Creating custom asset nodes via Python API

itstanthony

Hey folks,

I'm working on a Python script to automate Redshift AOV setups in C4D 2026. Everything works fine with standard RS nodes (Store Color To AOV, Bump Maps, etc.) using GraphDescription.ApplyDescription().

However, I'm stuck with a custom node I created and saved to the Asset Browser called "Normal Blender AOV". I can drag it into the Node Editor manually, but I can't figure out how to instantiate it programmatically via Python.

Here's what the node looks like:
alt text

The Node Editor shows these IDs:

Asset ID: 76fe7ff03ad648d0b63ba1bb0bb05157@b905183b22b84cbe8793eec9029494c6
Instance ID (when created): 76fe7ff03ad648d0b63ba1bb0bb05157@BIWmc46OMVztmLGP18FR9_

I've tried using these IDs in different ways:

# Attempt 1: Using asset ID as type
create_setup = {
    "NormalBlenderAOV": {
        "$type": "76fe7ff03ad648d0b63ba1bb0bb05157@b905183b22b84cbe8793eec9029494c6"
    }
}
maxon.GraphDescription.ApplyDescription(graph, create_setup)
# Missing node type declaration

# Attempt 2: With asset: prefix
# Same error

# Attempt 3: Using base ID only (before @)
# Same error

The node exists in my Asset Browser and I can use it manually, but I'd like to dynamically instantiate it from the script (similar to how the script creates other Redshift nodes).

Right now my workaround is to detect if the node already exists in the material and connect to it, which works fine. But I'd love to be able to create it programmatically from the Asset Browser.

Is there a way to instantiate custom Asset Browser nodes via Python in Redshift material graphs? If anyone has experience with this, I'd really appreciate any guidance.

Thanks!
Anthony

Setup: Cinema 4D 2026.1, Redshift 2026.2.1