Outfit Studio Automation

The Automation dialog lets you define, save, and execute sequences of operations (called steps) on your project — either one at a time or in batch across many files or slider sets.

Open it from the File menu in Outfit Studio (Open Automation..., or press Ctrl+Shift+A).

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Running an Automation

Loading a Script

Use the dropdown at the top of the dialog to select a previously saved automation script. Scripts are stored as .xml files in the Automations folder next to Outfit Studio.

Placeholder Variables

Expand the Placeholder Variables panel to define key/value pairs. Any text field in your steps can reference these using {{KEY}} syntax — when the automation runs, every occurrence of {{KEY}} is replaced with the corresponding value.

For example, if you define BODY = CBBE, then a step with target meshes set to {{BODY}}Body would resolve to CBBEBody at execution time.

Up to 10 variables can be defined. Variables are saved with the script.

Executing

• Execute: Runs every active (checked) step in order on the current project. If a batch mode is enabled, it repeats the steps for each batch item.
• Execute Selected (right-click a step): Runs only that single step on the current project. This does not use batch mode.

If a step fails, you are prompted whether to continue with the remaining steps or abort.

Headless Execution

Saved scripts can also be run without opening the dialog by using the command-line automation flag:

OutfitStudio --automation "Script Name" [batch inputs...]

Use the saved script name without the .xml extension. For batch scripts, positional arguments become batch inputs:

• Folder Scan: files or directories to process.
• Slider Sets: slider set or project names to process.

Non-batch scripts ignore positional arguments.

Batch Operations

Expand the Batch Operation panel to process multiple files or slider sets automatically. Choose a mode:

None

Steps run once on the currently loaded project.

Folder Scan

Repeats the automation for every matching file in a folder.

Setting	Description
Folder	The folder to scan for files.
Extension	File extension filter (e.g. .nif). Only files with this extension are processed.
Include subdirectories	Also scan subfolders recursively.
File name filter	Only process files whose name contains this text (case-insensitive substring match).
Regex	Treat the file name filter as a regular expression instead of a substring.

For each file, the project is cleared, the file is imported, the automation steps run, and the project is cleared again. The following variables are automatically available in addition to your custom ones:

Variable	Value
{{BATCH_FILE}}	Full path to the current file
{{BATCH_NAME}}	Filename without extension
{{BATCH_FULLNAME}}	Filename with extension
{{BATCH_DIR}}	Directory containing the file

Slider Sets

Repeats the automation for every matching installed slider set (from BodySlide projects).

Setting	Description
Slider set filter	Only process slider sets whose name contains this text.
Regex	Treat the filter as a regular expression.

After applying the filter, a checklist dialog appears letting you select which slider sets to process. For each selected set, the project is loaded from the slider set file, the automation steps run, and the project is cleared.

Variable	Value
{{BATCH_FILE}}	Path to the slider set project file
{{BATCH_NAME}}	Display name of the slider set
{{BATCH_SET}}	Same as {{BATCH_NAME}}
{{BATCH_DIR}}	Directory containing the slider set file

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Creating an Automation

Type a new name into the script dropdown and click Save to create a new script. The dialog starts with an empty step list.

Managing Steps

Right-click the step list to open the context menu:

• Add Step: Inserts a new step below the currently selected step. If no step is selected, adds to the end of the list.
• Remove Step: Deletes the selected step.
• Move Up / Move Down: Reorders the selected step. You can also press Ctrl+Up / Ctrl+Down in the step list.
• Execute Selected: Runs only the selected step (without batch mode).

Each step has an Active checkbox. Inactive steps are skipped during execution.

Common Step Settings

Every step has these fields:

Field	Description
Type	The operation to perform (see below).
Active	Whether this step runs during execution.
Target Meshes	Comma-separated list of shape names this step applies to. If empty, the step applies to all non-reference shapes.
Regex	If checked, the target meshes field is treated as a regular expression matched against shape names.
Note	A free-text note for your reference. Shown in error messages if the step fails.

For Set Extra Data and Delete Extra Data, leaving Target Meshes empty targets the NIF root node instead of all non-reference shapes.

Step Types

The dialog currently exposes 39 step types.

Project & Reference

Clear Project

Resets the entire project to a blank state, removing all shapes, sliders, and data.

Load Reference

Loads a reference (base) shape from a file.

Option	Description
Source File	Path to a .nif file or a slider set project file (.osp, .xml).
Slider Set	If loading from a project file, the name of the slider set to load. Leave empty to use template matching.
Shape	The specific shape name to use as the reference. Leave empty to use the default.
Load All	When using template matching (no set specified), load all shapes from the template.
Merge Sliders	Merge incoming slider data with existing sliders of the same name.
Merge Zaps	Merge incoming zap sliders with existing ones.
Append New Sliders	Add sliders from the reference that don't already exist in the project.

Add Project

Adds shapes and sliders from another slider set project file into the current project.

Option	Description
Source File	Path to the project file.
Slider Set	The slider set to add.
Append New Sliders	Add new sliders that aren't already in the project.

Set Reference Shape

Designates an existing shape in the project as the reference (base) shape, or clears the current reference when Unset Reference is enabled.

Option	Description
Shape Name	Name of the shape to set as reference. Ignored if Unset Reference is enabled.
Unset Reference	Clears the current reference instead of selecting a shape.

Clear Reference

Removes the current reference shape from the project, keeping all other shapes and slider data intact.

Shapes

Delete Shape

Deletes shapes from the project. Uses the Target Meshes filter to select which shapes to delete.

Rename Shape

Renames a single shape.

Option	Description
Old Name	Current name of the shape.
New Name	New name for the shape.

Duplicate Shape

Creates a copy of target shapes with a new name.

Option	Description
New Name	Name for the duplicated shape. If duplicating multiple shapes, the original name is appended to avoid conflicts.

Change Partitions

Changes target shape triangle assignments from one body partition to another.

Option	Description
Source Partition	Existing partition/body part to change from.
Destination Partition	Partition/body part to change to.

Matching triangle assignments are updated and any empty partitions are removed afterward.

Fix Bad Bones

Runs Outfit Studio's bad-bones fixer and applies the recommended corrections automatically to bones with inconsistent NIF transforms.

Fix Clipping

Pushes target geometry or slider morphs outward to reduce clipping against the current reference shape.

Option	Description
Mode	Shapes fixes the current base geometry of target shapes. Sliders fixes each slider's morph data individually.
Strength	Clipping-fix strength (0% to 100%).
Slider Names	In Sliders mode, optional comma-separated list of sliders to process. Leave empty to process all non-zap/non-UV sliders.

Requires a reference shape.

Mirror Shape

Mirrors target shapes along one or more axes.

Option	Description
Mirror X / Y / Z	Which axes to mirror along.
Swap Bones L↔R	Swap left/right bone names (e.g. NPC L Hand ↔ NPC R Hand).

Import File

Imports a mesh file into the project as a new shape.

Option	Description
File Path	Path to a .nif, .obj, or .fbx file.
From Folder	If checked, imports all supported files from the specified folder.
Load before batch file (step #1 only)	In Folder Scan batch mode, if this is the first step, imports this file before each batch file so its root node and blocks become the base.

Set Geometry Properties

Toggles geometry flags on target shapes.

Option	Description
Properties	Add one or more property rows. Supported properties are Skinned, Dynamic, Full Precision, and Sub Index.

Skinned adds or removes skinning data. Dynamic only applies to stream 100 NIFs. Sub Index requires stream 130 or newer. Full Precision only works on editable BSTriShape geometry.

Set Extra Data

Sets or creates named extra data blocks on target shapes, or on the NIF root node when Target Meshes is empty.

Option	Description
Block Type	NiStringExtraData, NiIntegerExtraData, NiFloatExtraData, or NiBooleanExtraData.
Name	Extra data name.
Value	Value text. Boolean values accept true/false, yes/no, on/off, or 1/0.

If a block with the same name and type already exists, its value is updated. If the name already exists with a different type, automation logs a warning and does not create a duplicate block.

Delete Extra Data

Deletes named extra data blocks from target shapes, or from the NIF root node when Target Meshes is empty.

Option	Description
Name	Extra data name to remove.

Refine Mesh

Subdivides all shape meshes by splitting every triangle edge, increasing vertex and triangle density. Useful before conforming for better detail.

Transforms

Transform Shape

Applies movement, rotation, scaling, and/or inflation to target shapes.

Option	Description
Move X / Y / Z	Translate by these amounts.
Rotate X / Y / Z	Rotate by these angles (degrees).
Scale X / Y / Z	Scale factors (1.0 = no change).
Inflate X / Y / Z	Move each vertex along its normal by this amount per axis. Useful for making shapes slightly larger/smaller while preserving form.

Invert UVs

Flips UV coordinates for target shapes.

Option	Description
Invert U	Flip the U (horizontal) texture coordinate.
Invert V	Flip the V (vertical) texture coordinate.

Reset Transforms

Resets all shape transforms in the project back to identity (zero translation, zero rotation, unit scale).

Set Base Shape

Bakes the current slider values into the base shape geometry. After this, the shape's rest position reflects the currently applied slider values, and slider values are reset.

Sliders

Set Slider Values

Sets slider values without baking them into geometry.

Option	Description
Slider Names	Comma-separated list of slider names to set. Leave empty to set all sliders.
Value	The value to set (0% to 100%).

Conform Sliders

Generates slider data for target shapes by conforming them to the reference shape's slider deformations.

Option	Description
Proximity Radius	Search radius for finding nearby reference vertices.
Max Results	Maximum number of nearby vertices to consider.
Smooth Results	Smooth the generated result deltas after conforming.
Smoothing Iterations	Number of smoothing passes to run when Smooth Results is enabled.
Smoothing Strength	Strength used for smoothing result deltas.
No Squeeze	Prevent vertices from being pushed inward.
Solid Mode	Treat the reference as a solid volume instead of a surface.
Axis X / Y / Z	Which axes to conform along.
Fix Clipping	Run clipping fix immediately after conforming each shape/slider delta.
Clipping Strength	Strength percentage used by the conform-time clipping fix.
Slider Names	Comma-separated list of specific sliders to conform. Leave empty for all non-zap/non-UV sliders.

Set Slider Properties

Sets metadata and default values on existing sliders.

Option	Description
Slider Names	Comma-separated list of sliders to update. Leave empty to apply to all sliders.
Zap	Mark matching sliders as zap sliders, or leave unchanged.
Hidden	Mark matching sliders as hidden, or leave unchanged.
Default (Small) / Default (Big)	Default values for regular sliders. Leave blank for no change.
Default Zapped	Shown when Zap is set to Yes. Controls whether matching zap sliders are zapped by default.

Delete Slider

Removes a slider from the project.

Option	Description
Slider Names	Comma-separated list of slider names to delete.
Regex	If checked, treats the name as a regular expression and deletes all matching sliders.

Import Slider Data

Imports slider data from files.

Supported formats for single-file mode:

• .osd — Imports all slider diffs from the OSD file, auto-mapping to shapes by target name.
• .tri — Imports all morphs from the TRI file, auto-mapping to shapes by name. UV morphs are preserved.
• .nif / .obj / .fbx — Computes a slider diff by comparing the file's mesh geometry against the current shape. Requires a slider name (first entry of Slider Names, or the filename is used). Applied to all shapes that have a matching mesh in the file.
• .bsd — Imports binary slider data. Requires a slider name (same as above).

Option	Description
File/Folder	Path to a slider data file (.osd, .bsd, .nif, .obj, .fbx, .tri), or a folder containing them.
From Folder	If checked, scans the folder for slider data files. For .osd and .tri files, all sliders/morphs are imported automatically (shape mapping is built into the file format). For .nif, .obj, .fbx, and .bsd files, filenames must follow the ShapeName#SliderName.ext naming pattern.
Merge Only	Only import data for sliders that already exist (don't create new ones).
Slider Names	Comma-separated list of specific sliders to import. For .osd/.tri, filters which sliders to import. For .nif/.obj/.fbx/.bsd, the first entry is used as the slider name. Leave empty to import all (.osd/.tri) or use the filename as slider name (others).

Bones

Copy Bone Weights

Copies bone weights from the reference shape to target shapes.

Option	Description
Proximity Radius	Search radius for finding nearby reference vertices.
Max Results	Maximum number of nearby vertices to consider.
Bone List	Comma-separated list of specific bones to copy. Leave empty for all bones.

Delete Bones

Removes bones or bone weights.

Option	Description
Bone Names	Comma-separated list of bone names to delete.
From Entire Project	If checked, deletes the bone entirely. If unchecked, only removes weights from target shapes.

Add Custom Bone

Adds a new custom bone to the project.

Option	Description
Bone Name	Name of the new bone.
Parent	Name of the parent bone.
Translation X / Y / Z	Position of the bone.
Rotation X / Y / Z	Rotation of the bone.

Edit Custom Bone

Modifies an existing custom bone's transform and parent.

Option	Description
Bone Name	Name of the bone to edit (must not be a standard skeleton bone).
Parent	New parent bone name.
Translation X / Y / Z	New position.
Rotation X / Y / Z	New rotation.

Remove Skinning

Removes all bone weight data from target shapes. If no target shapes are specified, removes skinning from all shapes.

Apply Pose

Applies a loaded pose to the mesh geometry, permanently deforming it.

Option	Description
Pose Name	Name of the pose (must be loaded in Outfit Studio's pose list).

Shaders

Set Shader Properties

Sets one or more shader values on target shapes.

Option	Description
Properties	Add one or more property rows. Supported properties are Shader Type, Specular Color, Specular Strength, Specular Power, Emissive Color, Emissive Multiple, Alpha, Env Map Scale, Eye Cubemap Scale, UV Offset, UV Scale, Lighting Effect 1, Lighting Effect 2, Skin Tint Color, Hair Tint Color, and Refraction Strength.

Properties that do not apply to the current shader or NIF version are skipped.

Set Texture Paths

Sets one or more texture slots on target shapes.

Option	Description
Paths	Add one or more texture rows, each with a texture slot and path.
Texture Slots	Named slots include Diffuse, Normal, Glow/Skin, Parallax, Environment, Env Mask, and Specular. Raw slots 6 and 8 through 12 are also available for version-specific shaders.

Only shapes with a BSShaderTextureSet-capable shader, and only slots valid for the current NIF version, are updated.

Saving & Exporting

Save Project

Saves the current project as a BodySlide slider set.

Option	Description
Display Name	Name shown in BodySlide.
Slider Set File	Path to the .osp project file.
Output File	The game output .nif filename.
Output Data Path	The game data path for the output.
Shape Data Folder	Folder for shape data files (.osd and base .nif).
Shape Data File	The base shape data filename.
Generate Weights	Create _0.nif and _1.nif weight variants.
Copy Reference	Include the reference shape in the output.

Batch-specific options (only relevant in Slider Sets batch mode):

Option	Description
Use original project	Instead of using manual settings, reads the save fields from the original slider set being processed.
Replace From / To	After loading original settings, replace all occurrences of one string with another in the output fields. Useful for redirecting output paths.
Suffix	Append a suffix to the display name, shape data folder, and slider set filename.
Copy reference from project	Only copy the reference shape if the loaded project had one. Automatically enabled when "Use original project" is checked.
Ref shape names	Comma-separated list of shape names. Only copy the reference if its name matches one of these. Leave empty to match any reference shape.

Export File

Exports the project to a file.

Option	Description
File Path	Output path. Supported formats: .nif, .obj, .fbx, .osd, .tri. For .osd and .tri, the slider data (morphs) is exported rather than mesh geometry. In batch mode with a folder-type path, the original filename is used.
Include Reference	Include the reference shape in the export (NIF only).
Prefix	Prepend this text to the output filename.
Suffix	Append this text to the output filename (before extension).

Batch-specific option:

Option	Description
Use original file path	Export directly to the path of the file that was loaded by the batch, overwriting it.

Masks

Clear Mask

Clears the current vertex mask on target shapes. Uses Target Meshes to choose which shapes to clear.

Load Mask

Loads a vertex mask from a mask file and applies it to target shapes.

Option	Description
Mask File	Path to the mask file.
Mask Name	Name of the mask within the file. Must match the file's stored mask name.

Nodes

Remove Unused Nodes

Deletes unreferenced NIF nodes from the current project.

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Tips

• Use placeholder variables to make scripts reusable. For example, define {{OUTPUT}} as your output folder and reference it in export paths.
• In batch mode, combine {{BATCH_NAME}} with custom variables to build dynamic paths: {{OUTPUT}}/{{BATCH_NAME}}_modified.nif.
• Use the Regex option on target meshes to apply a step to shapes matching a pattern, e.g. Body|Hands|Feet.
• Steps that fail show the step's Note in the error dialog — use notes to remind yourself what each step does.
• The Execute Selected right-click option is useful for testing individual steps before running the full script.