A visual AOV browser for Nuke. Instantly view and select EXR layers via thumbnails. Features a search filter and F4 hotkey support.
Visual Layer Inspector
First submitted: 22 February 2026
Author: Marty Blumen
Website: https://www.martyblumen.com/
Compatible Nuke versions: 13.0 or later
Compatibility: Source
Visual Layer Inspector
The Visual Layer Inspector is a powerful Python-based utility for Nuke designed to streamline the process of multi-channel EXR management. Instead of cycling through a long list of layer names in the Viewer dropdown, this tool generates a grid of thumbnails that allows compositors to visually identify and select the desired layer.
Key Features
Thumbnail Previews: Automatically generates visual thumbnails for every layer in the selected node, providing an instant overview of your AOVs (Arbitrary Output Variables).
Intelligent Channel Mapping: Logic is built-in to handle RGB, RGBA, and single-channel (grayscale) layers, ensuring that data like depth (Z) or motion vectors are displayed correctly.
Real-time Filtering: Includes a search bar to quickly filter through dozens of layers by name (e.g., typing "spec" to see only specular passes).
Disk Cache Optimised: To ensure stability and speed, the tool utilises Nuke's native Disk Cache path for temporary image storage, preventing clutter in your project directories.
Cross-Platform Compatibility: Supports both PySide2 (Nuke 11-13) and PySide6 (Nuke 14-15+).
How to Use
Select a node containing multiple channels (such as a Read node with a multi-part EXR or a Shuffle node).
Press F4 to launch function.
The Visual Layer Inspector window will appear. Click any thumbnail to instantly switch the active Viewer to that layer.
Use the filter bar at the top to narrow down large lists of AOVs.
Installation
To install the Visual Layer Inspector, place the script in your .nuke directory (or any folder in your pluginPath) and add the following lines to your menu.py:
import VisualLayerInspector # Assuming the file is named VisualLayerInspector.py
nuke.menu('Nuke').addCommand('Utils/Visual Layer Inspector', 'VisualLayerInspector.launch()', 'f4')
MIT License
Copyright (c) 2026 Marten Blumen
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
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