TACHYON STUDIO · USER GUIDE

Maya Bridge — Documentation

Version 3.0.16 · Tachyon Studio

Use Maya Bridge to exchange meshes and UVs between Blender and Autodesk Maya, choose what comes back, and transfer supported materials, cameras, lights and baked animation. The Blender add-on is named Universal Bridge: Maya in its package metadata. This guide covers the supplied standalone package and its Maya companion.

Contents
1. Requirements and compatibility · 2. Install the supplied ZIP · 3. Set up the Maya companion · 4. Find the controls · 5. First round trip · 6. Choose what comes back · 7. Automatic transfers and experimental Live Push · 8. Cleanup and smart transfer · 9. Materials and texture placement · 10. Cameras, lights and animation · 11. Save a Maya ASCII scene · 12. Shared tools and interface preferences · 13. Troubleshooting · 14. Updates, removal, license and support

1. Requirements and compatibility

• Operating system: the package declares Windows only. macOS and Linux are not supported by its supplied documentation.
• Blender: the package declares 3.3–5.2. Its classic add-on metadata has a 3.3 minimum; its Extension manifest has a 4.2 minimum. These are package declarations, not a list of individually tested releases.
• Maya: a separate Autodesk Maya installation running Python 3 is required for the two-application bridge. Its FBX plug-in, fbxmaya, must be available. The companion attempts to load it when transferring.
• Testing: no independently verified Blender/Maya build matrix is supplied with this download. An exact supported Maya version range has not been established here. Check your required application versions with Tachyon Studio before relying on a particular production combination.
• Files and permissions: both applications need access to the local exchange folder and texture files. Companion installation needs write access to your Maya user scripts folder.

Maya and other Universal Bridge products are not included. This bridge works standalone. An independently installed Universal Bridge Manager can provide its shared hub; you do not need the Manager to use this product.

2. Install the supplied ZIP

The supplied installer is universal_bridge_maya-3.0.16-blender3.3-5.2.zip. Install one copy. A similarly named duplicate file is not another edition and does not need installing.

1. Save your current Blender work and stop any active bridge syncing.
2. Open Edit → Preferences → Add-ons. Use Install… on older Blender versions, or the Install from Disk… command on newer versions, and select the supplied ZIP.
3. Enable Universal Bridge: Maya and open its preferences. If installation fails, keep the error text and confirm your Blender version before changing package files.
4. Select the detected Maya Version. If detection does not find your installation, set Maya Executable to that installation's maya.exe. Detect Maya rescans installed versions.
5. Complete the Maya-side setup below before expecting Send/Get to work.

The archive contains the Blender source, icons, a short DOCUMENTATION.md, the Maya companion and its drag-in installer. Its older internal manual mentions two alternative ZIP names; those names are not the single supplied installer documented here. Do not install a second copy to resolve that wording.

Recorded setup sequence. For 3.0.16, use Blender’s Install / Reinstall route and restart Maya; the supplied drag-in installer has a stale version label.

Also download maya-bridge-3.0.16-support-docs-and-license.zip for the corrected guide, FAQ, package notes and license text. Open that archive separately; it is not a Blender installer.

3. Set up the Maya companion

Back up your existing Maya userSetup.py and any custom startup scripts before installing, updating or removing the companion. The current setup routine rewrites its startup-hook section; custom content placed after that section needs particular care.

Recommended setup for this release:

1. In Blender's add-on preferences, check Script Install Folder. Leave it blank for the default Maya user scripts location, or use a custom directory that Maya can find on its script path.
2. Click Install / Reinstall. The operator is also named Install / Update Maya Script.
3. Restart Maya and open the Blender Bridge panel. Confirm the companion version is 3.0.16.

The package also contains DRAG_INTO_MAYA.py, revealed by Drag-in Installer / Get Drag-in Installer. Its embedded companion has the same inspected logic but a stale 3.3.10 version label. Use the Blender Install / Reinstall route above to install the correctly labelled 3.0.16 companion. That label is not evidence that the drag-in installer contains a newer release.

The standard Maya panel has Send to Blender, Get, Scene, Auto-Sync, Materials, Skin, Anim and Live (Beta) controls. The fallback panel spells some of these out, such as Get from Blender (import now) and Auto-Watch. They operate the same companion workflows.

For a missing FBX plug-in, check Maya's Plug-in Manager for fbxmaya and resolve the loading error before retrying. Arnold (aiStandardSurface) materials additionally depend on mtoa; the bridge falls back to Maya Standard Surface when it cannot create the requested Arnold shader.

4. Find the controls

In Blender, open the 3D Viewport, press N, and select the Maya sidebar tab for the standalone add-on. If a Universal Bridge Manager owns the panels, look in its shared tab instead.

The viewport card is an alternative interface for the same controls. Use its interface-switch button or Switch to the Viewport Card in the sidebar. If neither appears, check Show Maya Panel in the add-on preferences. Keep the sidebar open on the bridge tab while using the card.

The main groups are Send, Get, In Maya and Beta Features. The Everything / Mesh / UVs choice changes what a return transfer applies and, in UVs mode, changes Send to Send UVs Only. The card also provides search with / or Ctrl+F, favorites by right-clicking controls, and display preferences. Do not assume a global card-toggle shortcut exists in the standalone package.

5. First round trip

Use a disposable scene for your first check. Begin in Object Mode with a simple UV-mapped mesh and save both applications' scenes.

1. In Maya, open Blender Bridge and turn Auto-Sync on; the fallback panel calls this Auto-Watch.
2. In Blender, select the test mesh and choose Everything. Keep the default dedicated Maya Import collection enabled and use Update (keep others) for the return import.
3. Click Send to Maya. Confirm the mesh appears in Maya. If Maya was closed, the bridge uses the executable selected in preferences to launch it.
4. In Maya, select that mesh, make a small visible edit, and click Send to Blender.
5. In Blender, the return may arrive automatically because Auto Sync on Send or Get is enabled by default. For a manual return, click Get from Maya. Check the returned mesh in Maya Import, its UVs and its materials.
6. Stop Blender Auto Sync and Maya Auto-Sync before experimenting with Undo or restoring either scene. Undo in one application does not undo a file write or the changes already made in the other application.

In Everything mode, a Blender Send with nothing selected takes the visible supported objects. Select deliberately to avoid sending more than intended. A selected empty includes descendant meshes; cameras and lights join the regular send only when Include Cameras & Lights is enabled. In Maya, the selection Send requires a selection.

6. Choose what comes back

Everything imports the returned objects, including mesh and UV data, and applies the configured material handling. Within the destination collection, Update (keep others) replaces matching bridged objects while retaining the other objects there. Replace all clears the older objects in that destination collection before keeping the new import. Leave New 'Maya Import' Collection enabled unless you intentionally want the active collection to become the destination.

Mesh changes the button to Get Mesh. It transfers Maya's geometry onto a matched Blender object and attempts to transfer the existing Blender UVs onto the new geometry. When topology differs, the UV transfer uses nearest-surface mapping, so inspect seams, overlaps and small features. It is not a promise of identical UVs after arbitrary remeshing.

UVs changes the buttons to Send UVs Only and Get UVs. Use it when geometry should remain on the receiving side:

1. Establish the mesh in both applications with an initial Everything send.
2. Keep object identities and topology stable while editing the UVs.
3. For Blender → Maya, select meshes with UV maps, choose UVs, ensure Maya Auto-Sync is on, and press Send UVs Only. The Maya UV route checks topology and vertex order; mismatches are skipped and reported.
4. For Maya → Blender, select the Maya objects and press Send UVs Only, or send normally and choose UVs before Get UVs in Blender.
5. Inspect the active UV map and the report. A returned object that cannot be matched can remain as a new import; do not assume every name or topology mismatch was resolved automatically.

Avoid renaming paired objects mid-transfer. Blender's Get UVs transfer uses topology mapping where the mesh layout matches and nearest-surface mapping otherwise. Review results rather than treating a completed import as proof of a perfect match.

UV-only and mesh-only return examples. Keep paired object identities stable and inspect results after topology changes.

7. Automatic transfers and experimental Live Push

Auto Sync watches for a new file sent by the other application and imports it. It is separate from automatically detecting and sending your edits.

1. Turn on Start Auto Sync in Blender and Auto-Sync in Maya.
2. Check the status line. Sync live: Blender + Maya means both watchers are active. A waiting message identifies the missing side.
3. Send manually to establish the connection. With watchers running, the receiving application can import subsequent sends automatically.
4. Click Auto Sync: ON (click to stop) in Blender to stop it. A manually stopped listener stays off until you start it again, even if Auto Sync on Send or Get is enabled.

Automatic edit sending is Beta and off by default on both sides. In Blender, open Beta Features, enable Enable Beta Features, then Live Push (edits → Maya). Choose Edited Only, Selected or All Meshes as the push scope. Push Delay waits after the last edit; increasing it reduces repeated sends. Disable Push in Edit Mode if you want to wait until leaving Edit Mode.

In Maya, enable Live (Beta) to send edits back automatically while both watchers are active. Begin with one simple mesh. Stop both directions before large edits, topology changes or restoring saved scenes; review changes before continuing. Live Push is not a guaranteed replacement for manual transfer on every rig or scene.

Auto Sync imports incoming sends. Automatic edit sending is a separate Beta feature: Live Push in Blender and Live (Beta) in Maya.

8. Cleanup and smart transfer

The In Maya group controls the receiving Maya operation. Choose Preset to set the four basic cleanup toggles: Game enables Delete History, Freeze Transforms, Center Pivot and Soften Edges; Clean enables Delete History and Center Pivot; Raw disables those four cleanup steps. Raw does not reset every other transfer setting.

• Delete History removes construction history on newly processed meshes. Turn it off when that history matters.
• Freeze Transforms, Center Pivot and Soften Edges alter transforms, pivots or shading respectively. Use them deliberately on animation and rig assets.
• Update In Place attempts to update an existing Maya mesh when the implementation's geometry checks match, preserving its node and relationships. A topology-changing resend can require replacement, so this is not a general rig-preservation guarantee.
• Collections as Display Layers maps Blender collection information to Maya display layers.
• Subsurf as Smooth Preview sends an unbaked subdivision modifier as a Maya smooth-preview hint. If subdivision is baked by Apply Modifiers, the dense exported geometry is what travels.
• Preserve Instances carries linked duplicate meshes as Maya instances where the transfer permits it.
• Namespace separates imported names. Script runs a selected .py or .mel file after import; leave it empty unless you intend that customization.

The Blender Get group has independent cleanup controls: Clear Custom Normals, Clear Sharp Edges, and Sharp + Seams from UV. The last derives sharp edges and seam markings from UV island boundaries. Enable only the cleanup needed for the returned asset.

For safer iteration, use Backup Before Send to create object copies in Maya Backup, and save your scenes separately. Object copies are not a backup of Maya, external texture files or all application settings.

9. Materials and texture placement

In Send, enable Send Materials and choose the destination material type in As / Material Type. The bridge reads supported Principled BSDF values and texture connections into a sidecar alongside FBX; it does not translate every possible Blender node graph.

• Standard Surface supports the main colour, metalness, roughness, normal and emission channels handled by the bridge.
• Arnold (aiStandardSurface) needs Arnold loaded; otherwise the companion uses Standard Surface and reports the fallback.
• Lambert cannot carry metalness or roughness. Blinn has no metalness. Phong converts a roughness value to cosine power and does not carry a roughness map through that conversion.

For returns in Everything mode, enable Get Materials and choose To Principled. Use Keep Mine, or disable Get Materials, to retain the existing material on matching destination objects. Mesh and UVs returns do not rebuild materials. Objects with no useful Maya material recipe can keep the material already associated with the matching Blender import.

Leave Rebuild Texture Placement enabled to reconstruct supported Maya place2dTexture settings, including repeat, offset and rotation, and supported keyed texture offsets. The current companion is required. A single-axis Maya mirror cannot be represented exactly by Blender's whole-image extension setting; the bridge uses an approximation and reports it.

Packed Blender images are written out for the exchange. Missing external textures are reported; reconnect or pack them before retrying. Keep your texture files available when moving a saved scene to another machine. Complex procedural shading, arbitrary layered graphs and identical renderer appearance are not guaranteed. Inspect multi-material assets, opacity, colour space and texture placement on both sides.

Rebuild supported Maya texture placement on return. Complex shader graphs and renderer-equivalent appearance are outside this guarantee.

10. Cameras, lights and animation

Use Send Camera for a dedicated camera transfer. In Send settings, choose Active Camera, Selected or All Cameras. Depth of Field carries supported focus settings; Camera Animation bakes the scene frame range.

Use Send Lights with Selected, All Lights or Visible. The Selected light route falls back to all lights when nothing is selected, so check the report. Light Animation bakes the scene frame range. Intensity offers FBX Raw or Physical conversion; compare the result in the destination renderer rather than expecting a pixel-identical render.

For a mesh/character send from Blender, enable Include Animation and select the relevant mesh and armature. This exports baked object/armature animation over the scene frame range through FBX. On Maya's return panel, enable Skin for skin/blendshape export and Anim for baked timeline animation; both are off by default. The fallback panel calls them Send Skin + Blendshapes and Send Animation (timeline range).

This is data exchange, not full native-rig conversion. Controllers, constraints, drivers, custom rigs and renderer-specific data are not guaranteed to remain editable or equivalent. Review the complete frame range in the destination before continuing production work. Stop live syncing and save a copy before returning animation or changing topology on a skinned asset.

For Maya → Blender scene transfer, use Scene / Send Whole Scene → Blender in Maya, then Get Scene in Blender. It uses a separate scene exchange and a Maya Scene collection. Review imported hierarchy, cameras, lights and materials; the scene route is distinct from the normal selection Get.

Include Animation carries baked object/armature motion through FBX. Native rig controllers, constraints and drivers are not guaranteed to transfer.

11. Save a Maya ASCII scene

1. Set the Blender Send options you need, including modifiers, materials, animation and extra object types.
2. Click Save Maya Scene (.ma)…, choose the destination and select Selection or Visible Objects.
3. Choose Full to run the configured Maya installation's mayapy.exe in the background using the Send export path. This needs Maya and its FBX support; it is unavailable if the required executable is missing.
4. Choose Fast for Blender to write the file itself. Fast writes meshes, empties, UVs and a limited material representation. It skips unsupported object types and does not export rigs, animation, cameras or lights. Multi-material meshes use their active material, and Arnold material targets become Standard Surface.
5. Wait for the saved-file report, then open the .ma in Maya and inspect it before using it as a deliverable. Review any skipped-object or texture warning.

Esc can cancel the running Full save operation. Saving a file is outside Blender's scene Undo history. Fast uses a Maya ASCII header declaring Maya 2022; this is a file-writing detail, not a verified compatibility promise for every Maya release. Keep the original .blend as your authoring source.

Full uses Maya and the FBX route, limited to supported data; the clip’s “rigs, materials, all” wording is not an unrestricted preservation promise. Fast writes meshes, empties, UVs and limited materials, without rigs, animation, cameras or lights.

12. Shared tools and interface preferences

The standalone package includes shared utilities for History, Preflight, Selection Sets and Versioned Files. Use Preflight before sending to review geometry and asset warnings; use History to revisit recorded sends and selection sets to restore a deliberate group. File versioning stores exchange copies when enabled and is separate from saving your working scenes.

In add-on Button Icons, choose Brand Colours, Mono or Blender Built-ins. Colour-code Status keeps state colours distinct. Card preferences control its position, size, appearance, search/favorites behavior and local interface settings. Exporting card preferences saves interface configuration; it does not export your scene or the Maya installation.

The bridge exchanges local files, normally under the system temporary directory. A Manager-controlled custom exchange location may be used when available. Do not remove active exchange files while either watcher is running. Support and documentation buttons open external websites; an internet connection is needed to visit those pages.

13. Troubleshooting

Installed, but no panel: confirm the add-on is enabled, open a 3D Viewport, press N, and check Maya or the Manager's shared tab. Enable Show Maya Panel. Switch between the card and sidebar if one is hidden. Check for another installed bridge edition owning the same panels.

Maya not found: use Detect Maya, check Maya Version and set Maya Executable to the correct maya.exe. Confirm that installation opens normally on its own. The .ma Full route also needs mayapy.exe beside it.

Send completes, but Maya does not receive: confirm the current companion is installed and loaded, the Maya watcher is on, and both applications can write the exchange location. Click Maya's Get to try the last sent file. Check its Script Editor for an FBX or file-access error.

“No file from Maya yet”: select the object in Maya and use Send to Blender first. Blender Get imports the last export; it does not initiate a new Maya export for you.

UVs are skipped or a new object appears: check names, namespaces, the presence of UV maps and the initial Everything transfer. Blender → Maya UV-only transfer requires matching topology and vertex order. Inspect approximate UV mapping after topology-changing Blender returns.

A texture is missing or plain: update the companion, reconnect missing texture paths, use Everything return mode and enable Rebuild Texture Placement. Mesh/UVs returns deliberately do not rebuild materials. Check whether the chosen shader type supports the missing channel.

Objects arrive at the wrong scale: inspect both scenes' units and Blender's Unit Scale warning. Test with a simple measured object before changing many assets. Freezing transforms and correcting scene units are different operations.

Automatic edits do not travel: verify both watchers, the destination Blender selected in the Maya panel, and the direction's separate Beta Live Push switch. Manual Send/Get working does not mean Live Push has been enabled. Restart a listener manually after stopping it.

Unexpected replacements: stop syncing. Check Everything versus Mesh/UVs, Update versus Replace all, and the destination collection. Restore from saved scenes or inspect Undo in each application separately.

Maya reports 3.3.10 after a drag-in install: the supplied drag installer has a stale embedded version label. Install / Reinstall from Blender copies the canonical 3.0.16 companion. Back up userSetup.py first and restart Maya afterwards.

If a problem persists, send Tachyon Studio the add-on version, exact Blender and Maya versions, operating system, transfer direction, selected mode, error text and minimal reproduction steps. Share a small example only if you can share its assets.

14. Updates, removal, license and support

Before updating, stop both watchers, save both scenes and back up the Maya startup script. Replace the Blender add-on with one intended installation, then update the Maya companion from the same release and restart Maya. Compare both displayed versions. A mix of old and new companion files can lose sidecar data even when basic FBX exchange still works.

To remove the bridge, stop syncing first. Use the companion Uninstall control in Blender preferences while the add-on is still available, taking the startup-script backup precaution described above. Restart Maya, then disable/remove the Blender add-on in Preferences. Inspect other startup customizations afterwards. Keep your saved scenes and texture files; do not delete Maya user folders as an uninstall shortcut.

This guide documents package version 3.0.16. The original installer does not include a separate verified release history. These workflows describe this build rather than promise future changes.

The source and manifest declare GPL-2.0-or-later, copyright 2026 Tachyon Studio. Purchase-option descriptions do not replace the software license. For help, contact Tachyon Studio through Superhive messaging or join the Tachyon Discord. Discord is optional and is not required to activate the bridge. See the product page's displayed Support Period terms for the support included with your purchase and any renewal options.