Accessing the Offline Library
If you're a Blender user, we'd recommend using our Blender add-on instead, but for everyone else we have a cloud server that all $5+ patrons can access in order to:
Bulk download all our assets, at your desired resolution & format.
Sync the assets to your hard drive using virtual files so that they're always available, but don't take up any space until you use them.
Automatically download all our assets as we upload them.
Previously we used a Google Drive folder for this, but to give us more control and flexibility we've moved over to a self-hosted instance of Nextcloud, an open-source platform that's widely used and respected.
To get Nextcloud set up, follow these instructions:
Head to your Account Page
Under the "Offline Access" header is a field for you to enter your email to send yourself an invite. Be careful, this can only be done once :)
Check your email for an invitation. In that email you'll find a link to activate your account and set a password.
Once you've set a password and logged into your new account, you should download the Nextcloud desktop app.
After installing the app, click "Log in to your Nextcloud" and use "https://nx19190.your-storageshare.de" as the server address.
It'll open your browser and ask you to grant access to your account (the one you just activated by email).
After that, you can go back to the desktop app, and it should show you a screen like this:
First select the Local Folder you'd like to sync our cloud folders to at the top right. Be sure to create a new empty folder called "Poly Haven" or something similar and select that. You won't be able to create or edit your own files in this folder.
Then, I recommend you select "Use virtual files..." to avoid stuffing your hard drive with terabytes of data, instead only downloading files as you use them.
This has the advantage of taking the least space and bandwidth, but the disadvantage of requiring you to be online to use files you haven't used before (and having a small delay to download the files the first time you use them).
You can still manually tell folders to be permanently available offline if you want to. Windows should keep the files around until you run low on disk space.Alternatively, you can "Choose what to sync" and then manually select which folders you want to sync. This should only be used if your OS does not support virtual files.
Click "Connect". It may take an hour or so to scan everything that's available and create the virtual file system, but it only needs to do this once.
Make sure to enable "Launch on System Startup" in the General settings if you want to keep your hard drive in sync with what's available online.
And that's it!
Let us know if you have any feedback about the structure of these folders, we want to make it as easy as possible for you to get the files you want and avoid wasting hard drive space or internet bandwidth.
Comments (76)
it don't work :( can I get help?
What issue are you having? Is there an error message?
Where is the zip folder for the blender plug in?
You can find it at the bottom of this post: https://www.patreon.com/posts/blender-asset-70974704
I just realized I never set up my NextCloud account... from two years ago. The token from the original email is expired. Is there a way to get that re-sent? EDIT: I see the contact-us page. Will reach out.
the format are blender. actually,some of them are good and okay but some are empty, those empty files are just a cube when i opened it, but the models texture are fine and exsit . i've down load some models before i joined membership and this problem heppened sometimes, after i joined your membership the problem is getting worse, all of those early access files are empty for me . i dont know whether it's version issue or just some getting wrong.
Make sure you're using the latest version of Blender. Some of our newer assets rely on features only present in the newest versions of Blender. If you can tell me specifically which models you are trying, I can check them out.
I am a member, but why the models I downloaded from the webpage are all empty? Is there something wrong
Hey, which models specifically are you trying and what format are you downloading?
If I install the add on and use the file path I created with the next cloud.. all asset will be available in the asset browser?
No, sorry. They are separate systems, and the add-on needs to modify the Blend files slightly to mark them as assets.
I haven't received my invitation e-mail.
Hey Heru, I'm in amsterdam for the blender conference at the moment and struggling to access Nextcloud myself. We're flying home tomorrow so I'll figure it out when we get back later this week. Sorry for the troubles.
big thank you to the poly haven team. Great offer for a price even the poorest artist can afford. Thank you
can you provide a json that links the categories and tags to each asset? Nextcloud has just assets themselves.
You can get that through our API: https://api.polyhaven.com/
Did all that you said just dumpt shit loads on my c drive now I can;t find a way to change the default folder
sorry think I found it 🧐
Thank you :)
is there an easy way to default the blend files to use only jpg textures? they're all using a mix of jpg/png/exr and I only want to download jpg. this is the best site btw
Unfortunately no, sorry. The Blend files are set up in a way that we think uses the best formats for each map type. JPG is generally not usable for certain maps (e.g. normal, displacement), so we chose the more appropriate one.
Thanks! One thing is that I can't get any previews/catalog when it's structured the way it is. Kinda annoying and I probably will just end up going to the site. If thats the case, why would the server be desirable? (Not trying to hate, I love PolyHaven with all my heart :)
That's true, but there isn't really a good way to do that in a simple file structure. You really need some kind of asset manager tool. Or just keep using the website as you suggest :)
Thanks for the NextCloud access. Synchronizing the HDR 8GB folder will take 5 days. Download speed seems to be about 10MB per minute! Downloading from the site takes a few seconds per 8K file. Is this due to a bandwidth cap or does the NextCloud server have an issue?
That's pretty slow. The server should be capable of 1gbit, though in practice per client it seems to reach only about 100mbit or so. I'm not aware of any issues, but I'll keep an eye out for any other reports.
So.. My access is offline, on the software says "Unknown error" and the website "ERR_TOO_MANY_REDIRECTS"
Thanks, looking into it.
Hey guys, I sent an email a few days ago but haven't received my access. Just wondering if someone could take a look :-). Thanks!
Hey, can you check your email again? I did send the invite when you signed up, and resent it again now.
PSA: We've now moved over from Google Drive to Nextcloud \o/ This post has been edited to update the instructions.
Thanks for offering this, it will make the process of comparing and using HDRI's so much simpler. Well worth the $3.
Hello, thanks for the awesome hdri, email sent !
sent, Thanks!
email sent . Thanks!
email sent . Thanks!
Email sent here as well. Thanks :)
email sent!, cheers
Hi, just sent and email, thanks!
Just sent an email. THANKS!!
Hi I just sent email to you!
Hello! I also send you email!
Hi I just sent email to you!
email sent ;)
Just sent my email! Thank You :)
Just sent my email, TY SO MUCH!!!!!!!!!!!!!! <3
Just sent the mail! giacomo.olivero@gmail.com thanx!
Just joined! Thank you for your excellent work! :)
Hi! Keep up the great work!
Hello i sent y mail thanks
Hi sent u an email
Hey, just send the mail!
hi sent the email requesting access?
hi , just sent you an email requesting access :)
If you had a sharing link to the folder, wouldn't it be possible to post the link here on the $3+ post and then people could add the shared folder to their Drive? I think I've done this with folder sharing before anyways.
Yep I could do that, but then it'd be easy for someone to post the link elsewhere on the internets. While I'm not too stressed about keeping the folder private myself (it's all CC0 after all), some patrons may be upset if this perk that they "paid for" becomes publicly available anyway. It also means people need to email me to get access, which gives us a chance to talk personally instead of just following some instructions - I feel a bit of trust and actual communication is important when random strangers are giving each other money over the internet :)
I just joined up, great work!
how can I download directly from this website?
Use the big download buttons on each HDRI page :) <a href="https://i.imgur.com/4g9ziiW.png" rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://i.imgur.com/4g9ziiW.png</a>
Hey man, just sent you an email. Thanks!!
Hello Greg :) just sent you an email for GDrive access please ! thks !
Hey Greg, just sent you an email requesting access.
Hello I sent an e-mail yesterday regarding Gdrive invitation. Thx!
Hey Greg, I guess my email got stuck in your spam filter or something, can you please send me the folder invitation? Cheers!
I did get (and reply to) your email about once-off donations, which did land in my spam box for some reason, but I didn't get any email about the drive folder invite. Sent the invite now though :)
Hi Greg, I sent you the email...
Hey Greg! Email sent to request access. Have a nice day! =)
Just replied, thanks and you too!
I keep forgetting to do this. Finally emailed you lol
Hi Greg. I sent you an email yesterday. I would like to have access to the offline folder on Google Drive. Thanks for your help.
Hey, I did reply to your email yesterday and sent you an invite to the folder. Did you not get either?
Email sent. :)
Hey Greg, Just sent you an email requesting access.
Sent :)
Not a problem, just wanted to make sure I didn't do it wrong ;)
Hey Greg, sent you an email requesting access, but haven't gotten anything back yet.
Sorry Eric, things are a bit hectic at the moment, will send it later today