USD Stagecraft Documentation | ZenithGate Studios

Supported environments

Unity	2022.3 LTS or later
macOS	Apple Silicon (arm64) only
Windows	x64
Render pipelines	Built-in RP, URP, and HDRP (optional HDRP host)

Installation

Get USD Stagecraft on the Unity Asset Store (v1.0.1 — Windows x64 and macOS Apple Silicon, Early Access $29).

Open Window > Package Manager in Unity.
Set the package source to My Assets.
Select USD Stagecraft, then download and import it.
Confirm the package appears under Packages/com.zenithgatestudios.usd-stagecraft/.

Optional samples can be imported from the Package Manager samples section.

Quick start: Editor preview

Add an empty GameObject or use the Stage Preview sample scene.
Add the UsdStagePreview component.
Set File Path to a valid USD file.
The USD hierarchy appears under the GameObject in the Scene view without entering Play mode.

Changing File Path, Shader Name, or Scale reloads the preview in the Editor.

Quick start: Runtime loading

Place runtime USD files under Assets/StreamingAssets/, then load them with UsdLoader.LoadAsync.

using UsdStagecraft;
using UnityEngine;

public class LoadUsdOnce : MonoBehaviour
{
    private LoadResult result;

    private async void Start()
    {
        result = await UsdLoader.LoadAsync("/absolute/path/to/scene.usda", "Standard", 0f);
        if (!result.IsSuccess)
        {
            Debug.LogError(result.ErrorMessage);
            return;
        }

        result.Root.transform.SetParent(transform, false);
    }

    private void OnDestroy()
    {
        if (result != null && result.IsSuccess)
        {
            UsdLoader.Unload(result);
        }
    }
}

Core workflows

Stage preview

Edit mode uses synchronous loading for preview. Play mode uses asynchronous loading through Load() or Auto Load On Start. Multiple UsdStagePreview instances per scene are supported.

USD Stage window

Open via Window > USD Stagecraft > USD Stage. Toolbar File / Actions / Options, Prim tree + properties, Layers / EditTarget, animation transport, and Bake / Write-back.

Full USD Stage window guide in README.md

Manual reload

Automatic file watching is disabled in v1.0.1. After saving USD in your DCC, click Reload (diff) or Shift+click / Reload Full in the USD Stage toolbar.

UsdSkel + Bake

Skeletal stages preview with SkinnedMeshRenderer. Bake to Prefab emits AnimationClip, skinned prefabs, and optional StageTimeline.playable.

Variants and edit layers

Inspector and USD Stage panel expose variants, EditTarget layers, and Transform / Visibility write-back without overwriting the original root USD as the primary workflow.

Known limitations

macOS Apple Silicon (arm64) and Windows x64.
Very large USD files may load slowly or stress memory.
USD variants and payloads are partially supported.
UsdSkel: linear blend skinning only, up to 4 joint influences per vertex.
UsdGeomBasisCurves is not supported (planned for v1.1).
HDRP is integrated but not every DCC / USD combination is fully validated.
Writing keyframes back to USD timeSamples is planned for v1.1.

Full package README

The complete release README is mirrored in this repository for customers who need detailed API tables, the USD Stage window guide, troubleshooting, and license notes.

Open README.md

USD Stagecraft 1.0.1