DCC Bridge
The DCC Bridge is a local HTTP REST server built into the Clustta desktop client. It exposes project data - accounts, studios, projects, collections, assets, checkpoints - as REST endpoints so DCC tools can query and interact with Clustta programmatically.
Why a local HTTP API
DCC plugin development is normally painful: every tool has its own scripting language, its own threading model, and its own way of being called from outside. By exposing Clustta as a local HTTP server, Clustta works with the tool's own HTTP libraries:
- Blender can access it from a Python addon.
- Maya can use a
requests-based script. - Unreal can use Blueprint or C++ HTTP nodes.
- Houdini, Nuke, and Substance can use any available HTTP client.
Plugin developers do not need to link against Clustta's binary, navigate platform-specific IPC, or work with its internal data formats. They receive JSON over HTTP.
Where it runs
The bridge runs on 127.0.0.1:1173 (loopback only, never exposed to the network). It starts automatically while the Clustta desktop client is running.
What it exposes
Read-only endpoints provide access to:
- Authentication and the current user
- Studios the user can access
- Projects in each studio
- Collections and their nesting
- Assets, including types, tags, statuses, and assignees
- Checkpoints, including version history, authors, and comments
- Working-folder paths, so a plugin knows where files are stored locally
Write endpoints for common operations are being expanded. The current model focuses on reading project data and leaves writes in the desktop UI.
Authentication
The bridge uses the desktop app's signed-in session. If no user is signed in, the bridge returns 401. There is no separate token model; the local app is the source of trust.
Build a plugin
- Make sure the desktop client is running.
- Request an endpoint such as
GET http://127.0.0.1:1173/api/v1/projects. - Parse the JSON and build the integration in the DCC tool.
A reference plugin and OpenAPI specification are planned. For now, see internal/bridge in the Clustta client repository for the available endpoints.