Wishlist of future variables and path templates

With the upcoming Project Setup system (#133001) , Blender is getting a powerful new feature: Templates for render output paths (#134860) . This introduces a new {variable_name:format} system for file naming and paths, with support for things like {fps:####} and {blend_name} or {resolution_y} , and as they say:

more can be implemented in future

I propose we start gathering a wishlist of future variables the community would like to see supported, whether for filenames, folders, automation, or debugging.

Below is a list of suggestions which I thought while conversing on this other proposal , but please add your own ideas too! The goal is to shape a variable system that grows to meet real-world production needs, without overcomplicating the user experience.

NOTE:

I will try to update this post with the community's proposals, but also with the current state of implementation in Blender.

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🔵 : Available in current release
🟢 : Implemented in source code
🟠 : Work In Progress
⚪ : To do
🔴 : Rejected

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Counters & Randomness

• ⚪ increment
  Automatically increments based on matching files or folders in the output path. Default 4-digit zero padding equivalent to {increment:####} . Could have different variants as in ShareX .  Useful for iterative renders: render_{scene}_{i:####}.png .
• ⚪ random
  Outputs a number where each # is a digit from 0 to 9 e.g. {rand:#####} → 39528 , {rand:##} → 07 .  Could support seeding or alphanumeric modes in the future

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Date & Time Components

I think it's best if these have default zero-padding that make sense (most number like y or h are 2 digits except yy and ms which are 4 and 3 digits respectively), but with manual override still available (e.g. {h:###} ).

• ⚪ y
  Year (2 digits) e.g. 25
• ⚪ yy
  Year (4 digits) e.g. 2025
• ⚪ mo
  Month number (01–12) e.g. 07
• ⚪ mon
  Month name (system language) e.g. juillet
• ⚪ mon2
  Month name (forced English) e.g. July
• ⚪ d
  Day number (01–31) e.g. 08
• ⚪ day
  Day name (system language) e.g. lundi
• ⚪ day2
  Day name (forced English) e.g. Monday
• ⚪ w
  Week number of year e.g. 28
• ⚪ h
  Hour (12-hour format) e.g. 03
• ⚪ hh
  Hour (24-hour format) e.g. 15
• ⚪ m
  Minute e.g. 42
• ⚪ s
  Second e.g. 07
• ⚪ ms
  Millisecond e.g. 382
• ⚪ pm
  AM or PM marker e.g. PM

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Scene Information

• 🟢 scene_name
  Name of the current scene. e.g. Scene.001
• ⚪ collection_name
  Active collection name (or top-level if none active). e.g. Environment
• ⚪ view_layer
  Active view layer name. e.g. CompositingPass
• 🟢 camera_name
  Active camera name. e.g. Cam_Main
• ⚪ world_name
  Active world name. e.g. World_HDRI
• 🟢 node_name
  For a path inside a node, name of the node e.g. Bake
• ⚪ render_engine
  Render engine ID. e.g. CYCLES , EEVEE , WORKBENCH
• 🟢 fps
  Frames per second of the current scene. e.g. 24
• 🟢 resolution_x and resolution_y The render output resolution X and Y e.g. 1920 and 1080
• ⚪ frame_end
  End frame of the scene's timeline. e.g. 250
• ⚪ frame_range
  Formatted frame range. e.g. 0001-0250
• ⚪ file_format
  Output format from the render settings. e.g. PNG
• ⚪ color_depth
  Bit depth from Output > Color settings. e.g. 16
• ⚪ view_transform
  Active color management view transform. e.g. AGX , Filmic , Standard
• ⚪ output_node_slot
  Active output node slot in the compositor. e.g. Final , client_preview , watermaked
• ⚪ cycles_backend
  Backend used by Cycles for rendering. e.g. CUDA , OptiX , HIP , oneAPI , None
• ⚪ devices
  Comma-joined list of compute devices used (CPU/GPU names) for rendering. Examples: NVIDIA RTX 4090 , Intel i9-13900K , AMD Ryzen 7 7700X
• ⚪ layer_passes
  Comma-separated list of enabled render passes for the active view layer. e.g. diffuse,color,z

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File Information

• 🟢 blend_name
  Name of the current blend file without the file extension.
• 🟢 blend_name_lib
  Name of the blend file of the ID the path property is on, sans file extension. e.g. my project file
• 🟢 blend_dir
  Path up to (but not including) the currently open blend file. e.g. C:\tmp
• 🟢 blend_dir_lib
  Path up to (but not including) the blend file of the ID the path property is on. e.g. C:\tmp