.1.2 compiler.

If you plan to build plug-ins for Linux using the SDK, do the following to configure QT:

1. Install QT 4.5.2 on the machine.
2. Define QTDIR in your .bashrc/.cshrc/.tschrc file as appropriate.
3. Set QTDIR to the QT include directory on the machine. If QT is installed in the standard location, QTDIR=/usr/local/Trolltech/Qt-4.5.2/include.