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Installation

▶Video tutorial — coming soon

Requirements
Toon Boom Harmony 21 Premium or later (21, 22, 24, 25)
Python 3.9 — the only version Harmony's Python bridge works with
Everything else Nothing. Qt ships with Harmony; ORC has zero external dependencies and is never pip-installed.

Install

  1. Copy the octoRigComposer folder into your Harmony scripts folder:

    %APPDATA%\Toon Boom Animation\Toon Boom Harmony Premium\<version>-scripts\

    ~/Library/Preferences/Toon Boom Animation/Toon Boom Harmony Premium/<version>-scripts/

  2. Restart Harmony.

  3. Open Windows → Script Editor, or add the toolbar button, and run Octo_RigComposer().

The folder name matters

The launcher looks for a folder called exactly octoRigComposer inside your user-scripts folder. Renaming it breaks the launch with "Python bridge unavailable."

First launch

ORC checks its licence before it builds a window. On a fresh install you land in the 30-day trial — see Licensing & Activation.

With no Master Controller loaded yet, the bottom bar shows a one-time welcome hint:

Welcome to Octo Rig Composer. Select a Master Controller group in Node View, then double-click the Front or Back slot under Head in the Outliner.

It disappears for good the first time you set an MC slot.

Next: Concepts & Vocabulary, then Quick Start.

If it does not launch

Harmony shows one of two message boxes, both naming the log file:

Message Usual cause
Octo Rig Composer failed to launch. Python raised while starting. Read orc.log.
Octo Rig Composer could not start: Python bridge unavailable. The folder is missing, misnamed, or in the wrong <version>-scripts directory. The box prints the exact path it expected.

The log lives at:

%APPDATA%\OctoRigComposer\orc.log

See Troubleshooting.

The Widget Editor

The Widget Editor ships in the same folder and can run standalone, without opening ORC — useful for restyling an MC that is already composed. Run Octo_WidgetEditor() the same way.

Uninstalling

Delete the octoRigComposer folder and restart Harmony. That leaves three things behind, which you can remove separately:

What Where
Preferences %APPDATA%\Toon Boom Animation\Toon Boom Harmony Premium\octo_rig_composer\
Presets and logs %APPDATA%\OctoRigComposer\
Licence %APPDATA%\Octo\OctoRigComposer\

Free the seat before you wipe a machine

Deleting the licence file locally does not release your activation. Use Return License or Deactivate first — see Licensing.

Master Controllers you already composed keep working: the composed script lives in your Harmony scene, not in ORC.