Modo developers.

Modo gives developers an extensive range of options for enhancing their experience

Modo SDK

Modo development is based-on an internally developed architecture called Nexus® that provides a consistent and malleable foundation for building products. Nexus is a highly-layered, cross-platform, generalized, time-aware architecture for rapid development of both 2D and 3D media applications. Foundry actively licenses the Nexus technology to third-party companies, including Dassault Systèmes SOLIDWORKS Corp. and Bentley Systems, who use it to deliver rendering and animation capabilities for their customers.


At the center of the Modo SDK is Nexus. It has a set of core functionality and systems with specific features and options arranged like spokes around the Nexus core. This extensible set of features are called servers, and are implemented as plug-ins. 

Modo TD SDK

The Modo TD SDK offers a simpler and more intuitive interface to the existing Python API, making it easier for technical directors to write plug-ins. Essentially a package wrapped around the base Python API, the TD SDK simplifies the COM semantics of Modo's plug-in architectures and presents a more Python-like interface.

Scripting language support inside Modo

Modo supports scripting in Python, Lua or Perl right out of the box. To invoke a script stored on disk, simply select SHIFT-F5 inside of Modo. You can evaluate the processing of scripts you have loaded using Modo's Event Log (accessed from the main menu bar via Systems > Advanced > Event Log).

Editing the Modo User Interface using “Forms”

The Modo user interface is composed of “forms,” which can be resized or toggled on and off to further optimize the user interface. If you hit F3 inside of Modo, you can view and modify a wide variety of forms. We've built useful combinations of forms that we provide as “layouts” for Modo users, and new layouts can be easily created and saved by both users and Modo developers.

Toolpipe (custom tool creation)

Modo’s Toolpipe lets you create an infinite number of specialized modeling and selection tool variants that you can assign to hotkeys or other parts of the user interface. With the Toolpipe, you are able to combine Modo’s robust set of powerful modeling tools with falloffs and action centers in new combinations to customize the way a given tool feels, looks and affects geometry. You can either use Modo’s tools as supplied, or leverage the Toolpipe to create a tailored set of tools that work exactly the way you want them to.