Blender Submitter
Boost your Blender projects with the speed and efficiency of cloud rendering.
Installation
Download Latest Addon
renderfarm_submitter_v7.zip
- Download the .zip file above (do not extract it)
- In Blender: Edit → Preferences → Add-ons → Install…
- Browse to the downloaded .zip and click Install Add-on
- Find "Renderfarm Submitter" in the list and enable it
- Restart Blender if prompted
The addon is compatible with Blender 3.x and 4.x. Older versions may work but are not officially supported.
Panel Overview
After installation, the Renderfarm Render Submitter panel appears in Properties → Render. It is divided into the following sections:
- Conductor Job — title, project selection, submit button
- General Configuration — machine type, preemptible toggle, retry count
- Render Settings — output path, format, camera override
- Frames — frame range, chunk size, scout frames, tiled rendering
- Add-ons — additional Blender add-ons to activate on the render node
- Advanced — environment variables, upload paths, custom metadata
Connecting to the Farm
Click the Connect button in the Conductor Job section.
- A login form appears — enter your renderfarm.swade-art.com email and password
- Click Connect to authenticate
- Your available projects will populate the Project dropdown
- Available machine types will populate the Machine Type dropdown
Your session token is stored locally in Blender so you only need to connect once. Click Disconnect to log out.
Submitting a Job
- Set your Blender render settings (engine, resolution, samples, output format)
- In the Renderfarm panel, select your Project
- Choose a Machine Type appropriate for your scene
- Set your frame range (or use Blender's scene range)
- Set chunk size (frames per task — 1 for maximum parallelism)
- Optionally set scout frames to preview a few frames first
- Click Submit — your .blend file and all assets are uploaded automatically
Make sure your output path is set to a local directory. The farm will write outputs to the configured path on GCS. Relative paths like //renders/ work correctly.
Frame Spec Syntax
The frame range field accepts a powerful syntax for describing which frames to render:
| Spec | Description | Example |
|---|---|---|
| 1-100 | All frames from 1 to 100 | 1, 2, 3 … 100 |
| 1-100x2 | Every 2nd frame | 1, 3, 5 … 99 |
| 1-100x10 | Every 10th frame | 1, 11, 21 … 91 |
| 1,50,100 | Specific frames | 1, 50, 100 |
| fml:3 | First, middle, last — N samples | 1, 50, 100 (of 1-100) |
| fml:5 | Five evenly spread frames | 1, 25, 50, 75, 100 |
| auto:3 | Automatic split into N tasks | 3 evenly sized chunks |
| 1-10,50-60 | Multiple ranges | 1–10 and 50–60 |
fml:N (first-middle-last) is ideal for scout frames — use it to quickly preview your scene before committing to a full render.
Scout Frames
Scout frames let you render a small preview set first. All remaining tasks are held on the farm until you approve the scouts from the dashboard.
To use scout frames:
- Enable the "Use Scout Frames" toggle in the Frames section
- Enter a frame spec like fml:3 to render first/middle/last
- Submit the job — scouts render immediately, other tasks are held (Waiting)
- Review the scout outputs on the job detail page
- Click "Release All Tasks" to start the full render, or Cancel to abort
Chunk size interacts with scout frames. If chunk size is 10 and you use fml:3, the scout spec selects individual frames — you will still get 3 tasks each rendering one frame, regardless of chunk size. The chunk size applies to non-scout tasks.
Troubleshooting
| Problem | Likely Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Cannot connect | Wrong credentials or session expired | Click Disconnect then Connect again |
| No machine types listed | No machines enabled in Enterprise settings | Admin: go to Enterprise → Studio Management → Available Instances |
| Job stuck in "Syncing" | Large scene file or slow upload | Wait for upload to complete; check network connection |
| Render output is blank | Wrong output path or missing camera | Set output path to //renders/ and verify camera is set |
| Missing textures on farm | Textures not packed or not in upload paths | File → External Data → Pack Resources, then resubmit |
| Auth token expired mid-session | Session timed out | Disconnect and reconnect in the addon panel |