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Gaffer

gafferhq.org

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Spec score 7.7 #19 of 37 in Visual Effects Software

Spec sheet

What it does
Gaffer is a free, open-source node-based VFX application for building, tweaking, iterating, and rendering scenes.Read 9 Oct 2026 · gafferhq.org
Support
Users can ask questions and discuss feature requests on the gaffer-dev mailing list and GitHub Discussions; a community-run Discord is also listed.Read 9 Oct 2026 · gafferhq.org
Community integrations
The Resources page describes a community-created ShotGrid integration with file management, asset loading, and publishing support.Read 9 Oct 2026 · gafferhq.org
Documentation
Gaffer provides a user guide, API manual, and reference documentation for enthusiasts and studios working in VFX.Read 9 Oct 2026 · gafferhq.org
Extensibility
Its API and framework let users add custom modules, nodes, and UI, integrate renderers and render farms, and implement new data types.Read 9 Oct 2026 · gafferhq.org
Hardware
An Nvidia GPU is recommended.Read 9 Oct 2026 · gafferhq.org
Operating systems
The download page offers Linux and Windows builds; Linux requires glibc 2.28 or higher, and Windows 10/11 must be 64-bit.Read 9 Oct 2026 · gafferhq.org
Performance
Gaffer’s multi-threaded, deferred evaluation engine is designed to work with large 3D and 2D data sets.Read 9 Oct 2026 · gafferhq.org
Renderers
The site lists Arnold, Cycles, 3Delight, and RenderMan as supported renderers, with Tractor also supported for workflows.Read 9 Oct 2026 · gafferhq.org
Scene workflows
Its node graph and scene hierarchy support non-destructive importing, building, manipulating, duplicating, combining, pruning, splitting, and inspecting scenes.Read 9 Oct 2026 · gafferhq.org
Scripting
Gaffer supports in-application scripting in Python and Open Shading Language (OSL).Read 9 Oct 2026 · gafferhq.org
Security and compliance
The official pages opened describe Gaffer as open source under the BSD License and do not state security certifications or compliance claims.Read 9 Oct 2026 · gafferhq.org
Third-party integrations
The download page lists Arnold 7.4 and 7.5, Cycles 5.1.0, 3Delight 2, RenderMan 26.3/27.2/27.3, and Tractor 2 as compatible; Deadline support is available through an extension.Read 9 Oct 2026 · gafferhq.org
Users
Gaffer is intended for look developers, lighters, compositors, VFX artists, and technical directors.Read 9 Oct 2026 · gafferhq.org

Plans and prices

Gaffer Free Free to use at home or in a studio · released under the BSD License Read 9 Oct 2026 · gafferhq.org

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