Processing from Python

Everything the Process tab does is available from Python, through human.process. The settings of the tab are one object, ExportSettings, and one call processes a human with them, so a build step or a render farm can export characters without anyone clicking. This page walks through the common cases; the reference is on ProcessSettings and ExportSettings, and the Python API guide covers the rest of the add-on.

Run a recipe

import bpy
from HumGen3D import ExportSettings, Human
 
human = Human.from_existing(bpy.context.object)
 
settings = ExportSettings.from_recipe("unity")   # "unity", "unreal", "godot", "mixamo", "generic", "blender"
settings.output.folder = "/path/to/MyGame/Assets/Characters"
 
result = human.process.run(settings)
print(result.files)        # ['/path/to/MyGame/Assets/Characters/Jake.fbx']
print(result.summary())    # what the popup shows, with the triangle count and warnings

run does exactly what the button does: the human is not changed, a processed copy is made per LOD level, written to the files and removed again. The ExportResult tells what was made: files, the processed humans left in the file, warnings, the triangles per level and the seconds it took.

Recipes of your own are loaded by their path inside the process_templates folder of the content folder, ExportSettings.from_recipe("MyGame/Mobile characters.json"), or by any absolute path.

Change the settings

The settings mirror the sections of the tab. Every field has the same name and values as the recipe file:

from HumGen3D import ExportSettings, QualitySettings
 
settings = ExportSettings.from_recipe("unreal")
settings.output.format = "glb"                 # see Output
settings.output.name = "Hero_{name}"
settings.lods = [QualitySettings.from_tier("high"), QualitySettings.from_tier("low")]
settings.meshes.remove_hidden_skin = False
settings.haircards.enabled = False
settings.skeleton.names = "humanoid"
settings.skeleton.rest_pose = "t_pose"
settings.shape_keys.body = "keep"
settings.textures.set_resolution_tier("1k")
settings.textures.workflow = "metallic_roughness"

Or start from the defaults with ExportSettings() and set what you need. The classes per section: OutputSettings, QualitySettings, MeshSettings, HaircardSettings, SkeletonSettings, ShapeKeySettings, TextureBakeSettings and ScriptsSettings. settings.to_dict() and ExportSettings.from_dict() turn them into plain data, settings.save_recipe("MyGame", "Hero") saves them as a recipe for the interface.

Check before running

The tab's red and grey lines come from preflight. Use it to validate settings without changing anything:

check = human.process.preflight(settings)
if not check.ok:
    print("\n".join(check.errors))     # these would make run() raise
for warning in check.warnings:
    print("warning:", warning)

run raises a HumGenException when the preflight finds an error. Without the Export pack, run, preflight, ExportSettings.from_recipe and the single steps raise ExportPackMissing, a HumGenException that says what to download. When a step fails, its own exception comes through unchanged. In both cases the copies made so far are removed.

Several humans

Every human in the scene, with the same settings:

from HumGen3D.common import find_multiple_in_list
 
rigs = find_multiple_in_list(bpy.context.scene.objects)
for human in (Human.from_existing(rig) for rig in rigs):
    result = human.process.run(settings)
    print(human.name, result.files)

Progress

run accepts a callback that gets the fraction done, for a progress bar of your own:

result = human.process.run(settings, progress=lambda fraction: print(f"{fraction:.0%}"))

For a modal operator that must keep Blender responsive, human.process.run_steps(settings) gives the same work as a generator that yields the fraction after every short chunk; that is what the Process button uses.

From the command line

Blender in background mode, for a build step or a render farm. The add-on must be enabled in the Blender preferences of the machine. Tested with Blender 5.1: the script below exports a dressed human with hair cards to glb in about a minute, textures baked included:

blender -b characters.blend --python export_characters.py

# export_characters.py
import bpy
from HumGen3D import ExportSettings, Human
from HumGen3D.common import find_multiple_in_list
 
settings = ExportSettings.from_recipe("godot")
settings.output.folder = "/builds/characters"
 
for rig in find_multiple_in_list(bpy.context.scene.objects):
    human = Human.from_existing(rig)
    result = human.process.run(settings, context=bpy.context)
    print(result.summary())

The single steps

run is a sequence of steps, each a method of ProcessSettings that takes the matching section of the settings, or plain arguments. You can call them yourself, for example to make a game-ready copy without exporting it, or to insert something between two steps.

from HumGen3D import QualitySettings, SkeletonSettings
 
copy = human.duplicate()
copy.process.set_shape_keys(body="keep", face="bake", age="bake")
copy.process.convert_to_haircards("medium")
copy.process.bake_textures(settings.textures, folder="/path/to/textures")
copy.process.set_quality(QualitySettings.from_tier("medium"))
copy.process.convert_to_game_rig(settings=SkeletonSettings(names="humanoid", rest_pose="t_pose"))
copy.process.apply_names()
copy.export.write("/path/to/Jake", settings.output)  # a file format; "in_file" raises
# or, to keep it in the file as a frozen result:
copy.process.mark_as_processed(human)

The order is the one run uses, and it matters:

1. set_shape_keysFirst, so the later steps carry only the keys that stay
2. convert_to_haircardsHair cards, game eyes and teeth before baking, as they change the materials
3. bake_texturesBefore the meshes are reduced
4. set_qualityAfter baking
5. convert_to_game_rigAfter the meshes
6. apply_namesLast

The steps with a has_* or was_* property (hair cards, baking, the game rig, the T-pose) refuse to run twice; the other steps run again. For one file with several LOD levels, make one copy per level and join them with ProcessSettings › merge_levels.

Two more steps exist for scripts: ProcessSettings › apply_modifiers applies modifiers while keeping the shape keys, which Blender itself refuses, and ProcessSettings › remove_hidden_skin deletes the body under the clothing. To write a human to a file without any processing, use ExportBuilder (human.export.to_fbx, to_glb, to_gltf_separate, to_obj, to_abc).

Reading a processed human

copy = Human.from_existing(bpy.context.object)
copy.process.is_processed        # True for a frozen result
copy.process.settings            # the ExportSettings it was made with, None otherwise

Frequently asked questions

Can I export Human Generator characters without opening Blender's interface?

Yes. Run Blender in background mode with a script that loads a recipe and calls human.process.run for every human in the file. The add-on has to be enabled in the Blender preferences of that machine.

Can I process the humans the batch generator made?

Yes. Find them with find_multiple_in_list on the scene objects and run the same settings on each, or select them all in the Process tab and press the button once.