3ds Max Plugin Development

Build 3ds Max plugins using msvc-kit without installing Visual Studio.

Requirements

3ds Max Version	MSVC Version	Windows SDK
3ds Max 2025	14.38	10.0.22621.0
3ds Max 2024	14.34	10.0.22000.0
3ds Max 2023	14.32	10.0.19041.0
3ds Max 2022	14.29	10.0.19041.0

Setup

1. Download MSVC

# For 3ds Max 2025
msvc-kit download --msvc-version 14.38 --sdk-version 10.0.22621.0

2. Setup Environment

msvc-kit setup --script --shell powershell | Invoke-Expression

3. Set Max SDK Path

$env:MAXSDK = "C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2025 SDK\maxsdk"

Plugin Types

3ds Max supports several plugin types:

Type	Extension	Description
Utility	.dlu	Utility plugins
Modifier	.dlm	Geometry modifiers
Object	.dlo	Procedural objects
Material	.dlt	Materials and textures
Controller	.dlc	Animation controllers
Import/Export	.dle	File format handlers

Building a Simple Plugin

Utility Plugin (HelloWorld.cpp)

#include <utilapi.h>
#include <istdplug.h>
#include <iparamb2.h>
#include <maxscript/maxscript.h>

#define HELLO_CLASS_ID Class_ID(0x12345678, 0x87654321)

class HelloWorld : public UtilityObj {
public:
    void BeginEditParams(Interface* ip, IUtil* iu) override;
    void EndEditParams(Interface* ip, IUtil* iu) override;
    void DeleteThis() override { }
};

void HelloWorld::BeginEditParams(Interface* ip, IUtil* iu) {
    MessageBox(ip->GetMAXHWnd(), L"Hello, 3ds Max!", L"Hello", MB_OK);
}

void HelloWorld::EndEditParams(Interface* ip, IUtil* iu) {}

// Class descriptor
class HelloWorldClassDesc : public ClassDesc2 {
public:
    int IsPublic() override { return TRUE; }
    void* Create(BOOL loading = FALSE) override { return new HelloWorld(); }
    const TCHAR* ClassName() override { return _T("HelloWorld"); }
    SClass_ID SuperClassID() override { return UTILITY_CLASS_ID; }
    Class_ID ClassID() override { return HELLO_CLASS_ID; }
    const TCHAR* Category() override { return _T("My Plugins"); }
};

static HelloWorldClassDesc helloWorldDesc;

// DLL entry points
BOOL WINAPI DllMain(HINSTANCE hinstDLL, ULONG fdwReason, LPVOID lpvReserved) {
    return TRUE;
}

__declspec(dllexport) const TCHAR* LibDescription() { return _T("Hello World Plugin"); }
__declspec(dllexport) int LibNumberClasses() { return 1; }
__declspec(dllexport) ClassDesc* LibClassDesc(int i) { return &helloWorldDesc; }
__declspec(dllexport) ULONG LibVersion() { return VERSION_3DSMAX; }

Compile

msvc-kit setup --script --shell powershell | Invoke-Expression

# Compile
cl /c /O2 /MD /EHsc /DWIN32 /D_WINDOWS /DUNICODE /D_UNICODE `
   /I"$env:MAXSDK\include" `
   HelloWorld.cpp

# Link
link /DLL /OUT:HelloWorld.dlu `
     HelloWorld.obj `
     /LIBPATH:"$env:MAXSDK\lib\x64\Release" `
     core.lib geom.lib gfx.lib mesh.lib maxutil.lib `
     paramblk2.lib bmm.lib

CMake Build

CMakeLists.txt

cmake_minimum_required(VERSION 3.20)
project(MaxPlugin)

set(CMAKE_CXX_STANDARD 17)

# 3ds Max SDK
set(MAX_VERSION "2025" CACHE STRING "3ds Max version")
set(MAXSDK "C:/Program Files/Autodesk/3ds Max ${MAX_VERSION} SDK/maxsdk"
    CACHE PATH "3ds Max SDK path")

# Compiler flags
add_compile_options(
    /O2 /MD /EHsc
    /DWIN32 /D_WINDOWS /DUNICODE /D_UNICODE
)

# Plugin
add_library(HelloWorld SHARED
    src/HelloWorld.cpp
    src/HelloWorld.def
)

target_include_directories(HelloWorld PRIVATE
    ${MAXSDK}/include
)

target_link_directories(HelloWorld PRIVATE
    ${MAXSDK}/lib/x64/Release
)

target_link_libraries(HelloWorld
    core geom gfx mesh maxutil paramblk2 bmm
)

# Output as .dlu
set_target_properties(HelloWorld PROPERTIES
    SUFFIX ".dlu"
    PREFIX ""
)

Module Definition File (HelloWorld.def)

LIBRARY HelloWorld
EXPORTS
    LibDescription
    LibNumberClasses
    LibClassDesc
    LibVersion

Build

msvc-kit setup --script --shell powershell | Invoke-Expression

cmake -B build -G "NMake Makefiles" -DCMAKE_BUILD_TYPE=Release
cmake --build build

Modifier Plugin Example

SimpleModifier.cpp

#include <simpmod.h>
#include <iparamb2.h>

#define SIMPLE_MOD_CLASS_ID Class_ID(0xABCDEF01, 0x10FEDCBA)

class SimpleMod : public SimpleMod2 {
public:
    void ModifyObject(TimeValue t, ModContext& mc, ObjectState* os, INode* node) override;
    Interval LocalValidity(TimeValue t) override { return FOREVER; }
    Class_ID ClassID() override { return SIMPLE_MOD_CLASS_ID; }
    void GetClassName(TSTR& s) override { s = _T("SimpleMod"); }
};

void SimpleMod::ModifyObject(TimeValue t, ModContext& mc, ObjectState* os, INode* node) {
    // Modify geometry here
}

Library API Usage

use msvc_kit::{download_msvc, download_sdk, setup_environment, DownloadOptions};
use std::process::Command;

async fn build_max_plugin(max_version: &str) -> msvc_kit::Result<()> {
    let msvc_version = match max_version {
        "2025" => "14.38",
        "2024" => "14.34",
        "2023" => "14.32",
        _ => "14.38",
    };
    
    let options = DownloadOptions {
        msvc_version: Some(msvc_version.to_string()),
        ..Default::default()
    };
    
    let msvc = download_msvc(&options).await?;
    let sdk = download_sdk(&options).await?;
    let env = setup_environment(&msvc, Some(&sdk))?;
    
    std::env::set_var("INCLUDE", env.include_path_string());
    std::env::set_var("LIB", env.lib_path_string());
    
    let maxsdk = format!("C:\\Program Files\\Autodesk\\3ds Max {} SDK\\maxsdk", max_version);
    
    let cl = env.cl_exe_path().expect("cl.exe not found");
    Command::new(&cl)
        .args([
            "/c", "/O2", "/MD", "/EHsc",
            "/DWIN32", "/D_WINDOWS", "/DUNICODE", "/D_UNICODE",
            &format!("/I{}\\include", maxsdk),
            "HelloWorld.cpp"
        ])
        .status()?;
    
    let link = env.link_exe_path().expect("link.exe not found");
    Command::new(&link)
        .args([
            "/DLL", "/OUT:HelloWorld.dlu",
            "HelloWorld.obj",
            &format!("/LIBPATH:{}\\lib\\x64\\Release", maxsdk),
            "core.lib", "geom.lib", "maxutil.lib"
        ])
        .status()?;
    
    Ok(())
}

Installation

Copy the plugin to 3ds Max's plugin directory:

$MAX_PLUGINS = "C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2025\plugins"
Copy-Item HelloWorld.dlu "$MAX_PLUGINS\"

Or use a custom plugin path in 3dsmax.ini:

[Directories]
Additional Plug-In Path=C:\MyPlugins

Troubleshooting

"Cannot find Max SDK headers"

$env:MAXSDK = "C:\Program Files\Autodesk\3ds Max 2025 SDK\maxsdk"
Test-Path "$env:MAXSDK\include\max.h"

Linker Errors

Ensure you're linking the correct libraries:

core.lib geom.lib gfx.lib mesh.lib maxutil.lib paramblk2.lib bmm.lib

Plugin Not Loading

Check 3ds Max's plugin manager and system log for errors.