maya-import-to-scene

name	maya-import-to-scene
description	Pipeline stage — structured asset import. Consume an AssetDescriptor produced by maya-asset-source and import the asset (FBX, OBJ, USD) into the current Maya scene via cmds.file(). Handles axis/unit conversion, MaterialMode, PlacementHint, and optional target collection grouping. Returns an ImportToSceneResult with the new node list.
license	MIT
allowed-tools	Bash Read
metadata	{"dcc-mcp":{"dcc":"maya","layer":"domain","stage":"pipeline","version":"1.0.0","tags":["maya","import","asset","pipeline","fbx","obj","usd"],"search-hint":"import asset to scene, import FBX pipeline, import OBJ pipeline,\nimport USD Maya, AssetDescriptor import, ImportToSceneResult,\naxis conversion import, unit conversion import, material mode,\nplacement hint, target collection, asset import pipeline","tools":"tools.yaml","groups":"groups.yaml","depends":["maya-asset-source"]}}

maya-import-to-scene (Pipeline stage)

Structured asset import for the Maya import pipeline. This skill consumes AssetDescriptor records from maya-asset-source and writes geometry into the current scene, returning an ImportToSceneResult.

Typical workflow

maya-asset-source: search_assets / resolve_asset
         ↓  AssetDescriptor
import_to_scene(descriptor, axis_conversion=..., material_mode=..., ...)
         ↓  ImportToSceneResult

ImportToSceneResult schema

{
  "asset_id":            "<id from descriptor>",
  "asset_name":          "<name>",
  "path":                "<absolute path>",
  "format":              "fbx | obj | usd | ma | mb",
  "imported_short_names": ["mesh1", "rig1"],
  "imported_long_names":  ["|mesh1", "|rig1"],
  "top_level_groups":    ["|asset_grp"],
  "size_bytes":          12345,
  "axis_conversion":     "none | y_to_z | z_to_y",
  "unit_scale":          1.0,
  "material_mode":       "preserve | assign_lambert | skip",
  "placement_hint":      "origin | selection | custom",
  "target_collection":   null
}

MaterialMode

Value	Behaviour
preserve	Keep materials as imported (default).
assign_lambert	After import, assign a default Lambert shader to all new mesh shapes.
skip	Strip material assignments after import.

PlacementHint

Value	Behaviour
origin	Leave imported nodes at the position encoded in the file (default).
selection	Move the top-level group to the current selection's world-space pivot.
custom	Translate the top-level group to custom_position [x, y, z].

Axis / unit conversion

Maya natively reads the axis and unit stored in FBX. The axis_conversion parameter is a post-import override applied via cmds.xform on every top-level transform when you need to correct mismatches:

Value	Effect
none	No post-import transform (default).
y_to_z	Rotate top-level transforms 90° around X (convert Y-up → Z-up).
z_to_y	Rotate top-level transforms −90° around X (convert Z-up → Y-up).

unit_scale applies a uniform scale to every top-level transform (e.g. 0.01 to convert cm → m).

Scripts

• import_to_scene — Import an AssetDescriptor into the current Maya scene