Output Nodes

Output nodes are where baked data is actually written out, and are what you click to trigger a bake of everything upstream.

Output Image Path

Writes baked data to an image file on disk. Takes:

  • Split Output — the destination path and file-name prefix, either typed in directly or driven by an upstream File Names node (see File Naming, Tokens & Frame Ranges).

  • Output Settings — resolution/format settings (falls back to the pinned Recipe Settings if left unconnected).

  • Color — the main image data (from a Bake Pass, a Post node, or a Channel Map).

  • Alpha — an optional separate single-channel source for the alpha channel. This socket only appears/matters when the output format’s color mode is set to RGBA.

If the Split Output socket is fed from a File Names node connected to a list of objects, materials, or a mesh group, one output file is generated per item, named using that item plus the configured prefix and tokens — see File Naming, Tokens & Frame Ranges.

Before a bake can run, this node validates that: settings are available, a proper non-color color space is configured (in add-on preferences, if your Blender build doesn’t provide one natively), at least one Color input is connected and valid, the destination folder exists (or can be created, per Create Paths in preferences), and any existing file at the destination is actually a readable image and not something else with the same name.

Output Vertex Colors

Writes baked data into a vertex color (or byte color) attribute on the target mesh(es) instead of an image file. Choose the storage Domain (per-Vertex or per-Face-Corner) and Data Type (32-bit float Color, or 8-bit Byte Color).

Because baking happens in a background process working on a separate copy of your file (see Interface), results are staged rather than written immediately. After a bake finishes, use the Apply / Discard buttons that appear on the node to commit the staged vertex data to your actual objects, or throw it away.

Important

A connected Color input needs a valid suffix/name for the data (this comes from however that input identifies itself — e.g. an object or mesh-group name) — an unnamed connection will fail validation.

Batch Bake

A controller node that lets you bake many Output Image Path / Output Vertex Colors nodes (and everything upstream of them) in one click, rather than triggering each individually. Connect any number of finished Bake outputs into its inputs (a new empty slot is always kept available).

  • Bake All — validates and bakes everything connected, using the same background process and progress reporting described in Interface.

  • Apply / Discard — same vertex-color staging controls as on Output Vertex Colors, covering every staged vertex result from the batch.

  • Pre-Bake Script / Post-Bake Script — optional Python scripts run before and/or after the batch, chosen as either an internal text block or an external .py file. Both are syntax-checked during validation before a bake starts.

  • Increment Property — optionally increments a custom property on a chosen ID/data block by one for each item baked in the batch (handy for driving a scene state, e.g. a frame or variant index, across the batch). Can be reset to zero automatically at the start of each new bake.

  • Shutdown on Completion — attempts to shut down the system once the batch finishes. When enabled, the node’s background color turns red as a visual warning.