Niagara FX Library
Niagara FX Library
Section titled “Niagara FX Library”Module: Design · Category: VFX · Tool ID:
NiagaraFXTemplateLibrary
A four-tab production collaboration tool for VFX artists and designers. FX Library scans every NiagaraSystem with search, category filter, and double-click-to-open. Asset Details lets you author per-asset metadata (category, tags, description, status, designer requests) that persists to JSON. Request Board aggregates designer requests across all assets, filterable by status. References shows which Blueprints / DataTables / Levels reference each Niagara asset.
When to use it
Section titled “When to use it”- VFX artists curating a library of reusable Niagara templates
- Designers requesting changes to specific FX assets without leaving the editor
- Cross-team production tracking — what’s Draft / WIP / Ready / Approved / Deprecated
- Finding which gameplay code references a specific Niagara asset
When not to use it
Section titled “When not to use it”- Don’t expect this to author Niagara graphs — UE’s Niagara editor owns that
- Don’t use this for runtime VFX debugging — see Niagara Profiler (Art module)
Opening the tool
Section titled “Opening the tool”- Open the EQLabs Hub and search for
Niagara FX Library(or browse to Design → VFX) - Click the tool card
- Use the tab bar: FX Library, Asset Details, Request Board, References
Tab 1 — FX Library
Section titled “Tab 1 — FX Library”Browse every NiagaraSystem with metadata.
| Section | What it does | Default |
|---|---|---|
| Scan Path | Folder to scan | /Game |
| Search | Filter by asset name | |
| Category combo | Filter by category | |
| Scan Niagara Systems | Walks every UNiagaraSystem | |
| Export CSV | Saves library inventory | |
| Assets list | Per-asset row: name, emitter count, GPU sim flag, user param count, category, status |
Single-click selects (drives the Asset Details tab). Double-click opens in the Niagara editor.
Tab 2 — Asset Details & Metadata
Section titled “Tab 2 — Asset Details & Metadata”Author metadata for the selected asset.
| Field | What it does |
|---|---|
| Status combo | Draft / WIP / Ready / Approved / Deprecated |
| Tags input | Comma-separated tags |
| Description input | Multi-line description |
| User Parameters list | Per-param view of the asset’s exposed user parameters |
| New Request input | Add a designer request |
| Save Metadata | Persists to JSON |
Tab 3 — Request Board
Section titled “Tab 3 — Request Board”Project-wide view of all designer requests.
| Section | What it does |
|---|---|
| Status filter combo | All / Open / In Progress / Done |
| Requests list | Per-request row: asset name, request text, author, created date, status |
Tab 4 — References
Section titled “Tab 4 — References”Find what references a Niagara asset.
| Section | What it does |
|---|---|
| Find References | Walks the project for assets that reference the selected Niagara |
| References list | Per-reference row: referencer name, path, type (Blueprint / DataTable / Level / etc.) |
Workflow
Section titled “Workflow”Cataloging an FX library
Section titled “Cataloging an FX library”- Set Scan Path
- Click Scan Niagara Systems
- For each asset, switch to Asset Details
- Set Category, Tags, Description, Status
- Click Save Metadata
Designer requesting a change
Section titled “Designer requesting a change”- Switch to Request Board (or pick the asset in FX Library)
- Type the request, click Add
- VFX artist works through requests filtered by Open status
Auditing references
Section titled “Auditing references”- Pick an asset in FX Library
- Switch to References tab
- Click Find References — see what consumes this asset
Settings reference
Section titled “Settings reference”Per-tab settings persist to [Project]/Saved/EQLabs/Settings/NiagaraFXTemplateLibrary.json.
Metadata persists separately to [Project]/Saved/EQLabs/NiagaraFXMetadata.json.
Output
Section titled “Output”- In-panel results per tab
- Metadata JSON — persisted across sessions
- CSV export — library inventory
- No Niagara asset edits — read-only
Tips & gotchas
Section titled “Tips & gotchas”- Metadata is per-asset, not per-version — when an asset is duplicated / renamed, metadata doesn’t follow automatically
- Request status workflow — Open → In Progress → Done is the expected flow; Critical issues should bypass the queue
- Categories are free-text — pick a project-wide convention and stick to it (e.g.,
Combat / Environment / UI / Cinematic)
Related tools
Section titled “Related tools”- Niagara Profiler — performance analysis on the same assets
- Sequencer Shot Validator — when Niagara is used in cinematic sequences
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