PyMEL 1.3.0, 1.3.1 and 1.4.0b1, 1.4.0 with support Maya 2024

PyMEL 1.3.0, 1.3.1, 1.4.0b1 with support Maya 2024

What’s New:

pymel 1.3.0
Version 1.3.0
3 april 2023
Maya: 2019-2023

  • all: Add maya-2023 and python 3.9 support

  • all: Major update to pyi type stubs.
    Most auto-generated functions & methods now include type info for all arguments,
    including both short and long variants for functions generated from MEL/maya.cmds.
    The stubs are distributed as part of the pymel package in a PEP 561-compatible way,
    so that they will be automatically discovered by IDEs and static type analyzers like mypy.

  • dropped support for maya-2018

  • Fix language.Env.host() (issue #460)

  • Do not use ‘is’ when comparing to string literals (issue #449)

  • Fix bug where maybeConvert returned None for 0 (issue #448)

  • Fix incompatible use of import on python3 (issues #447 and #445)

pymel 1.3.1
Version 1.3.1
12 april 2023
Maya: 2019-2023

  • Fix issue with mel2py in python3 (issue #465)

pymel 1.4.0b1 prerelease
Version 1.4.0b1
12 april 2023
Maya: 2020-2024

  • Added maya-2024 and python 3.10 support
  • Dropped support for maya-2019

Maya 2024 pyMel ;(
12 april 2023
Chad Dombrova:

Hi all,
PyMEL 1.3.0 has been released with support for 2023, and 1.4.0b1 has been released with support for 2024. To install the beta for 2024 pip install with --pre flag.

PyMEL is definitely still actively developed, as you can see from the features discussed in this blog post: PyMEL's new type stubs - DEV Community

As for why PyMEL is no longer bundled with Maya, I’ll do my best to summarize the discussions with Autodesk on this topic. Firstly, there seemed to be the impression that the new python API 2.0 solved the problems with python scripting in Maya, which is an assessment that I don’t agree with. Nothing has appreciably changed with the ability to use maya.cmds with the C++ API wrapper(s) in the 15 years since python was first added to Maya. One pain point from Autodesk’s perspective was that releasing Maya required a certain amount of cooperation between Autodesk and the PyMEL developers, which added extra steps for them and slowed them down, which is a point I totally understand. Their assessment was that the pros of installing via PyPI – decoupled release schedules, esp the ability to release patch fixes to PyMEL – outweighed the cons – extra steps for users and headaches with installing behind a firewall. And lastly, I think there was the feeling that there’s a world of open source projects out there for Maya, so “why should PyMEL get special status?”

What we’re seeing with the delayed release of pymel for 2023 is one of the downsides of the new arrangement: the lack of a hard deadline to get PyMEL released in time to be bundled with Maya means it doesn’t always make it to the top of the issue stack at Luma (I managed to get all of the release work done for 2023 and 2024 on my vacation and while sick).

If there are others out there who would like to cooperate on PyMEL, we’re happy to do so. The release process is very well documented, and I make an effort to improve it every time I do the process.

I hope that clears things up. Let me know if you folks have any questions and I’ll do my best to answer them.

-chad

Chad Dombrova
Posted on 6 april • Updated on 12/15 april
PyMEL’s new type stubs

Type stubs for PySide2 (and soon PySide6)

5 Likes

hah - classic AD.

Thanks very much for this and all your efforts - I was despairing at the prospect of PyMel disappearing from the Maya ecosystem and having to revert back to cmds…

1 Like

oh Autodesk…

Big thanks for pushing this out! But take care of your health too!

A little dramatic discussion…

Google Groups: "Python_inside_maya"
Chad Dombrova:
PyMEL 1.3.0 Released

1 Like

Sorry guys, can you please explain what’s happening?

We don’t have PyMel in Maya anymore starting from 2024?

PyMEL 1.4 Production Released

pymel 1.4.0 (pypi.org)
Version 1.4.0
28 april 2023
Maya: 2020-2024

  • Added maya-2024 and python 3.10 support
  • Dropped support for maya-2019
1 Like

AutoDesk has stopped shipping PyMel with Maya, but the original developer of PyMel ( Luma Pictures ) continue to update and support it. AutoDesk’s reasoning for this is detailed in the first post.

1 Like

Unfortunate for people, but this was long overdue.

I agree with the assessment that Api 2.0 is incomplete and cmds has not evolved much, but PyMel has not exactly been the perfect remedy. Between the performance costs, long initialization times (grows with plug-ins), and sometimes obtuse error reporting and documentation, there are valid reasons some developers choose to avoid it and for Autodesk to keep their focus elsewhere.

The PyMEL developers do deserve a lot of credit for bridging the gap between OpenMaya and cmds, as well as wrapping it in an object oriented package. Even though OOP can have its shortcomings too, there’s no denying lots of people gravitate to and rely on it. Feel for those who may have to transition away from PyMEL as a result of this. Wish the PyMEL devs luck moving forward.