3ds Max publishing guidelines

When you register as a publisher, you'll see the complete requirements in the Publisher Agreement. This guide summarizes the key points — the agreement takes precedence if anything differs.

When you submit your app, the form collects everything needed for your listing — including content for the quick-start page that's included with downloads and viewable online.

Compatibility

Your product must be relevant to (and usable with) 3ds Max® 2026 and must run on any Windows operating system supported by 3ds Max 2026. You may also indicate compatibility with 3ds Max® 2025 | 2024 |2023 | 2022 | 2021.

Your product must work with any higher-tiered version of the 3ds Max product. For example, if your application works with the 3ds Max Suites, it must also work with the standard version of 3ds Max.

User privileges

If you don’t use the standard installer template we provide, or if your installer or product requires elevated user privileges (greater than a Windows 10/11 Standard User) to install, then this must be very clearly documented in the description of your product displayed on the Store.

Product stability

Your product should be stable and not behave or alter the behavior of 3ds Max in a way that we deem unsuitable, for example, blocking standard functionality, blocking the functionality of another plug-in, causing data loss, etc.

HTML help page

When you submit your app, the documentation form generates a help page that's included with your download. Make sure your instructions are clear and actionable — users should be able to get started quickly. You can link to additional resources hosted on your website.

Ready to run

Your app must work immediately after installation — no manual file copying, registration, or settings changes required. The autoloader mechanism described below can help you achieve this.

If your app uses licensing:

• Activate automatically (e.g., online activation), or
• Include a fully functional trial period long enough to deliver activation to the customer.

Additional requirements

• Your plug-in must include a toolbar button and/or a menu to access your main command(s) when applicable. Plug-ins that install to other typical UI aspects are also fine. For example, a modifier plug-in, would display itself in the typical modifier UI.
• You must use a plug-in manifest as the loading mechanism. This is typically a PackageContents.xml file.

There are no additional requirements for products that are not integrated with 3ds Max. This might include eBooks, video tutorials, industry specific calculators, connectors to cloud-based services, and the like.

Bundle and XML file structure

Your plug-in manifest goes in the all-user location:

%ProgramData%\Autodesk\ApplicationPlugins

Your plug-in files are stored in a .bundle folder named after your application. This folder contains:

• Your plug-in files
• A PackageContents.xml file (created by the installer we build for you)

The PackageContents.xml describes the bundle contents, including:

• Component locations (where to load the application from)
• Supported versions

See the plugin package documentation for more details.

Use the autoloader system

We strongly recommend using the autoloader mechanism to deploy your plug-in.

Tip: Download free plug-ins from the Marketplace to study their structure — for example, the Plug-in of the Month samples like Explode Geometry.

Special considerations

If your app has requirements the standard installer can't handle, let us know. We can accommodate:

• Single-user installs — installs only for the current user instead of all users
• Custom installation needs — provide a Windows Installer Merge Module (.msm) file and we'll merge it with the .msi we create for your app

Custom installs are useful for things like registry entries for licensing, dependent components from other vendors, or custom scripts.

End User License Agreement

The installer that the ADN team creates for your app includes a button that allows the user to view the standard End User License Agreement (EULA) during the app installation.

Note: This EULA is not modifiable. If you wish to include your own EULA to your app, you can do either:

• Reference your EULA from the standard HTM help file text.

• Display your EULA when the app runs for the first time, and require the user to accept it before the app will work.

Questions? Email appsubmissions@autodesk.com for support.

For more resources, visit the API documentation and the Developer Community Blog.