OpenUSD for Developers

NVIDIA continues to expand development of Universal Scene Description (OpenUSD or USD) to help our industrial and scientific communities build large-scale, physically accurate digital twins. OpenUSD is foundational to NVIDIA Omniverse™, the platform for developing OpenUSD applications for industrial digitalization and generative physical AI.

NVIDIA is also working with an ecosystem of partners through the Alliance for OpenUSD (AOUSD)—including Pixar, Adobe, Apple, and Autodesk—to evolve OpenUSD as it becomes one of the building blocks in the era of AI and industrial digitalization.

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How It Works

OpenUSD is an open-source framework for creating, simulating, and collaborating in 3D worlds. Developed by Pixar Animation Studios, OpenUSD goes beyond a file format to support 3D content creation and tool interchange. This versatility has made OpenUSD an industry standard in VFX, architecture, robotics, manufacturing, and more.

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OpenUSD Overview

Check out this guide for samples, technical references, and tools to help you get started with OpenUSD.

Explainer Blog

Learn how developers are adopting OpenUSD in the era of AI and industrial digitalization to accelerate their 3D workflows.

Introductory Videos

Watch this introductory series to learn about the four superpowers of OpenUSD that you can use to unlock new possibilities in 3D workflows.

Learn OpenUSD

Accelerate your OpenUSD workflows with this free curriculum for developers and 3D practitioners.


Ways to Get Started With OpenUSD

Use the pre-built libraries to start exploring and learning with OpenUSD content like USD samples, or start developing for OpenUSD using the latest USD Python build or API.

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Download Pre-Built OpenUSD Libraries and Tools

Download a full build of OpenUSD, which includes pre-built libraries and the USD toolset. The Windows download also comes fully bootstrapped so you can immediately execute usdview or any other bundled USD tool.

By downloading or using the pre-built OpenUSD libraries, you agree to the terms of the NVIDIA Omniverse License Agreement.

Download USD 24.08, Python 3.10
For Windows
For Linux
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Download the usd-core Python Package on PyPI

The usd-core package is also available if you want to experiment with the USD Python API or if you only need the core USD features for reading and writing USD stages and layers. USD comes pre-built, and it's just a "pip install" away.


NVIDIA NIM™ Microservices for OpenUSD

Leverage generative AI copilots and agents to develop OpenUSD tools that accelerate the creation of 3D worlds.

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USD Code

State-of-the-art LLM that answers OpenUSD knowledge queries and generates USD-Python code.

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USD Search

AI-powered search for OpenUSD data, 3D models, images, and assets using text or image-based inputs.

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USD Validate

Verify compatibility of OpenUSD assets with instant RTX render and rule-based validation.


OpenUSD Example Projects and Sample Assets

Free and open-source USD samples are available for download through NVIDIA Omniverse and partner sites. Explore the NVIDIA Learning Library for more.

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Da Vinci Workshop—Project by NVIDIA

The da Vinci Workshop showcases how the NVIDIA creative team structured this amazing environment to develop a complete USD film production pipeline.

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Residential Lobby—Project by NVIDIA

The Residential Lobby project showcases the use of multiple USD composition arcs to help a multi-person design team create an architectural environment.

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AECO Demo Pack—Sample by Cesium

Download Cesium 3D geospatial data for architectural, engineering, construction, and operations workflows.

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Kitchen Set—Sample Asset by Pixar

A complete kitchen asset provided by Pixar. The original model was created by a former intern using Pixar’s Renderman and has been optimized for USD.

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USD ALab—Dataset by Animal Logic

ALab is a full-production scene by Animal Logic for exploration, training, and testing of USD support. It contains 300+ assets, including high-quality textures and characters with looping animation.

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4004 Moore Lane—USD Scene by Intel®

4004 Moore Lane is an open source USD asset designed to provide a fully composed, high-quality scene for testing various visual computing issues.


NVIDIA OpenUSD Learning Library


More Resources

Explore curated USD and Hydra resources to further accelerate your learning journey.