About Python in 3ds Max

3ds Max embeds a Python 2.7.15 interpretor and environment. The Python modules are located in [max_install_dir]\python\lib\site-packages. They were compiled with Visual Studio 2017, to be binary compatible with 3ds Max. CPython libraries must also be built with the same compiler to be compatible with the Python environment. Note: extension libraries should be installed outside of the 3ds Max install location. The Python executable has been rebuilt in order to properly initialize the Python environment in 3ds Max, and it's called 3dsmaxpy.exe. You can find it in [max_install_dir]. See Python extension libraries for more information.

Pyside2

A pre-compiled version of PySide2 (also known as "Qt For Python") is installed with 3ds Max, and this is the preferred method for building UIs with Python. See Creating Python UIs for more information.

About 3ds Max Python APIs

3ds Max offers two Python APIs to help you to extend and customize 3ds Max, and more easily integrate it into a Python-based pipeline:

The pymxs module contains a runtime member that provides access to the interfaces, functions, structures, objects, properties, and variables in the MAXScript environment, whether they are built in or defined by the user. This guide contains some examples of how to translate between MAXScript syntax and Python, but for a comprehensive list of everything available, see the MAXScript Help. For more information about pymxs see Using pymxs.

The Python MaxPlus module is built on top of the 3ds Max C++ SDK, but has limited functionality. It is a thin, auto-generated wrapper for some C++ classes, and requires some understanding of the C++ API. See the 3ds Max Developer Help for information about the C++ API. For more information see Using MaxPlus Python