Nuke

Nuke brings greater control and flexibility to LiveGroups, new timeline stereo and VR workflows, bounding box and channel management features, plus significant particle performance improvements!



Nuke®, NukeX®, and Nuke Studio® work alongside Hiero® and HieroPlayer® to offer seamless integration with the rest of the Nuke Family for faster, more efficient workflows.

The Nuke Family offers cutting-edge toolkits for node-based compositing, editorial, and review, with unparalleled flexibility and collaborative workflows, to help you get the highest quality results - fast.

With over 200 creative nodes, Nuke delivers everything you need to tackle the diverse challenges of digital compositing. This includes industry-standard keyers, rotoscopes, vector paint tools, color correction, and so much more.

Deep Image compositing tools let you create and work with images that contain multiple opacity, color, and camera-relative depth samples per pixel, so there's no need to re-render CG elements when content changes.



Discover how artists and studios around the world use the app to push the boundaries of creativity and deliver epic results, from VR projects to the biggest feature films.

Join more than 37,000 Nuke users on Nukepedia. Your community resource for all things Nuke, from gizmos and Python scripts to presets, free plug-ins, and nuBridge, letting you download and manage tools right from Nuke. Nukepedia has it all.

Nuke
3D compositor, designed to streamline day-to-day workflow. Flexible, efficient, and feature-packed, this toolset delivers film-grade results, fast. The perfect choice for compositors, lighters, and animators after a robust toolset for compositing tasks

NukeX
Get the core functionality of the app, with an additional ‘out of the box’ toolkit of exclusive time-saving features. Ideal for taking on more complex compositing tasks, NukeX’s advanced toolset gives more power and control to the compositor

Nuke Studio
The compositing power of NukeX, plus the multi-track editorial timeline of Hiero, allows you to conform, review, edit, and even create and render compositions from the timeline. Nuke Studio gives supervisors & artists more creative control



What’s New - Nuke 17

Native Gaussian Splats Support: Enables importing, viewing, editing, and rendering Gaussian splat data directly in Nuke for advanced 3D scene reconstruction and environment extensions.

Field Nodes System: Introduces new Field nodes that allow artists to generate, combine, and manipulate fields to control point-based 3D data such as Gaussian Splats.

Modernized 3D Workflow: Major improvements to the 3D system with enhanced tools for cameras, lighting, materials, projections, and scene management.

Improved Lighting Tools: Updated lighting workflow with a redesigned interface and terminology aligned with real-world VFX production pipelines.

Deep Rendering Performance Improvements: Optimized deep compositing rendering with significant speed gains for complex scenes.

OpenAssetIO Integration Update: Updated OpenAssetIO libraries improve pipeline integration and asset management stability.



How to Use

• Launch the software and set up preferences
• Import footage into the Node Graph
• Use nodes to apply effects and compositing
• Adjust keyframes for animation and motion
• Utilize 3D space for advanced compositing
• Render the final project using Write nodes
• Export completed work in the desired format

FAQs

What is Nuke used for?
Nuke is a professional node-based compositing software developed by Foundry. It is widely used in the film, television, and visual effects industries for combining multiple visual elements, creating complex effects, and finishing high-end cinematic shots.

What makes Nuke different from other compositing tools?
Nuke uses a node-based workflow rather than a traditional layer-based system. This allows artists to build complex visual effects pipelines, manage large projects, and maintain precise control over every stage of the compositing process.

Is Nuke used in professional film production?
Yes. Nuke is one of the industry-standard compositing tools used in major film and VFX studios worldwide. It has been used in the production of many blockbuster films and high-end visual effects projects.

Does Nuke support scripting and customization?
Yes. Nuke supports Python scripting and extensive customization options. Studios often create custom tools and automation workflows to streamline production pipelines.

Is Nuke still relevant in 2026?
Yes. In 2026, Nuke remains a leading compositing solution in the visual effects industry. It continues to receive updates and is widely used in professional VFX pipelines for film, television, and advertising.



Pricing for Nuke Family Software

Nuke ($3,839 /year): Standard compositing with 200+ creative nodes, integrated 3D, Python & C++ SDK, and technical support.

NukeX ($5,219 /year): Includes full Nuke toolset, advanced 3D tracking, VR plug-ins, two Nuke Assist & Render licenses, and technical support.

Nuke Studio ($6,379 /year): NukeX features + multi-track editorial timeline, AAF/XML/EDL support, two Nuke Assist & Render licenses, and technical support.

Nuke Render ($462 /year): Headless Nuke for external rendering, supports files from all Nuke versions.

System Requirements

• OS: Windows 11 (64-bit)
• Processor: x86-64 processor (Intel Core 2 Duo or newer)
• Memory: 8 GB RAM
• Graphics: GPU with at least 512 MB VRAM and OpenGL 2.0 support
• GPU Acceleration (Optional): NVIDIA GPU with CUDA 11.8+ drivers or supported AMD GPU
• Display: 1280 x 1024 resolution with 24-bit color
• Storage: 5.7 GB available disk space (for caching and temporary files)

Notes:

• The latest graphics drivers are recommended.
• GPU acceleration requires OpenGL 2.0 with floating-point textures and GLSL support.
• Machine learning features (CopyCat training) require an NVIDIA GPU with compute capability 3.5 or higher.
• Other operating systems may work, but are not officially tested for Windows builds.

PROS

• Industry-standard compositing software
• Powerful node-based workflow
• Extensive 3D compositing features
• Wide range of third-party plugins
• Efficient rendering and performance

CONS

• High system requirements
• Expensive for individual users
• Limited real-time playback speed
• Requires additional plugins for some tasks

Note: 30-day trial version.

Also Available: Download Nuke for Mac