Houdini

name: Houdini description: Control SideFX Houdini from the shell via Flue - a Python bridge to hou without an MCP server.

This skill lets a coding agent operate SideFX Houdini on the desktop through Flue, a local shell-to-application bridge. The agent pipes Python into houdini_bridge.py and gets structured JSON back.

agent shell -> houdini_bridge.py -> hou -> JSON result

When to use

The human requests work performed inside Houdini — inspect the open scene, nodes, parameters, geometry, selection; make bounded edits; run small hou scripts. A CLI agent cannot act inside Houdini without a bridge like Flue.

How to proceed

1. Read FLUE.md in this directory first. It explains how Flue works, the bridge contract, a worked hou example, and safety expectations.
2. If Flue is installed: also read C:\Users\fredd\.claude\skills\flue\SKILL.md and adapters/houdini_adapter/APP.md for the operational contract, then work from there.
3. If Flue is not installed: tell the human. The install command is pip install flue && flue setup. Do not install without explicit approval in the current session.

Other apps

Flue also supports Photoshop, Illustrator, Premiere, After Effects, InDesign, Audition, Blender, 3ds Max, Unity, and Microsoft Office through the same stdin/stdout contract. One install covers all adapters.

Safety

Flue acts inside professional desktop software. Treat the human as the driver; prefer small, inspectable steps; avoid destructive actions unless explicitly requested. Flue is MIT-licensed and reviewable on GitHub / PyPI before use.