config-presets

name	config-presets
description	Choose and run a ready-made preset operation stack from config_presets/. Use when you want a known-good starting point for a common optimization goal rather than assembling a custom config.
version	1.0.0
allowed-tools	Shell, Read
metadata	{"author":"NVIDIA Corporation","tags":["usd","optimization","presets","config"]}

config-presets — Ready-made operation stacks

Each config_presets/*.json file is a ready-to-run operation stack: a JSON array of operations applied to a stage in order. Use one to get a known-good baseline before considering custom tuning.

What this skill covers

• Preset table — the six presets, their effect, and whether they are lossless.
• Step 1 — pick a preset for the user's goal.
• Step 2 — run the preset.
• Step 3 — customize if needed.

Companion skills: run-operations (CLI usage, flags, error handling), tune-parameters (iterate a single operation's parameters after running a preset).

---

Preset table

Preset	Effect	Lossless?
safe-cleanup.json	Extents, prune empty leaves, dedup geometry, dedup materials, drop redundant time samples.	Yes
memory-reduction.json	Dedup geometry into instances, dedup materials, prune leaves.	Yes
load-time-reduction.json	Author extents, prune leaves, drop redundant time samples, dedup materials.	Yes
hierarchy-dedup.json	Collapse duplicate hierarchies, then dedup remaining geometry.	Yes
data-quality-baseline.json	Generate normals, mesh cleanup (merge verts, manifold, coorient), extents.	Bounded loss
mesh-count-reduction.json	Mesh cleanup, dedup geometry, remove small geometry, conservative decimation (error-bounded by maxMeanError, not reductionFactor).	Bounded loss

When the user is unsure, recommend safe-cleanup — it is conservative and fully lossless.

Step 1 — pick a preset

Match the user's goal to a preset:

• General cleanup with no risk: safe-cleanup
• Reduce runtime memory: memory-reduction
• Reduce load time: load-time-reduction
• Duplicate subtrees dominate the scene: hierarchy-dedup
• Fix mesh quality issues: data-quality-baseline
• Reduce draw-call or polygon count: mesh-count-reduction

If the goal spans multiple presets (e.g. memory AND load time), run them in sequence or combine their operation lists into a custom config.

Step 2 — run the preset

_build/<platform>/<config>/bin/usdOptimize \
    -i input.usd \
    -c config_presets/<preset>.json \
    -s -r \
    -w output.usd

<platform> is e.g. linux-x86_64; <config> is release or debug. -s captures before/after stats; -r emits a per-operation report. See docs/cli.rst for the full flag list.

Step 3 — customize if needed

To adjust a preset, copy the JSON file and edit the operation list. Per-operation arguments and defaults are in docs/operations/<key>.rst; guidance on which operations help which goal is in docs/choosing-operations.rst.

For interactive parameter tuning on a single operation, use /tune-parameters.