Product Tour

See Houdini VEX Lab
in action

A fast, browser-based reference for SideFX Houdini artists: 70+ copy-paste VEX snippets, an expression & HScript cheatsheet, a global-variables table and a $JOB project generator. Free, client-side, no login - here's how it all works.

VEX Lab node graph connecting Snippets, HScript, Globals and the $JOB generator
Everything in one browser tab - nothing to install
How it works

Find it, copy it, paste it

No setup and no account. Open the page, grab what you need and drop it straight into a wrangle, a parameter or your shell.

1

Search 70+ VEX snippets

Filter an idiomatic library across ten categories - point clouds, attributes, vectors & matrices, noise, geometry, groups, ramps, strings and more. Each card explains what the snippet does and assumes an Attribute Wrangle in point context unless noted.

Point cloudsAttributesVectors & matricesNoiseGeometry
VEX Lab / snippets / pcopen
// Average colour of nearby points
int h = pcopen(0,"P",@P,2.0,12);
vector c = pcfilter(h,"Cd");
@Cd = c;
2

Copy in one click

Every snippet, expression and global variable has a copy button. Hit it and the code is on your clipboard - paste it straight into the wrangle's snippet field or any parameter. A toast confirms the copy; nothing ever leaves your machine.

One-click copyClipboard-readyToast confirmation100% local
VEX Lab / expressions / hscript
// Frame-based value in a parameter
$F        // current frame
$FF/$FPS  // seconds
fit($F,1,240,0,1)  // normalise
3

Generate a $JOB project

Type a project name and the generator outputs the standard SideFX folder tree - geo, hip, render, tex, scripts, abc and the rest - plus the ready-to-run shell commands to create it. Copy the tree or the commands and your $JOB is set up in seconds.

$JOB treeShell commandsSideFX layoutCopy & run
VEX Lab / $JOB / myShow
mkdir -p myShow/{geo,hip,render,
  tex,scripts,abc,comp,flip,
  audio,desk,render/ifd}
# set $JOB to myShow and go
Why artists keep it open

A second monitor for your VEX

70+ VEX snippets

Idiomatic, ready-to-paste code across ten categories - the patterns you reach for every day.

Expression & HScript

A cheatsheet of the channel, math and string expressions you use in parameters - with notes.

Global variables

A searchable table of Houdini globals - @P, @N, @ptnum, @Time and more, with meanings.

$JOB generator

The standard SideFX folder tree plus shell commands to scaffold a clean project instantly.

100% client-side

Everything runs in your browser. No login, no account, nothing you do ever leaves your machine.

Free & offline

Forever free. Installs as a PWA, so the snippets and cheatsheets work even with no connection.

What's inside

Four tools, one tab

Switch between them with the tabs at the top of the Lab - all free, all instant.

Tab 01

VEX Snippets

A searchable, category-filtered library of 70+ snippets. Each card has a title, a one-line explanation and a copy button - drop them into an Attribute Wrangle and tweak.

  • Point clouds
  • Attributes
  • Vectors
  • Matrices
  • Noise
  • Geometry
  • Groups
  • Ramps
  • Strings
Tab 02

Expressions & HScript

A grouped cheatsheet of the expressions you live in inside parameters - channel references, frame & time, math, and string ops - each with a short note on what it does.

  • Channel refs
  • Frame & time
  • Math
  • Strings
  • HScript
Tab 03

Global Variables

A reference table of Houdini's built-in globals you read and write in VEX - position, normals, IDs, counts and time - with the meaning of each at a glance.

  • @P / @N
  • @ptnum
  • @numpt
  • @Time / @Frame
  • @elemnum
Tab 04

$JOB Generator

Name a project and get the standard SideFX $JOB folder tree plus the shell commands to create it - copy either and you have a clean, consistent project layout in seconds.

  • SideFX tree
  • Shell commands
  • Copy tree
  • Copy commands

Open the Lab and start pasting

It's completely free - no account, no install, nothing leaves your machine. Just open it and grab what you need.