Randomize all seeds in a project

Last update: July 9, 2026

This example adds an action in the Edit menu to randomize all the random seed properties from the Substance materials present in the current project.

To use this example:

Go to your Python plugin folder (Find the python plugin folder)
Create a folder named random_seed
Create a file named init.py
Copy the code below inside the file.

import os
import re
import sys
import math
import json
import random
from datetime import datetime

import substance_painter as sp
import substance_painter_plugins as spp

# Qt5 vs Qt6 check
IsQt5 = sp.application.version_info() < (10,1,0)

if IsQt5 :
    from PySide2 import QtGui
    from PySide2 import QtCore
    from PySide2 import QtWidgets
else :
    from PySide6 import QtGui
    from PySide6 import QtCore
    from PySide6 import QtWidgets

WIDGETS = []

ValidNodeTypes = (
    sp.layerstack.NodeType.FillLayer,
    sp.layerstack.NodeType.FillEffect,
    sp.layerstack.NodeType.FilterEffect,
    sp.layerstack.NodeType.GeneratorEffect
)

def GetSourceMode( Source ) :
    try:
        return Source.source_mode
    except:
        return None

def CheckForRandomseed( CurrentSource, Sources ) :
    if type( CurrentSource ) == sp.source.SourceSubstance :
        Parameters = CurrentSource.get_parameters()

        # Check if the Substance has a random seed
        if "$randomseed" in Parameters :
            Sources.append( CurrentSource )

        # Check if any of the inputs of the Substance has another
        # Substance with a random seed too
        for Name in CurrentSource.image_inputs :
            InputSource = CurrentSource.get_source( Name )
            CheckForRandomseed( InputSource, Sources )

def FindSources( Node, Sources ) :
    if Node.get_type() in ValidNodeTypes :
        Source = []
        Mode = GetSourceMode( Node )

        if Mode == sp.source.SourceMode.Material :
            Source.append( Node.get_material_source() )

        elif Mode == sp.source.SourceMode.Split :
            for Channel in Node.active_channels :
                Source.append( Node.get_source( Channel ) )

        else :
            Source.append( Node.get_source() )

        for CurrentSource in Source :
            CheckForRandomseed( CurrentSource, Sources )

def IterateLayer( Parent, Sources ) :
    if Parent.get_type() == sp.layerstack.NodeType.FillLayer :
        FindSources( Parent, Sources )

    if Parent.get_type() == sp.layerstack.NodeType.FillLayer \
    or Parent.get_type() == sp.layerstack.NodeType.GroupLayer \
    or Parent.get_type() == sp.layerstack.NodeType.PaintLayer :
        for Effect in Parent.content_effects() :
            FindSources( Effect, Sources )

        for Effect in Parent.mask_effects() :
            FindSources( Effect, Sources )

    if Parent.get_type() == sp.layerstack.NodeType.GroupLayer :
        for Layer in Parent.sub_layers() :
            IterateLayer( Layer, Sources )

def RandomizeSeed() :
    if not sp.project.is_open():
        sp.logging.warning( "No project open" )
        return

    # Sources list
    Sources = []

    # List all stacks and gather their resources
    for TextureSet in sp.textureset.all_texture_sets() :
        for Stack in TextureSet.all_stacks() :
            for Layer in sp.layerstack.get_root_layer_nodes( Stack ) :
                IterateLayer( Layer, Sources )

    # Setup parameters
    Parameters = { "$randomseed" : random.getrandbits(16) }

    # Batch
    with sp.layerstack.ScopedModification( "Randomize all the seeds" ) :
        for Source in Sources :
            Source.set_parameters( Parameters )

def start_plugin():
    ActionBuilder = None
    if IsQt5 :
        ActionBuilder = QtWidgets.QAction
    else :
        ActionBuilder = QtGui.QAction

    Action = ActionBuilder(
        "Randomize all seeds",
        triggered=RandomizeSeed
    )

    sp.ui.add_action(
        sp.ui.ApplicationMenu.Edit,
        Action
    )

    WIDGETS.append( Action )

def close_plugin():
    for Widget in WIDGETS :
        sp.ui.delete_ui_element( Widget )

if __name__ == "__main__":
    start_plugin()

recommendation-more-help

substance-3d-dev-help-painter-python-guide