SketchUp and Rhino plugins

A plugin does three things, in this order. The same pattern fits SketchUp, Rhino, Revit and Blender.

1. 1

   Step 1: Export the viewport

   Save the view as a PNG or JPEG at the size you want back.

2. 2

   Step 2: Render it

   Call POST /v2/renders with the image in the same call: the file as the image part of a multipart form, or base64 in JSON. Add an Idempotency-Key made when the user pressed the button, so a retry after a dropped connection never charges twice.

3. 3

   Step 3: Bring the image back

   Poll GET /v2/jobs/{id} every few seconds, then download outputs[0].url before its expires_at and place it in the model or a gallery.

Where the key lives

Each user pastes their own key from the console into the plugin’s settings, and the plugin keeps it in the operating system’s keychain. Never ship a key inside the plugin: anyone could read it and spend on your account. A key used from a desktop plugin needs no allowed origins.

Showing progress and cost

• Show the price before the user renders: GET /v2/engines lists each engine’s price.
• charged_usd on the answer is what the render cost, in dollars; GET /v2/account is the balance left.
• A 402 INSUFFICIENT_CREDITS should open the user’s top-up page, not a generic error.
• Respect Retry-After on a 429, and see Rate limits for the numbers.