Download Sapphire Plug-ins 5.0 for Autodesk Systems on Linux

You can download and use a fully functional copy of Sapphire Plug-ins. A protective watermark will be applied to the results unless you have a license. You can request a free trial license for three weeks using our trial request form; Sapphire will work without a watermark during that trial period.

Last updated: March 8, 2010.

To Download and install:

  1. Make sure you have one or more of the following Autodesk products on Linux:
    Flint  2007 or greater, 64-bit
    Flame  2007 or greater, 64-bit
    Inferno  2007 or greater, 64-bit
    Smoke  2007 or greater, 64-bit
    Burn  2007 or greater, 64-bit

  2. On your Linux workstation, become root and use the rpm shell command to download (30Mb) and run the appropriate installer:
    For 64bit systems on RHEL 4 (versions 2007 to 2010) type:
         rpm -Uvh http://files.genarts.com/sapphire/genarts-sapphire-sparks5-5.000-1.x86_64.rpm
         or download the rpm file and install it locally.
    For older systems, use Sapphire V4:
         For 64bit systems on RHEL 3 (pre-2007) type:
             rpm -Uvh http://files.genarts.com/sapphire/SapphireSparks4-4.070-1.x86_64.rpm
         For 32bit systems on RHEL 4 (Flint 2007 or Burn 32bits only) type:
             rpm -Uvh http://files.genarts.com/sapphire/SapphireSparks4-4.061-1.i386.rpm
         For 32bit systems on RHEL 3 (older versions of Flint, Smoke, or Burn) type:
             rpm -Uvh http://files.genarts.com/sapphire/SapphireSparks4-4.060-1.i386.rpm

    If you are reinstalling the same version, use rpm -Uvh --force instead of rpm -Uvh above.


To test out a Spark, select 'Effects' and then 'Sparks' and click on any Spark button while holding down the 'Control' and 'Alt' keys. You should find the plug-ins in /usr/discreet/sparks/sapphire_5. Select a Spark and the name should now appear on the button. Click again on the button to initialize the Spark. Select the source and destination clips and the Spark interface window should be displayed.

For on-line help, click on the the Help button on the "Crop/Help" page while using any plug-in, or go to the RedHat start menu and select GenArts Sapphire5 Autodesk -> Sapphire Online Help (HTML) or (PDF).

Installation notes:

  • Sapphire v4 and v5 can both be on your system at the same time, and you can continue using v4 as usual even after installing v5. However, please be aware that the names of the sparks are the same in both versions, which can lead to some confusion, and sometimes the older version may continue to be used unintentionally.

    To use Sapphire v4 and v5 together, you must use Sapphire v4.070 or later with Sapphire v5. Earlier versions of v4 will not coexist properly with v5.

  • Setup files saved with Sapphire v4 will not load into v5, but we have provided an update_setups utility to automatically convert setup files from v4 to v5. For more information check the on-line doc after you install the software.

Burn installation notes:

  • If you are installing on many remote Burn nodes it may be helpful to set the SAPPHIRE_SILENT environment variable to 1 before running the installer.
  • Make sure you are running Sapphire version 5.0 or greater on any Autodesk systems that might render with Burn. To check the version number, load any spark and the version should be printed out in the shell window where your Autodesk application was started.
  • If you made any custom modifications in the s_config.text or s_lensflares.text files you should make the same changes on each Burn workstation.
  • On Burn, S_Feedback often gives incorrect results because the frameps can be rendered on different machines in non-sequential order. Batch trees with S_Feedback should be processed locally.
  • We do not currently support Burn on Red Hat 8. If you are still running RH8 and can not upgrade to Red Hat Enterprise, please let us know.