Client Applications for NukeServerSocket

Sending Code

You can send code to NukeServerSocket in two ways:

1. Simple string (Python code only)
2. JSON object (required for BlinkScript, optional for Python)

JSON Object Structure

{
  "text": "Your code here",
  "file": "path/to/script.py",
  "formatText": "0"
}

• text: (Required) Contains the code to be executed.
• file: (Optional for Python, Required for BlinkScript and must end with .cpp or .blink) File path of the script.
• formatText: (Optional. Defaults to "1") "0" for plain text, "1" for formatted text. If you plan to parse the output, use "0".

Important

The json object must be stringified before sending it to the server.

Connecting to the Server

Host Address

• Local connection: Use 127.0.0.1
• Remote connection: Use the server's IP address (e.g., 192.168.1.10)

Port

The port is set in the NukeServerSocket plugin and is saved in the nukeserversocket.json file located in the .nuke directory. Your client can read this file to get the current port.

Putting It All Together

• Set up a socket connection using the host and port.
• Prepare your code as a string or JSON object.
• Send the code to the server.
• Wait for and process the server's response.

Code Sample

Python

import os
import json
import socket

def get_port():
    """Get Port configuration from .nuke/nukeserversocket.json."""
    config_path = os.path.join(os.path.expanduser('~'), '.nuke', 'nukeserversocket.json')
    with open(config_path) as f:
        return json.load(f).get('port', 54321)


s = socket.socket(socket.AF_INET, socket.SOCK_STREAM)
s.connect(('127.0.0.1', get_port()))

data = {
    "text": "print([n.name() for n in nuke.allNodes()])",
    "file" : "path/to/file.py",
    "formatText": "0" 
}

# stringify the object before sending
s.sendall(bytearray(json.dumps(data), 'utf-8'))

# the returned data from NukeServerSocket
data = s.recv(1024)

s.close()

# convert the data to string
result = data.decode('utf-8')

# help json.loads to parse the string by replacing single quotes with double quotes
nodes = json.loads(result.replace("'", '"'))

for node in nodes:
    print(node)

Node.js

// Send Data Example node.js
const fs = require('fs');
const path = require('path');
const net = require('net');


/**
 * Get the server port value from nukeserversocket.json
 */
function getPort() {
    const configPath = path.join(process.env.HOME || process.env.USERPROFILE, '.nuke', 'nukeserversocket.json');
    const config = JSON.parse(fs.readFileSync(configPath, 'utf8'));
    return config.port || 54321;
}

const client = new net.Socket();
const port = getPort();

client.connect(port, '127.0.0.1', () => {
    console.log('Connected to server');
    
    const data = {
        "text": "print([n.name() for n in nuke.allNodes()])",
        "file": "path/to/file.py",
        "formatText": "0"
    };

    // Stringify the object before sending
    client.write(JSON.stringify(data));
});

client.on('data', (data) => {
    // Convert the data to string
    let result = data.toString('utf-8');
    
    // Help JSON.parse by replacing single quotes with double quotes
    result = result.replace(/'/g, '"');
    
    try {
        const nodes = JSON.parse(result);
        nodes.forEach(node => console.log(node));
    } catch (error) {
        console.error('Error parsing JSON:', error);
        console.log('Raw result:', result);
    }

    client.destroy(); // Close the connection after receiving the response
});

client.on('close', () => {
    console.log('Connection closed');
});

client.on('error', (error) => {
    console.error('Connection error:', error);
});