mayacmds

maya.cmds is a Python module that provides a scripting interface to Autodesk Maya’s command engine. It offers a large collection of functions that mirror Maya’s built-in commands, enabling users to create, modify, query, and manage objects and scene data from Python scripts. The module is included with Maya and is available in the Maya Python environment.

Usage typically involves importing the module and calling its functions with keyword arguments. For example, importing with import maya.cmds as cmds; creating a polygon cube can be done with cmds.polyCube(w=2, h=2, d=2, name='myCube'), which returns a list containing the created transform and shape names. Common operations include creating geometry, transforming objects, selecting and listing objects, and querying scene information. Commands often support a query flag (q=True) to retrieve attribute values or state information.

Examples of common workflows include: creating and naming objects, moving or rotating parts of the scene with cmds.xform or cmds.move, selecting objects via cmds.ls(selection=True), and querying attributes such as width or height with appropriate flags. The library is designed to be intuitive for users familiar with Maya’s MEL commands, as most functions map directly to those underlying commands.

Relation to other Maya APIs: maya.cmds is a Python wrapper around Maya’s MEL command engine and is the de facto standard for quick scripting and tooling in Python. PyMEL offers a more Pythonic, object-oriented layer built on top of maya.cmds, while the OpenMaya API provides a lower-level interface for performance-critical plugins. maya.cmds remains popular for rapid development and pipeline tools within Maya.