Skip to content

REQUIREMENTS.md

Latest commit

 

History

History
141 lines (106 loc) · 4.77 KB

REQUIREMENTS.md

File metadata and controls

141 lines (106 loc) · 4.77 KB
Raw

Requirements

SplatfastK1 turns a phone video into a 3D Gaussian splat you can open in Blender. Here's everything you need installed before it'll work.

Platform

Windows 10 or Windows 11 (64-bit). This release is Windows-only — see Cross-platform support at the bottom if you're on Mac/Linux.

Required

1. Python 3.11 or newer

Download from python.org/downloads. During install, tick "Add python.exe to PATH".

Verify: open PowerShell and run

python --version

You should see Python 3.11.x or higher.

2. COLMAP (free, ~150 MB)

The "structure-from-motion" engine that figures out where each video frame was filmed from. Without it, no splat training is possible.

  • Download: github.com/colmap/colmap/releases → grab the COLMAP-3.x-windows-cuda.zip (or -no-cuda.zip if you don't have an NVIDIA GPU — only matters for local training, not cloud)
  • Unzip it somewhere permanent like C:\Tools\colmap\
  • Add that folder to your Windows PATH:
    • Press Win → type Edit environment variables → open it
    • Edit Path → New → paste C:\Tools\colmap → OK

Verify:

colmap -h

3. FFmpeg (free, ~100 MB)

Extracts frames from your video file.

  • Download: ffmpeg.org/download.html → Windows builds → Gyan.dev → ffmpeg-release-essentials.zip
  • Unzip to C:\Tools\ffmpeg\ (you want the bin/ subfolder on PATH)
  • Add C:\Tools\ffmpeg\bin to your Windows PATH (same way as COLMAP above)

Verify:

ffmpeg -version

4. A Replicate account + API key (for cloud training)

The app uploads your COLMAP dataset to Replicate, where a cloud GPU trains the Gaussian splat. You pay per training run (~$0.03 for "fast", ~$0.20 for "high quality").

Without a Replicate key, the app still works for local training if you have an NVIDIA GPU. Without one, cloud is the only option.

Required to view the result in Blender

5. Blender 5.1 (free)

  • Download: blender.org/download
  • Install to the default location: C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\Blender 5.1\

The auto-import script also tries Blender 4.3 as a fallback, but 5.1 is the target.

6. BlendSplat library (free, ~700 KB)

The geometry-nodes asset library by soerensc that turns the trained .ply file into proper Gaussian splat rendering inside Blender.

The first-time setup screen in the SplatfastK1 app downloads and installs this for you automatically. If you want to install it manually:

If BlendSplat isn't installed, the app falls back to the Kiri Engine 3DGS Render Blender addon if you have that installed. If neither is available, the splat will open as a raw point cloud (still viewable, just not pretty).

Optional

  • NVIDIA GPU with 8 GB+ VRAM — only if you want local training instead of cloud. Cloud doesn't need any local GPU.
  • Kiri Engine 3DGS Render Blender addon — as a BlendSplat alternative. Available on the Blender Extensions site.

Install SplatfastK1 itself

After all the above is in place:

git clone https://github.com/Kmollo/splatfastk1.git
cd splatfastk1
pip install -e .

Then launch:

python -m desktop.main

Or pin a Start Menu shortcut: see desktop/launch.bat.

Verify everything works

Run the smoke test (no actual training, just checks every button is wired):

python -m desktop.test_buttons

You should see 46 passed, 0 failed.

Cross-platform support

The core pipeline (COLMAP, FFmpeg, Brush via Replicate, keyring) is cross-platform. The Windows-only parts are:

  • Blender auto-launcher (hardcoded path C:\Program Files\Blender Foundation\...)
  • The bundled Brush local viewer binary (brush_app_windows.exe)
  • The CREATE_NO_WINDOW console-hiding flag (no-ops elsewhere)
  • Start Menu shortcut script

A Mac/Linux build is feasible but not in this release. If you want it, open an issue.