C4D Plugin Compiler

简体中文 | English

C4D Plugin Compiler is a desktop, build and packaging tool for Cinema 4D C++ plugins. It helps prepare Maxon C++ SDK sources, detect the local Windows build environment, run the official CMake preset workflow, and package compiled plugins into C4D-ready folders.

The app is built with Tauri 2, Rust, React, and TypeScript. It is based on the DunHouGo/tauri-desktop-starter template and extends it with Cinema 4D SDK discovery, build orchestration, packaging, and updater release workflows. The current workflow supports Windows and macOS builds for Cinema 4D 2024.4 and newer.

Features

• Manage one shared SDK root for Cinema 4D 2024.4, 2025, and 2026+ SDKs.
• Detect local Cinema 4D installations and map them to matching Maxon C++ SDK versions.
• Download or reuse cached SDK archives when a required SDK is missing.
• Check CMake, Visual Studio 2022, Windows SDK, and SDK availability before building.
• Build C++ plugins through Maxon's official CMake preset workflow.
• Generate merged packages, per-version packages, and optional zip archives.
• Copy plugin resources so each output folder can be selected directly as a Cinema 4D plugin.
• Preview the output file tree before running a build.

Requirements

• Windows or macOS
• Node.js 20+
• Rust stable
• CMake
• Visual Studio 2022 with MSVC C++ build tools and Windows SDK on Windows
• Xcode, Clang, and Python 3.8 on macOS
• Cinema 4D 2024.4 or newer when local SDK detection is needed

Quick Start

vp install
vpr dev

For a release build:

vpr tauri build

For a build check without creating installers:

vpr tauri build --no-bundle

Basic Workflow

1. Set SDK Root in the SDK Sources panel( Default is ../Documents/Maxon_SDK).
2. Click Auto Detect or Refresh to detect local Cinema 4D installs and available SDKs.
3. Set Plugin Root, Module, Package, target C4D versions, configuration, package mode, and output folder.
4. Use Output Preview to confirm the folder layout.
5. Click Build to resolve SDKs, compile the module, and package the artifacts.

See readme-en.md for the detailed user guide.

Project Structure

Path	Purpose
src/	React frontend source
src-tauri/	Rust and Tauri backend source
locales/	App localization files
docs/developer/	Architecture and development documentation

Development Commands

This project uses Vite+ command entrypoints.

vp install
vpr typecheck
vpr test:run
vpr rust:fmt:check
vpr rust:clippy
vpr tauri build --no-bundle

GitHub Releases And Updates

GitHub Actions builds Windows and macOS release artifacts when a v* tag is pushed. The workflow publishes a GitHub Release with Windows MSI/NSIS installers, macOS DMG/app bundles, updater signatures, and latest.json.

To publish a release:

git tag v0.1.7
git push origin v0.1.7

The updater endpoint is configured as:

https://github.com/DunHouGo/C4D-Plugin-Complier/releases/latest/download/latest.json

License

This project is licensed under GNU General Public License v2.0 only.