Alliance for OpenUSD

name: Alliance for OpenUSD
description: The Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD) is a Linux Foundation project dedicated to promoting interoperability of 3D
  content through Universal Scene Description (OpenUSD). Founded by Pixar, Adobe, Apple, Autodesk, and NVIDIA, AOUSD standardizes
  3D content ecosystems for film, gaming, architecture, industrial design, and the metaverse. OpenUSD provides a high-performance
  extensible software platform for collaboratively constructing animated 3D scenes with schemas for geometry, shading, lighting,
  physics, and volume rendering.
image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
tags:
- 3D
- Interoperability
- Linux Foundation
- Metaverse
- OpenUSD
- Specification
- Standards
- USD
- Visual Effects
created: '2026-03-16'
modified: '2026-04-19'
url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/aousd/refs/heads/main/apis.yml
specificationVersion: '0.16'
apis:
- name: OpenUSD C++ API
  description: The OpenUSD C++ API is the primary interface for working with Universal Scene Description data. Provides access
    to USD core (scene composition and asset management), UsdImaging and Hydra (rendering infrastructure), schema APIs for
    geometry (UsdGeom), shading (UsdShade), lighting (UsdLux), physics (UsdPhysics), volume (UsdVol), and the Shader Discovery
    and Registry (SDR). Available as an open-source library under the Apache 2.0 license.
  image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
  humanURL: https://openusd.org/release/api/index.html
  baseURL: https://openusd.org
  tags:
  - 3D
  - C++
  - File Format
  - Library
  - OpenUSD
  - Rendering
  - Scene Description
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://openusd.org/release/api/index.html
  - type: APIReference
    url: https://openusd.org/release/api/index.html
  - type: GettingStarted
    url: https://openusd.org/release/tut_usd_tutorials.html
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/PixarAnimationStudios/OpenUSD
  - type: Glossary
    url: https://openusd.org/release/glossary.html
  contact:
  - FN: AOUSD Community
    url: https://aousd.org/
- name: OpenUSD Python Bindings
  description: OpenUSD provides comprehensive Python bindings for all major C++ modules, enabling scripting and pipeline integration
    in Python-based DCC workflows. Python bindings cover the full USD API including pxr.Usd, pxr.UsdGeom, pxr.UsdShade, pxr.UsdLux,
    pxr.UsdPhysics, pxr.Sdf, and Hydra. Used extensively in production pipelines at Pixar, ILM, and other studios.
  image: https://kinlane-images.s3.amazonaws.com/shared/apis-json/apis-json-logo.jpg
  humanURL: https://openusd.org/release/api/index.html
  baseURL: https://pypi.org/project/usd-core/
  tags:
  - 3D
  - OpenUSD
  - Python
  - Scene Description
  properties:
  - type: Documentation
    url: https://openusd.org/release/api/index.html
  - type: SDKs
    url: https://pypi.org/project/usd-core/
  - type: GitHubRepository
    url: https://github.com/PixarAnimationStudios/OpenUSD
  contact:
  - FN: Pixar Animation Studios
    url: https://github.com/PixarAnimationStudios/OpenUSD
maintainers:
- FN: Kin Lane
  email: info@apievangelist.com
  X: apievangelist
  url: https://apievangelist.com
common:
- type: LinkedIn
  url: https://www.linkedin.com/company/allianceopenusd
- type: Portal
  url: https://aousd.org
- type: Documentation
  url: https://openusd.org/release/index.html
- type: GettingStarted
  url: https://openusd.org/release/tut_usd_tutorials.html
- type: GitHubOrganization
  url: https://github.com/PixarAnimationStudios
- type: GitHubRepository
  url: https://github.com/PixarAnimationStudios/OpenUSD
- type: JSONSchema
  url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/aousd/refs/heads/main/json-schema/aousd-usd-layer-schema.json
  title: USD Layer Schema
- type: Vocabulary
  url: https://raw.githubusercontent.com/api-evangelist/aousd/refs/heads/main/vocabulary/aousd-vocabulary.yaml
- type: Features
  data:
  - name: Scene Composition
    description: USD's composition arcs (references, payloads, variants, instancing, and specializes) enable non-destructive
      scene assembly from multiple asset layers with override workflows.
  - name: Schema-Driven Extensibility
    description: OpenUSD's schema system allows studios and tool vendors to extend the core specification with domain-specific
      schemas for physics, simulation, characters, and environments.
  - name: Hydra Rendering Architecture
    description: The Hydra rendering delegate architecture enables pluggable render backends including Storm (OpenGL), Arnold,
      RenderMan, and others.
  - name: Multiple File Formats
    description: OpenUSD supports human-readable ASCII (.usda), binary (.usdb), and packaged archive (.usdz) file formats
      for different use cases.
  - name: Asset Resolution
    description: The ArResolver system enables customizable asset path resolution for integrating USD with studio asset management
      systems.
- type: UseCases
  data:
  - name: Film and Visual Effects Production
    description: Exchange complex animated scenes between DCC tools (Maya, Houdini, Blender, Katana) and render farms using
      OpenUSD as the common format.
  - name: Game Development
    description: Use OpenUSD as an interchange format between game engines like Unreal Engine and Unity and DCC content creation
      tools.
  - name: Architecture and Design Visualization
    description: Share 3D building models, materials, and lighting between architectural design tools and real-time visualization
      platforms.
  - name: Metaverse and XR
    description: Enable interoperability of 3D assets and scenes across XR platforms, spatial computing devices, and virtual
      world applications.
  - name: Industrial Digital Twins
    description: Represent complex mechanical assemblies and simulation environments for industrial digital twin applications
      using USD schemas.
- type: Integrations
  data:
  - name: Autodesk Maya / 3ds Max
    description: Import and export USD files via Autodesk's official USD plugins for Maya and 3ds Max, enabling OpenUSD-based
      pipelines.
  - name: SideFX Houdini
    description: Native USD integration in Houdini via LOPs (Layout Object Primitives) for creating and editing USD scenes
      and assets.
  - name: Apple Reality Composer Pro
    description: Apple's spatial computing tools use .usdz as the primary format for augmented reality and visionOS content.
  - name: NVIDIA Omniverse
    description: NVIDIA Omniverse is built on OpenUSD, using it as the foundation for collaborative 3D design and industrial
      digital twin workflows.
  - name: Pixar RenderMan
    description: RenderMan natively reads USD scenes, making it the primary production renderer for USD-based feature film
      pipelines.